63 Years Old, TT and Lower Face Lift Possible Breast Aug with Dr Quiroz Tijuana

A bit of background: In 2013 I went to Mexico for a gastric sleeve surgery after going through all of the necessary work in an attempt to have the procedure covered by my insurance which was was denied. The clinic I went to in Tijuana was just that, a clinic, had I not wanted the surgery so much I may have walked away but my heart overruled my mind and I had it done, for $10,000 less than quoted in Florida. I had absolutely no issues and went about my life. Two years later and after losing 80 pounds I wanted some cosmetic surgery to get rid of sagging face, breasts and tummy. I am a very happy, active 64 year old, married, professional woman with a great life, I thought this would make me happier. The Good: I did my research and after talking to many people and doctors, I decided on Cosmed mainly because of good references but what also appealed to me was the Recovery Boutique Hotel, in the same building, no running back and forth in a car to the Dr. for follow up. I loved the idea. I planned to stay 10 days. When arriving at Cosmed it is what appears to be, a hospital. Immaculate, 4 story building, security guards at the door, I felt safe. Upon arrival I was treated professionally and had a meeting with Dr. Quiroz to discuss the procedures. We discussed what my primary focus was, my tummy tuck and fat above the waistline around the rib cage, then we discussed the other issues. My face had the jowly look the women in my family get as they age so Dr. Q suggested a lower face lift. Then Dr. Q said "what are we going to do about the breasts?" I asked if it was too much to be done at once and he said absolutely not. I checked in. The Hotel is very Zen like. Warm and cozy feeling, dark wood, separate rooms with 2 beds for most patients. I was shown a private room that opened to a walled garden. It was lovely. The attendants/nurses were lovely. I was very happy, I was then taken to a beautiful room and had a massage to relax and back to my room to wait for surgery the next morning. During my recover the room was great, the nurses were great and the food was good. Surgery, The bad begins: I woke from my surgery in a room alone and in terrible pain. I could hardly move after 3 major cosmetic surgeries. No nurse call button. I called and yelled, nothing. I finally twisted around enough to get to the phone and it did not work, I took the phone receiver and banged it against the bed frame until someone came and finally gave me a pain medication shot. The next thing I remember is waking in my room. I must add here that the nursing care while in my room was incredibly gentile and caring the pain medication however was not enough. Thank God I brought 90 percocette with me as a back up. Bad: On the 3rd day after surgery one of my facial drains on the side came out when my hair was being washed by the nurse. The Dr. was not concerned, on the 5th day a Sunday I woke in tremendous pain with a very high fever, the head nurse was called at about 8 in the evening. The Dr. was not there. Apparently an infection started in the drain site and by the next day I had a huge welt that looked as swollen as a big pink cigar across my neck. It was very, very painful. Dr Q had to insert a drain with a syringe attached to suck out the infection in my neck, also very painful. This was on day 7, I was informed that I should cancel my flight and stay to treat the infection. I was very weak and sick from the infection, I cancelled my flight. My body's healing eventually progressed and with high doses of antibiotics the infection started to clear up a bit. I was finally cleared to go home after 17 days in the recovery center WITH STITCHES STILL IN MY ABDOMEN! I asked who would remove the stitches and Dr. Q said "don't worry anyone can remove them". I was so ready to go home after 17 days, I thought I would work it out when I got home. The very very bad: I came home to heal, took it easy which is when things got really rough. First, no one wanted to remove the stitches, no Doctor wanted anything to do with me. There were some stitches very deep in the navel area which I had to go to a cosmetic surgeon to remove who, by the way, was simply awful to me when I said I went to Mexico for surgery. I ended up taking some out and the nasty cosmetic surgeon took out the rest. The very very very bad: At about 15 days home I started to get large hideous infections along the abdomen Tummy Tuck incision. Huge puss filled infections I had as many as 4 or 5 at a time 2 on each hip and many across the middle. I had a series of Doctors trying to figure out what was going on and finally an infectious disease Dr diagnosed that some internal stitches were not dissolving and my body was trying to expel them. I am attaching pictures to show how bad this was. Enormously painful. I had MRI's and lot's of antibiotics, the infections continued. I was feeling terrible. Dr Q called me and when I told him what was wrong he said "come back here and let me make this right, I will fix it and there will be no charge but your plane ticket" I was at a loss this was late January, 3 months after my surgery. I went back to Cosmed for a correction. I was treated much cooler than I had been on my first trip. The Dr. was disappointed when I arrived and expected to have surgery that day as planned, when he saw me he had blood on his coat to discuss my corrective treatment. He obviously did not want to do the surgery that day as planned and it showed. However he did the surgery and I was put in a room in the recovery hotel. I won't go into the tedious things that happened in that trip and in the hotel but he said "I think I got all of them" (the non dissolving stitches) he did not. I have been in treatment by a general surgeon for 6 months now to remove deeply set stitches that continue to make huge infections in my lower abdomen. The most recent about 2 months ago, 10 months after surgery. I have another appointment next week to see if deep scar tissue, from one of the infections, which is causing me pain every single day whenever I move, can be corrected. The attached pictures do not show how painful this was. In late January I woke with pain in my leg which was diagnosed as sciatic pain caused by a disc fragment pressing on the spinal nerve. The neurologist suggested this could have been caused by "rough treatment on the operating table in January", I had no history of Sciatica before this. I had to have another surgery to correct this problem. I have spent thousands of dollars to recover from this mess, I am not finished yet. In the end I could have had the surgery done here in Florida and would have paid about the same as I now have invested and had less trouble, pain and lingering side effects that going to Cosmed. I would have had Doctors who I could see on a regular basis and had necessary follow up. Don't go to Mexico for surgery, I beg you. Look at these pictures, they do not show the terrible pain I endured for months and months and am still having to take care of and will need to have another medical procedure done, 1 year later. The face lift has healed and although I look better my face is not symmetrical, one side is different from the other, the breast lift is nice but the scars are very large, itchy and fiery red, the tummy tuck has been a nightmare and I STILL have the flabby area around my rib cage which is one of the main reasons I went!

It has been 4 1/2 weeks since surgery. What a wild time. I am still taking occasional pain meds. Tummy tuck is disappointing, above my navel is soft and flabby, I expected that to be gone. Face lift is really interesting. I am numb from my mouth to my ears and down to my neck. One side is more so than the other, I almost look like I've had a stroke when I talk, hopefully that is temporary. Breasts are fine. I like the size but they too ache most of the time although that is dissipating with time. I am very swollen along the incision line on the TT area front and sides, I know that will get better with time. I hope I am as happy in a couple weeks as I was when I was stoned on pain killers and posted all that stuff right after my surgery!!

For those of you choosing to come to Mexico for plastic surgery please think long and hard about anyone who tells you you can come by yourself go to a hospital then go to a hotel because you be able to take care of yourself do not believe them this is a strenuous emotionally and physically exhausting experience the recovery boutique here at Cosmed has been everything I hoped it would be times 10 it's a beautiful place I love love love Dr Quiroz the staff is compassionate kind knowledgeable your meals are brought right to you the doctor sees me sometimes 2 or 3 times per day I am so happy I made this decision I just looked at the photos before my surgery and must say I really forgot thow awful I looked I'll post new pictures later I'm delighted with the decision to come to Cosmed and to use Dr Quiroz. The fees here maybe a few hundred dollars more than other places but the service the care everything is so so worth it