Heeding the signs..

I'll turn 26 next month.  I'm otherwise healthy, and very excited about the prospect of having surgery.  Goodness knows I've been trying to line it up for almost 4 years now.  But after reading about the tragic passing of Stephanie from the DS boards, I am being extra cautious about who I choose to do my surgery.

I posted last night about going to Tijuana for the sleeve, but no one had heard of the hospital or doctor I'd be working with.  So this morning, I drafted an email to Alma, the representative from Ready 4 a Change with whom I've been corresponding about surgery, asking about the specific stats for Dr. Garcia. 

I was wondering if you all might look over what I asked and suggest other things I should ask - other bits of information that are important to know.  Thanks ahead of time.  The email went as follows:

Thank you for sending this packet.  I was able to open all the forms successfully.
I do have a couple questions though.  I was doing some more research (on ObesityHelp.com and your website as well as Google searches, etc.) on your hospital in Tijuana and the two doctors there, and no one seems to know anything about them.  I read that the Tijuana location was opened in April of this year and that Dr. Garcia has only been doing bariatric surgeries since 2007.  Everything there is very new. 

Do you have specific numbers and statistics for Dr. Garcia's practice in bariatrics?  I am hesitant to go to a surgeon about whom I can find no information or testimonials from people I can talk to myself.  The specific points of information I want to know about him are as follows:
(And I would want a specific number here, not just "hundreds," etc.)
How many total bariatric weight loss surgeries has Dr. Garcia done ? How many of those surgeries were the VSG? What is Dr. Garcia's total mortality rate for bariatric surgeries that he has performed? What is Dr. Garcia's mortality rate for VSG surgeries? What are his success rates in terms of percentage weight loss for bariatric surgeries he has performed? Does Dr. Garcia remove the gall bladder routinely?

This information is something I *must* have in order to continue with my plan to have surgery in Tijuana.  Thanks ahead of time for your response.

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I think it looks ok. Glad you are doing your research!

looks ngood but how did you happen to find and choose this surgeon?

"But after reading about the tragic passing of Stephanie from the DS boards, I am being extra cautious about who I choose to do my surgery."

Please understand that ANYONE having ANY type of surgery can likely end up dead. I'm very sorry to hear about Stephanie and anyone else who has passed trying to change their lives....but we all go into this KNOWING it's a very small risk but there IS a risk.

There are plenty of people on here who have had successful surgeries in MEX...please do a search and see who they used and who is the one with the most experience, access, best program, etc--this IS your life.  You're absolutely right to do your due diligence. It's a MUST.

Hey.! Im alsoo researching this dr. But i have had better luck with dr. Lopez and his wife dr.suna (they all uses the MI hospital)! Any luck with dr garcia??