Bariatric Surgery in Mexico

Questions to ask any Bariatric/Weight-Loss Surgery Facility

• Pricing:
  • What is the price of the surgery? How much is the deposit?
  • What forms of payment do you accept for the deposit and for the full payment?
  • What extra or hidden fees are there (including bags for transportation, covid tests, or expected tips)?
  • Will/can the hospital charge me separately?
  • Until when can I get a refund, including the deposit?
  • If I have to cancel at the last minute (medical issues, etc), how much do I get refunded?
  • If I have to modify the date at the last minute (medical issues, etc), how much money do I "lose"?
  • If the surgery facility has to cancel or modify at the last minute (surgeon is sick, hospital change, etc), and I am not okay with the change, do I get a full refund?
  • How much cash should I bring with me?
  • What medications do I need to bring with me (Gas-X, Omeprasole)?
• Complications:
  • If there are complications, who covers the cost? Is there complication coverage I should be purchasing?
  • If a CT scan or other scans become necessary, how much will it cost extra?
  • What is the fee for a hiatal hernia?
  • What is the fee for sleep apnea (if you have sleep apnea / CPAP)? Should I bring my CPAP? Does the hospital know how to manage with the CPAP?
  • What BMI is required? How much will it cost for BMI over that amount?
• Companion:
  • How much does a companion cost (both for hotel rooms and for staying in the hospital with me)?
  • Can the companion be with me 24/7 besides the surgery? If not, when must I be alone?
  • What accomodations in the hospital room (or hotel room if relevant) are there for the companion?
  • What hotel meals (for the companion) are including in the cost?
• Hospital:
  • In what hospital is the operation taking place?
  • How many nurses are there for how many patients?
  • What percentage of the nurses speak English well?
  • Who will be the surgeon (full name)? Is the surgeon board-certified?
  • Are there extra pillows and blankets?
  • How many patients in a room? If more than one, how many TV remotes in the room?
  • Are compression stockings used during and/or after surgery? Do I need to bring my own?
• General information:
  • Is the hospital and the drive to the hospital in safe locations in Mexico?
  • Which hotel will we be staying at? What days?
  • What dates are available for surgery?
  • How long before the surgery am I supposed to be on a pre-op diet? A liquid diet?
  • Who is the coordinator at the hospital and in general?
• Arrival and departure (arriving at pickup location by plane):
  • Where will the driver pick me/us up (terminal/door/how to get there)?
  • By what time does my/our flight need to arrive?
  • How long is the drive from/to the airport?
• Arrival and departure (arriving at pickup location by car):
  • Where should I/we park my car
  • Where will the driver pick me/us up (in/outside the parking lot)?
  • How long is the drive from/to the parking lot?
• General arrival and departure questions:
  • At what time will I/we be picked up?
  • What is the cell phone number of the driver?
  • What is the schedule on the first day (arrival at hotel, hotel to hospital for checkup, back to hotel)? Are we driven back and forth?
  • Is there a wait before we can enter the hotel room? If so, where would we wait?
  • What time will the driver take me/us from the hospital back to the US?

Warning Signs for any Bariatric / Weight Loss Center

• Pricing:
  • A deposit that is higher than $500
  • Not willing to accept the remaining payment in a cashier check on the day of the surgery
  • Fees for weird things, like the size of the bags or the amount of bags being transported
  • If the deposit will not be returned even if you cancel more than two weeks before surgery
  • If the hospital has its own separate charges
  • If there is no refund if you have to cancel at the last minute (they pay less for the hospital or for the hotel, so you should be able to get something back)
  • If changing the surgery date at the last minute, means that you have to pay the full amount again
  • If you do not get a full refund if the last-minute change is caused by the surgery center
  • If you are asked to bring large sums of cash with you
  • If you will be asked to purchase different kinds of medication in Mexico
  • If you are given important information only after you give a deposit
• Complications:
  • If you are expected to pay extra for any complications and there is no complication coverage
  • If the hospital does not know how to deal with CPAPs
  • If you are expected before surgery to have a much lower BMI than your current BMI
• Companion:
  • If the companion cannot be with you at night or can only be with you during certain hours of the day
  • If you have to pay extra for the companion to be with you in your room or in the hospital room
  • If there are no accommodations for the companion in the hospital room
• Hospital:
  • If there are many patients per nurse
  • If the percentage of English-speaking nurses is less than 50%
  • If you cannot confirm that the surgeon is board-certified (see Mexico certification for Mexico doctors)
• General information:
  • If the hospital location, or the drive to the hospital is not safe, on the government travel advisories website
  • If you cannot obtain the cell phone number of the driver, even after giving the deposit
  • If there is a long wait before you can enter your room at the hospital

Here are some Bariatric / Weight Loss Centers in Mexico we Recommend

If you are on this site, you are probably interested in bariatric Surgery in Mexico and not in the US. We also are not listing places where the price quote was high (in our opinion). These are some Bariatric Surgery Facilities we have researched, and they made a good impression on us. While we have not used the services in these locations, we will list them so you have a starting point for your own search. We did use Mexicali Bariatric Center (unrelated to Mexico Bariatric Center), so that recommendation is based on our experience.
We are not affiliated with any of these hospitals/surgical facilities.

• Mexicali Bariatric Center with Dr Rodolfo Wilhelmy. This is where we actually went for surgery - twice.
• Obesity Control Center with Dr Ariel Ortiz.
• Hospital BC with Dr Jalil Illan.

Here are some Bariatric / Weight Loss Centers in Mexico we do NOT Recommend

If you know of others, please let us know.
We are obviously not affiliated with any of these hospitals/surgical facilities.

• Warnings about Mexico Bariatric Center
• Baja Hospital - Dr Mario Almanza - We have been receiving information about this. Websites coming soon.

How to contact us

To contact us, please visit our Contact Us form.