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Who is your doctor and where is he located?
    I thought this was pretty obvious if you look around the website...but I am getting tons of these questions.  My surgeon is Dr. Sauceda and he is in Monterrey Mexico.  For more info about him check this out!

How did the Doctor do you arms, where are the scars?
    Take a look at all pics...the scars are there...they are more towards the underneath part of the arm than some other pictures I have seen on the web.  On the pics from the front they are hardly seen at all, from the back I am turning my elbows out to show the incisions.

What did all this cost? 
    I mention this in several places....I paid $12,000 for Tummy tuck, breast lift/augmentation (silicone implants), Liposuction of waist and back, Brazilian butt lift, Arms (Brachioplasty).  This included..all surgeon fees, 2 night hospital stay, flight from Dallas, 9 nights hotel stay at Howard Johnson, and 2 sets of the after surgery compression garments.

If you could do anything differently, what would it be?
    Stay at the Hampton Inn, Obispado. The convenience and location just can’t be justified to save $20 a night. Next door to it is a Starbucks, McDonalds, and a HUGE grocery Wal-Mart type store called H.E.B. There are also shops, Applebees, a big mall less than a $2 cab ride away called Gallerias Monterrey with every kind of shop/amenities any American would feel at home with. Food at the mall includes a KFC, Pizza Hut, and a Chili’s. Those are just the ones I saw, I am sure there are more. The other thing I didn’t think about is if you are getting a tummy tuck, bring a toilet seat riser with you or email the hotel to see if they have one. Hubby got one in Dallas for under $20. After 5 days I finally asked my hotel about it and they gave me one. I gave the guy a big hug because he saved me a lot of pain. Having had 3 c-sections, I should have had vivid memories about how brutal it is to get on and off the toilet seat. Add to the fact that my arms are getting operated on as well and can’t be used to help much, that toilet seat riser can make the difference.

What or where did I eat?
    I was a little nervous about this too. I ordered 2 cases of Muscle Milk Ready To Drink Chocolate Milk before I left. I brought 1 ½ cases. Each 17 oz container has 34 grams of protein, lots of good vitamins and minerals and 350 calories. You could live off of drinking 3 of those a day if you had to. I brought enough containers to have 1-2 a day. Since the Lap Band is so fickle, sometimes its tight, sometimes not, I couldn’t chance on not being able enough nutrition to recover. Other than that, I wasn’t hungry at all. We bought some food from Wal-Mart the night we arrived: cheese, 2 Lean Cuisine entrees, crackers, cereal, milk, etc. Our room has a microwave and fridge so we kept our stuff fresh. I went to the HEB one day and got some fresh fruit which was wonderful. HEB also has a fantastic deli and food bar with fresh pizza, baked chicken, and wonderful Mexican dishes. There is an Applebee’s right by the HEB that I believe will deliver food to your room at the Hampton Inn. Hampton Inn also provides a generous breakfast from what I have read.  Since I didn’t stay at the Hampton, I was a limited down here to American food  here at the MacroPlaza. There are lots of little mom and pop restaurants but since I didn’t speak the language, didn’t know what to get, I chickened out trying any of it. One night I got a McDonald’s cheeseburger since I hadn’t had one in 6 months. My stomach hurt all night from eating all that grease. Yesterday I went into the 7-11 and got a hot dog. For some reason that sounded kind of good. Well, got it back to the room, took a bite and the thing is LOADED inside with big jalapenos! My mouth was burning for an hour. The specialty food here is called Cabrito, It is a local favorite. Cabrito translates in “roasted baby goat” and there are several local restaurants that feature it. One restaurant, not too far from Dr. S office has the little goats skewered and roasting in a big window in front. I wasn’t adventurous enough to try it. I am quite fond of baby goats having wonderful happy memories feeding them at petting zoos with my children and the thought of having one for dinner just didn’t seem appealing.

How Many procedures can I have at once?
    This you would have to discuss with Dr. Sauceda. Surely its based on age, health condition, and other important factors.

Do I need a passport to get to Monterrey?
    If you come by airplane, with the new laws in place, the answer is yes. We applied, paid extra for expedited and got ours in around a week. If you are brave enough to drive, I believe you can cross the border with just a drivers license and birth certificate.

Is it safe for an American to be in Monterrey, Mexico? Will I get kidnapped?
    Common sense would apply here. Monterrey is a large modern city, 3rd largest in Mexico. It is surrounded by lovely mountains, has several theme parks and is really very Americanized. I personally chose not to leave the hotel after dark. Where Dr. S office/clinic is located looks to be a good area with the BMW and Mercedes dealerships around the corner, hardly what I would consider the hood. I would feel very safe walking during daylight hours around the hotel, to the HEB and the mall and to his office.
Most of the images the Americans have are border towns. This definitely isn’t Nuevo Laredo with drug dealers on the corner or men trying to pimp out their sisters (true story, ask my husband when he and buddy crossed over the Laredo.) This is a modern city, much like Dallas with theme parks and lots of American companies like Wal-Mart, HEB, Office Depot, Sears, and Chili’s.
There are safe and not so safe places in every city. I wouldn’t go out after dark if I were staying in a hotel in downtown Dallas either. I have seen parts of Dallas that look so dangerous I would be afraid of getting shot during daylight hours. Monterrey is the same, there are good and bad. Just ask people you trust and they will tell you.

