Guillermo Alvarez Bariatric Surgeon MD

My surgery was Aug, 22, 2011, I have lost a total of 61 pounds since my journey began 1 month prior to surgery! I reserched this Doctor and the place a few months before I decided to do it.. I had several conversations with Susan the nurse/cordinator who helpped me plan everything and always answered any questions I had! Don't get me wrong I was scared to death of the surgery and going to Mexcico, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. Rosie picked my daughter and myself up and made us feel very comfortable on the ride from and too the airport, she answered questions we had and became a new friend.. We just fell in love with her! From the moment we met Dr. Alvarez and his staff we were treated like family, not patient/doctor, they went out of thier way to make sure we had everything we needed and were comfortable! Dr. Alvarez bedside manner is above any kind of treatment I have ever recieved here in the states! I went to sleep and woke up and surgery was done and I have had no pain and no side affects, I just eat far less than I used to and I am losing weight and happy and grateful I made the choice to have this done! I have nothing negitive to say about Dr. Alvarez or his staff or the Hospital in Mexcico, it was very clean by the way.... If you are thinking about doing this then I highly recomend Dr. Alvarez, he is so wonderful, he goes out of his way and really cares about you while your there and afterwards! I got a copy of his book and I wish I would have got it before surgery, very informative! Good Luck on your Journey

I am thrilled with my results. I had my surgery on the 15th of August 2011 with Dr. Alvarez in mexico it is now 8 weeks later and I have lost 39lbs so far! my overall experience was a very good one,I would highly recommend him! There is no problem crossing the border its very safe. I am a mother of a 7 year old and my mother traveled with me as my guest, I would never have gone if I wasn't 100% confident of our safety!!! right from the start everything was arranged for us, and all questions were answered without hesitation,or delay! the staff from Susan who coordinates your trip to Rosy their driver to nurses that tend to you, are all very professional. I am very happy that I had VSG and I truly LOVE my SLEEVE!!!
Thank-you Dr. Alvarez :)
Genny from Montreal,Canada

