American woman dies getting weight-loss surgery in Mexico; Family leaves one-star review on Yelp

Should have gone to Dr. Now

When I read "circus act" and "Tijuana" in an article, I expect it to be about Vairst Letty.

probably had a lot of other medical issues besides this. Decades of poor eating and poor health makes you susceptible to post surgery complications.

Should have tried Ozempic.

She and her husband own a pizza joint. I'll bet you she drank and smoked as well.

$7,000 is "less than half" of $30,000? Oh, brother.

Her odds of living were better just staying fat stateside.

I feel for people who can't afford the medical treatment they need, but who in the name of bleeding Jesus thought it was a good idea to go to Tijuana of a places for surgery. You got Tijuana for drugs & the donkey show - not invasive surgery.

If she would have just taken an effort in her life, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED.

The cousin says no one there spoke English despite the advertisement that suggested the staff was bilingual.

I think I would've walked out then and there.

R8 But no, she needed a quick fix!

A lot of people go to Mexico for surgeries insurance won’t cover. I know of one woman on social media who got a deep plane face lift for less than half of what it would cost in the states, which is usually 35k and up. Her results were great and she really loved her surgeon. The key was she didn’t try and make it simple and easy by going through some company that offers to do all the footwork for you. She also didn’t look to find the cheapest surgeon. She looked for the best surgeon she could afford with a good reputation. I think it cost about 10-15k. Not cheap but certainly less than the US and her surgeon was top-notch.

Terrible. My sister and I suffered narcissistic abuse from my dad growing up, but we reacted to it very differently. I withdrew from the world; she became extremely fat. Decades later, we both came into money unexpectedly, and I threw everything I had into various forms of therapy; she got gastric bypass surgery, later followed up with several rounds of plastic surgery to remove all the extraneous skin left over. Childhood trauma, protective obesity, insufficient funds to pay the medical guild to fix it, desperation, etc

R10 That doesn’t sound so horrible, but the Carnival cruise crowd usually doesn’t do that sort of homework.

Years ago I met medical tourists in Toronto. At least Western standard hospitals and no language barrier.

The woman in the story probably could not have afforded Ozempic, either.

Many who have gastric bypass regain all of the weight.

Those who have unresolved trauma are especially likely to regain the weight.

Sad story.

OMG. and the company probably left that reply on the Yelp review.

Now, more than ever: you get what you pay for.

r6 went to Tijuana in the 1960s and thinks things haven't changed.

There is a lot of medical tourism all over Mexico - including Tijuana. Tons of people have had great results.

If there were all of these people dying from it, you'd hear more stories. Like I said - she probably had a lot of other issues.

I bet that she smoked - and told them she had quit smoking but never actually did. This is the biggest cause of complications.

Dead dollface thread

Oh and R6 - donkey shows are an urban myth created by GIs. Never any documentation or verification from any sources about those shows - ever.

Prostitution? Of course - it's legal in Mexico.

But your ideas of Tijuana are so far off the mark. There's a lot of industry, tech, medical and tourism there.

Just south of there are large ex-pat communities on the coast and about 60-70 miles south of there is Mexican wine country, with amazing vineyards, high-end restaurants and hotels, etc. Millions and millions cross the border to Northern Baja for tourism every year.

Are there some run-down areas? Yes - it's Mexico and a 2nd world nation. But a lot of American cities have run down areas as well.

Well, she was never fat again.

[quote]"If you can get it done here, get it done here. You’re taking a risk."

When people tout how cheap healthcare is elsewhere, they don't mention things like what happened to this woman.

Has anyone checked in on Kanye, Donda went out this way and this could trigger a complete meltdown on his behalf.

Kidding. That fucker doesn’t need an excuse.

Sorry I'm late to this thread. It looks like it's been abandoned.

If the woman had simply WALKED to Tijuana, she could have lost all the weight, and then used the money to fly back.

As for the family leaving a one-star review on Yelp - good for them! That shows 'em! I bet the company loses a lot of business now!

(WT holy F??????... I really don't get what goes thru some people's heads. I guess people really are that stupid and it certainly explains that Fat Orange Fuck who keeps being put in charge).

She had a fat ass but couldn’t live forever.

[quote]R4 $7,000 is "less than half" of $30,000? Oh, brother.

That IS less than half.

Are you saying they should have been more specific, and that the cost was a quarter of the U.S. fee?

I was thinking the same thing R24 I mean it really is less than half. I mean they could have said it was less than a quarter but it itself was not an incorrect statement unless that poster lacks mathematical instruction.

I think cutting into your digestive system or extracting a large amount of fat is different from extracting a small amount of fat from a problem area or excising a small amount of extra tissue in a facelift. And I’ve watched a lot of doctor TV shows, so I would know.

Aww, bless her heart. DUMB, dumb thing to do in FUCKING Mexico tho.

[Quote]Many who have gastric bypass regain all of the weight.

Many of the women in my extended family have had gastric sleeve and some have regained the weight. Now they're doing Ozempic, which is all well and good until that supply dwindles. Then what?

I think it really sad that people are literally killing themselves to be skinny. Society condones it by pushing the narrative that fat people are flawed. Like you said, R13, obesity is often due to trauma.

