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Hernia update


Fred Habacht

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Thank you for the advice and input.....I went to Dr. Valenzuela at Quality Care. He quote a price of 25000mp which is about 1500.oo usd plus another few dollars/pesos for lab. This all includes the surgery, the hospital stay of one night and any follow up as needed. My Met Life agent Andre Bellon will pick me up and bring me back home.

The comparable operation and costs in the USA is 14,000 usd. I would have rather not learned about about all this but a hernia can not be cured with aspirin so now I am aware of the current costs. Contact me with any questions if you are facing a similar problem.

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This is one big reason why we all say the 'cost of living is better in Mexico'..... but of course if one had Medicare in the US the cost would be close to zero.

However; if you stay out of hospitals, the cost of living NoB is shockingly high. I have VA and my wife has Medicare Advantage, and that is tolerable; although not the quality and personal care that we grew accustomed to in Mexico. The frightening discovery is the cost of groceries, taxes, utilities, etc. We sure miss Chapala.

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Thank you for the advice and input.....I went to Dr. Valenzuela at Quality Care. He quote a price of 25000mp which is about 1500.oo usd plus another few dollars/pesos for lab. This all includes the surgery, the hospital stay of one night and any follow up as needed. My Met Life agent Andre Bellon will pick me up and bring me back home.

The comparable operation and costs in the USA is 14,000 usd. I would have rather not learned about about all this but a hernia can not be cured with aspirin so now I am aware of the current costs. Contact me with any questions if you are facing a similar problem.

25,000.00 mxn seem low. Most hospitals are 20,000 mxn for an overnight stay. The balance left for the surgeon seem very small. My recent prostate surgery and overnight stay was 50,000. Maybe you should check that the estimate is right. Andre Bellon could do this for you

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I just read an article on the news saying the income needed to stay above the poverty level in most of the U.S. is around $53,000 (U.S.) In addition, Medicare full coverage is not free, nor are drugs. You don't need a calculator to figure out you can live better in Mexico on much less.

IMO, the only good reason to return to the States is missing family, or possibly having some type of medical care available there which you can't get in Mexico. Whenever I get a nostalgia moment for CA, all I have to do is look at the current real estate market there. Chuckle. :unsure:

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Re the price: I have pre-paid the hospital with my credit card; have paid for the lab at Chopo; have paid Dr.Briseno to get his approval for my operation and will leave the pesos for Dr. Valenzuela at Quality care....Andre Bellon will take me and pick me up at NC....the total cost is as I quoted it unless there are complications.....

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MY hernia is on the left side of my groin...so this will be an operation on one side only. The doctor offered both types of surgery Laproscopic and open surgery. due to the way my muscle was torn in that area he suggested that open surgery would be better because he would have more area to move around in...mesh will be inserted, as it usually is, and the healing will take longer than laproscopic but he feels that recurrence can be more readily avoided. He predicts that I will be up and walking the same day as my operation is done, but wanted to keep me overnight to observe me....also, our bedrooms are on the second floor and this would give a chance to avoid climbing steps the first day. Estimated return to full recovery is 3 to 4 weeks....with no driving for 4-7 days and no lifting of more than a kilo or two until the 2nd week and longer if I have discomfort. My age is a factor....but only for the healing times.....these operations are very common and enjoy, I am told, a great success rate.

Returning to the lovely USA or not returning was never an option. This is where we live and where our doctors are. As RV Gringo has oft repeated...."these doctors are hard to replace..." I am treated as a friend as well as a patient.

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If Andre Bellon (the insurance agent)is involved, is an insurance policy he sold you (I'm assuming MET LIFE) paying for part of the surgery?

This quote seems very low. May I ask what hospital?

Clinica del Pilar, a small outpatient surgical clinic (clean and inexpensive) will charge about 15,000 for hospitalization and OR plus materials. I use this clinic for it's proximity to other major hospitals in the event of a complication/emergency.

A good mesh for a hernia repair is approx. 4,000.

So, that's about $19,000 without the surgical team and anesthetist fees.

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My deductible is just a tad higher than this event, so I am self insuring on this one. We chose a higher amount to keep our annual costs down. Andre Bellon performs the service I receive from him because he is an amazing customer oriented agent and friend, The surgeon chose Santa Ana, where he is affiliated at....I could have asked for many other locations but I trust his choice.....

The price is fair...but my vet offered to do it for less but I always come home with fleas when she does the work....LOL

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I paid $5200 USD 2 years ago in PV where Dr. Jolla repaired my hernia with mesh. In at 11:00 on Saturday morning and home in a cab at 4:30 that afternoon with no pain. Back to hospital the next day in cab for cleaning of the drain and bag and then felt so good we walked back home, about 1 mile. Total cost including everything from pre-op, hospital, surgeon, anesthesiologist (as important if not more than the surgeon, not many surgeons kill you on the table but the other guy does!) and post-op follow up including photos to the US insurance company that thought I was scamming them.

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Re the price: I have pre-paid the hospital with my credit card; have paid for the lab at Chopo; have paid Dr.Briseno to get his approval for my operation and will leave the pesos for Dr. Valenzuela at Quality care....Andre Bellon will take me and pick me up at NC....the total cost is as I quoted it unless there are complications.....

If you have Andre, does that mean you have insurance with him? Did you have a deductible which then the insurance paid the rest?

Some people cannot afford the insurance premium so pay all of it.

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