What did you bring with you?
    Since I was having the arm lift, I knew ahead of time that I would have limited use of my arms with very light lifting. I packed quite a bit of stuff, most of which won’t be coming home with me. See link for a packing list of what I brought.

Is there anything I can’t bring on the plane?
    There is an entire list of things that can’t be brought on the plane. The one thing I tried to take is a can of Lysol Disinfectant to sanitize the hotel room. I had to take that out and throw it away. I would check on the airline website for a full list to avoid any hassles ahead of time.

How would Dr. S compare to other doctors found in the US?
    Anyone who has had surgery with Dr. Alvarez can attest that he goes far and above the call of duty on patient care. I have found this to be true of other WLS patients that have gone to Mexico to get their surgeries with their surgeons. Dr. S is no different. How many American doctors would come to your house and check you every day? Dr. Sauceda saw me once or sometimes twice a day to check my incisions, bring me medicine, gauze and tape for the dressings, etc.  So, in my opinion, he doesn’t even come close to American doctors, he far exceeds any level of care that I or anyone I know personally has received in the US. For instance, I have had my PCP in the Dallas area for 8 years. He’s a great guy and good doctor, but he is so busy with so many patients that not once in the 8 years has he EVER personally phoned me. Is he insensitive or just doesn’t care? No, I believe it is because he is dealing with the insurance bureaucracy that cannot be avoided in the United States. They have to hire staff just to deal with the paperwork nightmare of insurance companies.  Mexican doctors and surely others internationally don’t have to deal with these things. Their time is their own. Instead of having to write a report on why the doctor chose one medication for his patient instead of a lower cost one, they can focus on caring for their patients.

If Dr. Sauceda is such a great doctor, why doesn’t he practice here in the US?
    This is one of my favorite questions and really exhibits the ignorance of many American citizens who believe that everything in the US is the best and if you practice medicine anywhere in the world, you are less. Most cultured and educated people who have traveled outside the United States know that there is good and bad in every country.
To these people, I ask of this: Why WOULD he want to?  Does he want to spend his time arguing with medical necessity with insurance company bureaucracy questioning why he is prescribing drugs or some test for his patients?  Does he want to pay an ENORMOUS amount of malpractice insurance that is required of American doctors?  My guess is that his family his here, his heritage, he was educated here and has a history. Monterrey is a lovely modern city with a lower cost of living than most comparable places in the major U.S. cities.

Does Dr. Sauceda speak English well?
    Very well. He is fluent in English and I understood him completely. Much better than my Spanish!

Did you do anything to prepare for surgery before arriving in Mexico?
    I took 2 chewable Centrum multi-vitamins daily, as well as 2000 mg of Vitamin C (good to fight infections), and one B-Complex vitamin which does many things, but the main thing is aid in digestion since I knew I would be having antibiotics and they usually make me ill. I also took an iron supplement because my iron tends to be low and iron is very important for recovery. I will continue this regimen in my daily life after returning to Texas to continue my recovery.

What kind of anesthesia does he use?
    Ok, this one kind of scared me until I could research and understand everything. He uses regional anesthesia with sedation which technically means you will be awake whereas most U.S. surgeons use general, mostly due to patient requests not to be awake for everything. I was very nervous about the regional anesthesia but when I researched it I found that 1. it is much safer 2. there is no need to recover from the anesthesia and the surgery. Dr. Sauceda has a wonderful anesthesiologist (his wife!) so I knew I was in good hands. She gives you an amnesia drug, like the one used in the states if you have an endoscopy or colonoscopy. You are awake but you won’t remember a thing. That is what happened to me. I don’t remember much about the surgery except when they were stitching up my arm and when they moved me off the operating table into the recovery room. I had zero pain during the entire process. I did get a little nauseated so Dr. S took out all the fluid in the Lap Band and that seemed to help tremendously. The few times I have had general anesthesia was horrible and made me very ill, throwing up for days and having these nightmares that lasted for weeks. It was horrible. Go do a search and look at the drugs they use for general anesthesia. One paralyzes your body, you can’t breathe on your own, these are HARDCORE drugs being pumped into your body. It takes time for them to get out of your system. Do you want to have to recover from the surgery and the anesthesia? It is unnecessary.

Is the hospital like those found in the US?
    Yes, it was very modern and nice. I was impressed with how much nicer it is than most hospitals I have been in the Dallas Metroplex. Private room, flat screen television with cable (several good English channels), hardwood floor, large modern bathroom and even a marble sink! It’s nicer than my house! Dr. S operates out of a clinic, which is just like you see in the states called Surgical Centers. They are typically used for surgeries that don’t require a lengthy hospital stay, typically day surgery procedures. I know lots of Lapband patients who got their bands placed there, had gall bladder surgery, simple type surgeries. This is like that but better, they also have 4 hospital rooms for overnight stays. The nurses were wonderful, very attentive. A bit of a language barrier but the translation sheet will help with that and there wasn’t much need for anything else. I actually preferred the clinic instead of a big hospital because germs are rampant in ALL hospitals worldwide. Sick people stay at hospitals. Healthy people come to surgical centers like these. The less exposure to evil bacteria and viruses, the happier and safer I felt. It was more than adequate for plastic surgery. The operating room was state of the art with every modern machine available in the states.

