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Dulce Herrera had two dreams in life, to help his parents become US citizens and lose weight. Her parents say Herrera searched social media and found a Facebook group of people like her who were looking for weight loss surgery in Tijuana, Mexico.
“If she could hear me now, I would tell her not to,” said Maria Rodriguez, Herrera’s mother.
After online recommendations, Herrera crossed the border for gastric bypass surgery.
Her parents say Herrera died two weeks later in a Scottsdale hospital.
“Doctors told us that she suffered from a severe intestinal infection following an operation in Mexico,” said Jose Herrera.
Weight loss surgery is one of the top five medical treatments that Americans will have performed in other countries like Mexico.
Related: Amjmed.com- Medical tourists: incoming and outgoing
And it has to do with the cost, weight loss surgery costs $ 20,000 if a person does not have medical insurance or if they are not covered.
Related: Webmd.com – Paying for Weight Loss Surgery
Herrera’s family are now warning others about this medical treatment in other countries and the consequences that could be fatal.
“Do your research before having major surgery in other countries, think twice because you only live once,” Herrera said.
Bariatric surgeries are considered major operations, Dr David Pearson of the Mayo Clinic explains how the procedure works:
“We perform the surgery through several small incisions in the abdomen and in doing so we are able to create what becomes a very small stomach for the patient.”
Mayo Clinic
“We call it a gastric pouch; it ends up being around 30 to 50 milliliters in volume.
Mayo Clinic
“We basically create a gastric pouch the size of a golf ball, and in order for the food to go downstream from that new little stomach, we go up a piece of gut and connect it to that pouch, that gut is then reconnected. downstream with all the digestive juices that will mix with the food and allow people to have excellent nutrition while achieving excellent weight loss.
Mayo Clinic
But Dr Pearson says not everyone is a candidate. This surgery is an aggressive step for people who have struggled with chronic obesity all of their lives and is only part of the treatment.
Like any large-scale operation, the risks are significant, but rarely fatal.
“Fortunately, modern weight loss surgery is very safe, the risk of major complications is actually very very low when performed in a licensed center,” said Dr Pearson.
Herrera’s parents are unsure if their daughter has been to a certified weight loss surgeon.
“All we can do is share our story, maybe we can save someone else’s daughter,” Rodriguez said.
Dr Pearson says it’s important to do thorough research, he recommends The American College of Surgeons (ACS) to verify the certifications of bariatric surgery centers in the United States
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