Almost all obesity is caused by ingesting more calories than the body needs.

This is a simple fact that has never changed.

She didn't live long enough to lose any weight, R19.

Less than half usually implies something closer to a half!

Ok so this wasn’t necessary surgery, but it still shows how people in the USA have to go to dangerous third world medical “facilities” because American healthcare is for the wealthy.

There is no reason to have gastric bypass surgery with Ozempic now available.

R28 - while I agree there are some overweight people who have had trauma, that's not necessarily always the case. It's really bad habits, lack of awareness of nutrition, lack of exercise and conditioning your body to want bad, unhealthy foods. And usually they live in households where that is the norm - so it's hard to escape.

It takes 3-4 weeks to change your eating habits with healthy food - but many will bitch and moan about 'there's no FLAVOR' or 'I don't want to live if I can't eat my X or have some treats'.

I've seen it far too often. They feel like they're going to die if they don't get the high-fat, high-sugar crap. Now that is because they're addicted to it - but that will go away after 3-4 weeks of healthy eating. They just don't make it that far.

I do have sympathy - I believe once you're more than 60-70 pounds overweight, it can become a vicious cycle because you move less and everything is harder, but lack of movement spurs on the desire for more crap food and sugar to give you energy. Then if you do spend a couple of weeks trying to eat healthy and exercising, the weight you lose isn't noticeable as it's just a drop in the bucket.

I don't believe in the gastric bypass surgeries - too many people have gained it all back. But this woman had other issues - and like I said before - I'd bet big $$$ she also smoked. Plastic surgeons will not perform surgery on smokers because of all the issues involved with blood flow and other dangers. You have to quit for several MONTHS before plastic surgery.

Thanks R4, I got triggered by the same thing....maybe they meant less than half of half of what it costs in the US? Surgery can be dangerous, I know someone who had serious complications after a gastric bypass. Didn't die but was disabled afterwards.

While it is true that $7000 is “less than half” of $30,000, “less than half” is an odd way to describe 23%.

Going to Mexico for surgery is not all it’s cracked up to be

Gastric bypass, tummy tucks, B.A.L.s, veneers and a whole family of plastic surgeries at deep discounts in 3rd world countries!

What could go wrong?

Almost all insurances cover bariatric surgery today. This woman likely didn’t qualify because of too many risk factors, or because she wasn’t willing to complete all the required preop work-up and testing.

Going to a country where you can't even drink the water to get an elective, invasive surgery? Just dumb.

“In the Summer of 99’, I knew I had to make a change…”

R39 - she and her husband owned a pizza place, maybe they didn't have great insurance? But I think you're right. Probably a lot of risk factors. But a $30k US cost would surely have been with an insurance discount in the states, so not so sure about that.

I just don't know how this was preferable over an Ozempic type of drug - but maybe their insurance didn't cover that either. Sometimes it doesn't.

Bottom line is - the family is not providing all the information. As far as all the staff not being bilingual - well, duh. But there's Google translate for any communication issues.

News stories are written for morons at a 4th grade reading level. They probably said $7,000 was "less than half" of $30,000 because most of their readers would be thrown off by "a quarter." They'd think it meant 25¢ or just not know that a quarter = 1/4 and that 1/4 is less than a "half."

My cousin died after this surgery and in the U.S. They sent him home too early and he was dead within twenty-four hours from an infection. Bottom line in this country nowadays--get em in and out fast, need the bed and the $$$.

[quote]Roemeling developed complications within hours of the surgery, including internal bleeding and sepsis.

Having serious bleeding right after surgery is usually due to surgeon incompetence.

If you want to see horrible things people do to their bodies and laugh and be shocked, watch this. These docs are the fixers, what is interesting is not the Mexican surgeries which are savage obviously, but the American doctors who do almost as bad. It's mostly women of course wanting big mammaries, and other horrible things, you will laugh and also be horrified at the same time.

+1 to OP's headline, for the part about the Yelp review. Masterful.

Agree r29, but the American food supply is riddled with crappy food and it usually the cheapest (great value anyone?)

Throw in kids to feed, cost of everything going up in price and it easy to fall into bad habits

So I literally live in a border town and I would never consider going to MX for any sort of procedure.

People here flock to the dentists and the family doctors over there. You can see doctors at 7 in the evening.

I will admit that I had to resort to buying my meds in Juarez when I no longer qualified for my health insurance, but that is where I draw the line.

I guess, ultimately, you get what you pay for.

[quote] When I read "circus act" and "Tijuana" in an article, I expect it to be about Vairst Letty.

When I read "circus act" and "Tijuana" in an article, I expect it to be about Melania Trump and a donkey.

[quote]If there were all of these people dying from it, you'd hear more stories. Like I said - she probably had a lot of other issues.

I remember when this was a big story, this was less than 2 years ago

You peoples are not Be Best and nice gays, today. Only show I do in Mexico involve very smart tasteful donkey with the abstract pictures. He bray when I dip brush in wrong color and then pretend to kick. He work now shown in many big galleries. Actually text him to help with stupid Christmas decorations. I miss donkey.