Surgery in Puerto Vallarta

Last week, I attended the "Medical Matters 2013 Seminar" in Puerto Vallarta.  What a great day of information.  So many people who hear I live in Mexico ask me about the medical care available here.  I sat in on several presentations and chatted with several of the reps in the conference hall.
I was delighted with the professionals I met and their willingness to answer all my questions.  Mexico has become one of the leading countries in "Medical Tourism" and I was more than interested to ask questions about what was happening here.

As luck would have it, I knew someone coming to PV (Puerto Vallarta) to have bariactic surgery the following week.  Since this is about a $20,000 surgery in the States, I decided to ask her lots of questions before and after the surgery.  She was so kind to answer all of my questions.

She researched for more than a year about the surgery both in the United States and other countries.  I was amazed at how much she knew about the procedure and how she knew all the questions to ask.  I wondered why she chose Dr. Joya, who has offices in both in Puerto Vallarta and Guadalarja.  She told me she read about several doctors and hospitals and had decided that his patient reviews and that of the hospital were outstanding.  Don't think she was looking at 3rd-world medical services.  All these facilities meet or exceed any hospital you've ever seen, and many of the doctors are US board-certified specialists.  Of course, they are all Mexico board-certified.  She was so excited, and of course nervous, about checking in and meeting Dr. Joya.  I promised to check on her as she recovered in a beautiful resort (included in the price) for four days after the surgery.

I met up with her again three days post-op at the brand-new, beach-front luxury resort where she was waiting for the Dr. to stop by and check on her (yes, you heard me right.  The doctor was actually coming to her).  She looked wonderful and said she felt "great".  She told me that when she checked into the hospital (AmeriMed), she was amazed how beautiful it was.  She said it was more like a beautiful resort than a hospital.  All pre-op tests and the surgery were done right there and five hours after check-in, she was back in her room.  She laughed as she told me about how the beds were amazing.  "You know how crappy the beds are in the States, so hard.  Well, these had the memory foam toppers that made you happy to be sleeping."  She went on to tell me that the nurses were great and that if Americans ever get wind of this level of care, they "will be down here in droves".  The hospital was always being cleaned and she could not believe how beautiful her room was.  Again she said it was like being in a resort.

We said our good-byes and I took a last photo of her and made her promise to update me once she got home.  I was so happy for her and so excited for her future.  I told her to go home and throw away all her old clothes.  She deserves to get a new wardrobe (not sure what her husband will think of my idea).  So, I know by now, you are probably asking "Alright, already.  What did it cost?"  The whole thing, everything included except airfare was $6,000.  That is less than 1/3 of what she would have paid in the US and that included the resort for a week.  I was stunned.

So many people have asked me about this surgery, breast lifts, tummy tucks, face lifts and much more.  I am pleased to tell you that Puerto Vallarta is a wonderful place to come, have surgery at a fraction of the cost of these typically elective (and therefore, uninsured) surgeries, and recover in luxury.  In my opinion that is a pretty good deal.