It took me over a year and a half of research before I selected a surgeon and decided to have the gastric sleeve performed. I am 100% certain that I chose the right doctor and procedure. Dr. Alavarez and his staff are amazing. From first contacting his office to post surgery questions they have been more than I could ever expect. So here is my experience from pre-op diet to 2 months post op:
I had to do a 7 day liquid diet prior to my surgery. I am not going to lie; day’s 1-3 sucked. But, by day 5 it was no big deal. I will admit there was a point for a few hours on day 3 were I thought about throwing the towel in, but thankfully I didn’t. This part of the whole process is as bad as it gets. It’s all uphill from there. On Monday, August 15, 2011, I arrived in Eagle Pass. I was met at a local hotel by Rosie (she is awesome). Within 10 minutes we were at Dr. Alvarez’s office in Mexico. I was very nervous, but after meeting Dr. Alvarez and his staff I felt at ease. After my consultation with Dr. A I was taken to have blood drawn, x-rays taken and meet the anesthesiologist. Afterwards I was taken to my private room the change and get ready for surgery. About an hour later I was given and IV and before I knew it I was waking up from surgery. As soon as I woke up I got up out of bed and walked up and down the hallway. I went back to bed and slept most of the rest of the day. Dr. A personally came and checked on me 6 times that day. The first night I was in and out of sleep but in no pain what so ever, I just felt a little groggy from the anesthesia and pain meds. The next morning I was awaken by Dr. A and his staff. Around noon we went and did my leak test. Everything was perfect. It was a trip to see in real time the fluid passing through my body down to my new, much smaller, stomach. After returning to my room, I was given ice chips to suck on. I would place a new ice chip in my mouth every 3 minutes like clockwork. I also walked the halls every hour on the hour. That evening I was allowed to start drinking water. It took me almost 2 hours to finish a 500ml bottle of Fiji which I brought from home. Sip…..wait 3 minutes and repeat. Dr. A came and said goodnight after checking on me personally that day several times. I was given something to sleep at about 9pm. The next thing I knew, it was 7am and time to wake up and drink my juice. I drank as much of the juice as I could that morning, but couldn’t finish it all. I was allowed to take a shower before my discharge. After I was showered and all packed up, Dr. A. came and met with me and another person who had the procedure done the same day as I did. He gave us our discharge instructions as well as personal contact numbers and emails. Dr. A’s staff helped us downstairs and loaded us on his van which was taking us back to Eagle Pass. The return took about 30 minutes because of customs. Once we arrived back in Eagle Pass I was met by friends who drove me back home to Houston. On my way back I sent Dr. A and email and he personally responded within minutes. I do not feel I would have received this kind of service in the states. Once I arrived home I got in bed and tried to drink as much water as possible before going to sleep. The next two days I stayed in bed as much as possible and took all of my medications. By Friday evening I had discontinued my pain medication and returned to work. The next month of post op diet was quite a change for me. I had no physical hunger what so ever. However as the time went by and I felt more comfortable with my sleeve I would get head hunger from time to time. This is all psychological. It takes time for your head to realize that you do not need to eat all the time. I am 2 months post op and have gone from 260 to 206. I have only 26 more pounds to go until I hit my goal of 180. This has been the best decision I have ever made. Here are some words of advice: follow the pre and post op diet and instructions. If you follow the instructions (like I have) you will be a rock star and this will be an easy process. I hydrate, eat as instructed to do so and work out a few times a week. If you select Dr. A, read his book. Everything in there is spot on!
Concerns about Mexico: The few people I told about going to Mexico for surgery were very concerned which is reason able. First, Piedras Negras is completely safe. I had no issues while I was there and felt safe and secure the whole trip. Second, the hospital is very clean and has a very competent and friendly staff. The hospital itself is an older building. It reminds me of an older government building in the states. Although the building is old, it is extremely clean and equipped with all the latest medical equipment. The rooms are nothing special, but they are clean and comfortable. My room had a nice hospital bed, futon couch, personal tv with cable and private bathroom.
Please take your time and do your research to find out which procedure is best for you and to select the right surgeon. For me it was the gastric sleeve and Dr. Guillermo Alvarez. I hope this helps you and I wish you the best of luck on your journey. It’s an amazing ride!

Hola, mi nombre es Pedro Rodríguez, tengo 36 años y me realice la operacion de Manga Gastrica. Ahora tengo casi 2 meses de operacion y mi peso es de 131.900 kg. cuando el dia 1 de Agosto antes de la dieta inicial estaba en 158.000 kg. Esta etapa que considero corta ha sido increible porque me han sucedido cambios maravillosos en la salud desde pequeños como dejar de roncar, tener sueño durante el dia, hasta los mas mas significativos como la normalizacion de la presion arterial. Todavia falta mucho, pero para el corto tiempo el avance me parece bastante, he bajado 2 tallas y eso me ha permitido mejorar la autoestima y las ganas de salir adelante.
Estare platicando lo que suceda en el tiempo venidero porque tengo la firme creencia que lo bueno apenas empieza !!

¡Hola! Tengo 26 años. Yo siempre fui muy feliz ya que el estar gordita nunca fue una preocupación para mi, pero dentro de mí había una frustración que yo no dejaba salir por que no aceptaba que estaba obesa. Solo pensaba que estaba un poco gordita. Yo era de las personas que nunca me subía a las basculas, hice miles de dietas, conocí muchisimos productos que dicen que te adelgazan con gotitas y chochitos pero te quitan la tortilla, el pan, el arroz y todo lo bueno de la vida.

Me recomendaron la cirugia de la manga gastrica, me decidí y fui con el Dr. Alvarez. Pesaba 87.2 Kg. y mi estatura es de 1.64 cm. Dejé de fumar y me dieron una dieta a base de liquidos, la cual respete.

Me opere el dia 16 de septiembre de 2011, al dia de hoy tengo un peso de 79.5 Kg, y solamente tengo 3 semanas de operada, estoy emocionada al ver los cambios que he tenido en estos dias ....

