- Name: Jessica Manuel-Devecioglu
- Age: 42
- Surgery: Gastric Sleeve
- Surgery date: March 20th, 2018
- Testimonial date: March 28th, 2018
- Surgeon: Dr. Mario Almanza
My thought is that there are 2 types of people reading these testimonials:
1- those that are still trying to decide if this surgery is right for them and
2- those that are trying to find out if going out of the country and spending less money is a safe option.
So a little information for both:
1- My weight in December 2017 hit 330 pounds and I was mortified as this is the highest I had every been; I weighed in day before surgery March 19th at 280 pounds and as of Monday 26th at my doctor my weight is down to 264 pounds - Doing the math that is a total of 66 pounds down to date.
2- This hospital was specifically built where it is to allow for the reduced prices in a safe and clean environment. If anyone has any questions please feel free to reach out to me at anytime: jesslyn235@aol.com
A little background on my situation: in 2006 I had a lap-band placed and I did really well with this dropping 97 pounds. In 2015 I started experiencing complications which stopped me from eating, I started eating whatever I could get to go down smoothly (Ice Cream) and gained more then 50 pounds. It was then that I started researching making the change from the lap-band to the gastric sleeve. I started visiting the nutritionist monthly as required by my insurance. After completing 5 out of 6 visits however my body took a turn and forced me to make a change. I went into the hospital where they cut my lap-band open and it exploded with scar tissue. This had not been seen on any scans. The doctors cleaned away the scar tissue and left the band in place; they told me when I woke that I should be fine and the surgeon likes to see the band in place when they convert to the sleeve. The next day however I woke up in so much pain I went back to the hospital and told them take it out. That was 2 and a half years ago. In December of 2017 I had gained all of the weight I had lost plus more that I definitely hadn't wanted. It was time to make a change. I went through the process of self pay in NYC where it was going to cost me $20K to have the surgery and my health insurance does not cover any bariatric surgery. When I was told in February that I was not receiving a bonus or a pay increase I understood that there was no way I was going to be able to have the surgery unless I found a cheaper alternative. That is when I found WLA; for days upon days I read patient testimonials. I felt as though all I could find where older testimonials so I emailed them and asked for more recent patient information. I never thought I would be considering going outside of the country to have surgery. I was luck in that the diet that Dr Almanza asked me to be on for 24 days I had started in January after seeing the nutritionist in NY. I had found Premium Protein Shakes that I highly recommend. I scheduled my surgery within 2 weeks and booked my flights. My mother joined me for my travels; they ask you to make your return flight for after 12pm, make it as close to 12 pm as possible. I decided that I was going to upgrade my return but the only way to do this was to depart on a 10pm flight and this caused us to sit at the airport for 10 hours.
Whatever you decide I wish you the best of luck in your journey.
Jessica
* This is an actual testimonial, however, your results may vary. For more information, please read our Testimonial Disclaimer and Risks of Surgery.