 
How many times did you see Dr. Sauceda while you were there?
    Every day!!! While I was in the hospital, 4-5 times during the day. When I was recovering at the hotel, he came every day, sometimes twice daily and called as well. How many American doctors do house calls?

What kind of breast implants did you get?
    I went with the silicone “gummy bear” implants. They are more natural and I didn’t like the “rippling” of the saline ones. They do cost a bit more but well worth it. They are FDA approved and manufactured and warranted by the American company Mentor. Dr. Sauceda showed us an old type of silicone implant from the 80’s that he removed from a patient and it was like a shell with a thickish liquid in it. No wonder they ruptured! The new silicone has 3 barriers of protection and the substance inside is like a gummy bear.

Were you in a lot of pain?
    Everyone has a different threshold for pain. Mine seems to be a bit higher than others. When I asked what pain medicine he uses, he said he will use morphine if necessary. I was prescribed a moderate level of pain relief called Taldor. It worked very well for me and after a week I am using it only at night to sleep. During the day I take nothing or just Tylenol as needed.

 
Are all the TV stations in Spanish?
    Most of them are. There are a few English ones. My hotel has 4-5 English channels that I have watched quite a bit. Mostly crime shows: CSI-Miami, CSI-Las Vegas, CSI-New York, Criminal Minds, Law and Order, etc. After this experience, I personally don’t want to see CSI or Law and Order shows for several years!!!

How did you keep in touch with family back in the states?
    I put Mexican service on my cell phone before leaving and tried to use it very sparingly. We tried to find a calling card here to call back home but since we don’t speak or read Spanish, never came across one. When hubby got home, he did use a Calling Card we had purchased for $20 that you can call Mexico for like 2 cents a minute. Much better than the cell phone who charges $1.50 a minute!

Do you have internet?
    Wireless high speed internet is available in the hotel. I have had no connectivity problems and use it for most of my communicating with family and friends through email at home.

What was the hotel like?
    My stay was at the Howard Johnson MacroPlaza, I SHOULD have stayed at the Hampton Inn but decided to save a few bucks daily before I knew of the all inclusive deal Dr. Sauceda was offering if you got a package deal over $4000. The Hampton looks very new and nice. I have to estimate it to be just a few years old, if even that. It is in a safe area. My Howard Johnson hotel is nice, very clean and safe. There is a neat marketplace right outside the door and a lovely view from the 8th floor. The MacroPlaza area is where all the museums and cultural activities are located. If you have time and feel up to it, come down and see the parks, fountains, museums, etc. Well worth the cab fare of $3 from the Hampton Inn. The only thing I don’t have that the Hampton has besides being located so close to the clinic is the HEB would be nice to just walk over and get something that sounds good to eat.

Did you rent a car? How did you get around?
    No, I did not rent a car and thank the Lord for that! These taxi drivers are crazy. Hold on and close your eyes. Seatbelts? What seatbelts? Need to take a left turn and you are in the right lane? No problem! Just whip the car on over there. Stop sign? Does that mean I need to stop? Not here, they just drive right through it. Hubby took video of this. Not one car stopped at the stop sign. There are thousands of taxis available that are very reasonable around town. You can’t miss them: Green Nissan Sentras. Small cars, good drivers and cheap prices. Got to love it.

How much cash should I bring?
    You don’t really need very much at all, so just bring some small bills for taxis or tipping. Most everything else use your credit card to get a better exchange rate. You don’t need to get pesos, you can use dollars everywhere and they will give you the change in pesos. There are 10.8 pesos to each dollar currently. So if something costs $290 pesos, it will cost a bit less than $29. American dollars. It’s a little confusing at first. Nothing like getting a $200 ($20 us) bill at Chili's.

What kind of garment did you wear after surgery?
    Dr. S provides these. I have 2 of them: one is for breast/arms, and the other is for tummy butt. It is important to wear for the 6 weeks required to help with swelling that will speed up recovery. So, depending on what procedures you get, will determine what type of garment to wear.

What size clothing should I bring?
    I would error on the side of caution and bring loose, stretchy type clothes in a size larger. I brought my plus size stuff that is too big now. I am glad I did because the swelling was rough and the thought of crotch cutting panties just isn’t appealing when you are trying to recover.

How did you sleep?
    The hotel I stayed at provided a recliner for me and thank God for that. I couldn’t sleep in a bed at all with the tummy tuck. With the pain meds I slept well except had to get up and go to the bathroom more frequently than usual because of the swelling being absorbed and processed by the body. Also, beds in Mexico are very FIRM. I don't think pillow top mattresses have become the rage here yet. Be prepared.

Did you lose electricity or drink the water?
    The electrical plugs are the same here as in the US. I did not lose power while I was here. I also drank bottled water provided by the hotel although they have a sign that says the water is purified. Why chance it when the bottled water is free?

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