Mayra Núñez

I am a nurse and was very skeptical of having surgery in Mexico. I did lots of research on Dr.A and also had a friend who recommended him.I honestly could'nt find 1 negative thing about him. From the very beginning talking to Susan to gettting on plane to come home, everything went very well. Dr. A and his associates have the best bedside manners, not something I can say I see in the US. Either Dr.A or his associate came by atleast twice a day to visit. I was very pleased with how he and his colleagues handle themselves and the nurses as well. I felt very confident in the care that I recieved and would 100% recommend him.

I heard about Dr. Alvarez from a friend in my hometown. I discovered that there were several people in my local area that had used Dr. Alvarez and I asked their opinions as well. Not one had anything negative to say about their experience. This made me suspicious, of course, so I sought out more information to find the flaw which I knew had to exist. I found nothing negative about Dr. Alvarez and his staff.

I was self-pay so I scheduled my surgery and had it done on August 1, 2011. I must say I have never had a medical procedure that was so well organized and efficient. Nothing went amiss and I had very little discomfort.

One of the unique things I found about Dr. Alvarez is his personal involvement with his patients. He remembered every patient from my home town and even kept in touch with many of them since their surgeries. I never found him to "repeat" himself as if all of his information was rehearsed so I knew I wasn't just a name on a chart or the next one in line. I never felt the assembly line feeling you sometimes get with very busy physicians or practices.

While I was there, a patient next door to me had an emergency situation (a blood clot) that was dealt with very efficiently and quickly. She actually had the blood clot for several months but never had it treated, and Dr. Alvarez and his peers took care of her with such intensiveness. Her mother is a nurse and was with her. They were both convinced that if they had not used Dr. Alvarez that the results of the blood clot would have been fatal.

I had searched in both Memphis and Little Rock for a surgeon, but none had the amount of experience with the gastric sleeve that Dr. Alvarez had. I am so pleased with my choice and feel blessed to have found him. I would recommend him without reservation to anyone wanting to change their life with WLS.

The experience was great! No problems and everything was completely safe! They handled everything from airport pickup to hotel to hospital to return to airport. It was very smooth and worry free. The surgery went very well, no problems at all. I was up and about a few hours after surgery and pain free. I did not have to have any type of drains, only an IV for fluids. Everyone was top notch! The room was clean and had everything that you need. My husband had a comfy bed to sleep. My husband was fine hanging out wth my surgery buddy's husband. They had a great time. At the hospital, the nurses were great and everyone was very attentive to my needs. I could not have had a better experience, it was perfect! So far I am 8 days post-op and doing really well. My incisions are very tiny and healing very well. Overall I feel great. I would highly recommend Dr. Alavarez for the VSG.

I had my surgery Saturday morning about 11:00 and felt up to walking by 3:30. Today I feel like I could conquer the world already. Very little pain by the incision where the cut away stomach exited but other than that I could tell I even had surgery 24 hours ago. Love my experience!!!

I would just like to say that my experience was absolutely great! Dr. Alvarez is so compassionate and caring. His assistant surgeon, Dr. Rosales was absolutely great as well. The patient coordinator that you will talk with during the whole process is Susan and she is an absolute dream. Whenever I had any questions I would email her and she would email me right back with answers. Dr. A's nurses speak fluent English and Spanish and were such dolls. The other nurses in the hospital came in to give meds and such and were unbelievably sweet too. The hotels that we stayed in were very very nice and Rosy the driver is awesome! She has a great personality and was fun to talk to. The hospital room is a suite which had everything we needed or wanted. Our own full bathroom, a fridge for my hubby, a tv, our own computer with free wi-fi, and there's a phone that you can make free long distance calls on! My husband ventured out, had lunch and dinners with my surgery buddy's husband and felt safe. Everyone was so attentive and I thoroughly enjoyed my experience. It was easy and I would recommend Dr. Alvarez to anyone looking in to doing this surgery.