Like so many people, I have regretted my decision to have my tubes tied and dreamed of having just one more child before I got too old. When I got my tubes tied it felt like the right decision. But now, years later, I've remarried and want to have a child with my new husband to celebrate our love. Unfortunately, like many of you, financial issues made getting a reversal difficult. It was because of this that I was drawn to getting my procedure done in Mexico. The price was less than half of that in the states and I had read about so many positive experiences others had when going into Mexico (at a different facility).
I went through a company called Medical Tourism Corporation. This is a middleman that puts you in contact with participating hospitals for your procedure. Through them I was linked up with Hospital de la Familia in Mexicali, Mexico. The price was right and I couldn't find anything negative about them. That, coupled with the positive experiences others had posted about at Rio Bravo with Dr. Perez, I figured I was on to something.
I was contacted by their rep Julio Basaldua. He was extremely helpful and seemed very eager to facilitate the process and get us there ASAP. The hospital was nice enough and I can't say I have any complaints about my stay, but what happened after I left was where the nightmare began.
Keep in mind, we were led to believe this was a microsurgery, comparable to what we would have had in the US. It was not. I had a full blown incision almost the size of my c-secttion across my stomach. The Dr. assured me the procedure went exceptionally well so I was appeased. During discharge, the nurse told me to take it easy for a couple of weeks and IF I WANTED, I could wear an ace bandage around my stomach for support but this was only optional, since the wound would heal just fine with the regular cleaning and changing of the gauze and the support of the stitches.
I am paranoid. So I took it exceptionally easy. Total bed rest for two days and short walks as instructed. On the second day when I went to remove the bandage, clean the wound and change the gauze, I felt a bit more discomfort and moisture on my stomach. I looked down and saw a gaping hole on my stomach. My stitches had come undone and I was terrified. I went to the emergency room and the doctor gave me the bad news. They had used dissolvable stitches on a very flexible area, which is not good, and because it had come undone, it could not be restitched without a high risk of infection. I now had to leave a hole open in my stomach and allow it to heal from the inside out while cleaning and changing the bandages 3 times a day. My recovery went from a couple weeks to more than a month with constant vigilance.
I contacted the hospital and they told me i had to come in to them or they wouldn't do anything Orr help. This was a shock so I contacted Julio at Hospital de la Familia and he seemed to want to help. "I'm shocked!", "This has never happened before!" "I will call you every day to see how things are going and we will ask for pictures periodically to check on the healing". I felt great, he was meeting with the doctor and would get back with me at noon to advise me.
Noon came and went. That evening I called and Julio told me they wanted me to come back down to Mexico and they would put in new stitches. I told him I was unsure of that because the ER doctor, my primary care physician who I had called by now, and all the compulsive Internet research I had done that day indicated that was a horrible idea! Julio told me he'd talk to the doctor and call me right back. He never did.
We followed up the next day and now he was telling me he spoke to the doctor and instructed me to clean the wound and tape it shut for three days.... I was shocked. Tape it shut? That's the worst thing to do according to my doctor. It's an infection waiting to happen.
I could go on and on about the daily conversations we've had with Julio for the past two weeks but the gist of it is he's promised to help, to call, to follow up, and to secure some sort of compensation for me, but he has done nothing. He's never called even once. Every time he says he will call back, he never does. It's always us calling to find out why he didn't. Most of the time it goes to voicemail and we've resorted to calling from private or random numbers so that he will answer.
In no way am I saying to stay away from Mexico for your procedure. So many people have had positive results there. But I am saying to stay away from Hospital de la Familia. They are super helpful when it comes to getting your money, but when issues arise, they suddenly forget who you are and leave you hanging out to dry. A simple phone call would have spoken volumes but the absence says more than anything. I understand when dealing with Mexico, my options are limited, but hopefully reading this will keep someone from going through what I did. I still worry every day how will this heal and I can't help but fear that the procedure itself won't have worked and ill be left having to get another surgery.
Good luck to everyone. I hope your experience is smoother than mine.
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