Travelling can help cure Medical Costs
By TRACY CORREA – Fresno Bee -Â June 19, 2007 Tuesday
Three years ago, James Dodd of Hanford, Calif., weighed more than 400 pounds.
He had trouble breathing at night and doing work around his house. He was desperate for help.
But when Dodd, 54, started looking into lap-band weight-reduction surgery for relief, his insurance company denied coverage, calling the procedure “experimental.”
An Internet search for alternatives turned up Bajanor Hospital in Tijuana, Mexico, where doctors perform the procedure for $7,200 — less than the $37,000 he said he was quoted at the time.
He got the surgery and is happy with the results, despite serious complications.
“Everything in life is a risk,” said Dodd, now recovered and slimmer. He said he also could have had complications in the United States, adding, “It would have bankrupted me here.”
Dodd ran into some difficulty after his operation. He had serious complications after he returned home to Hanford. His stitches opened up, and his local doctor suggested he go back to Mexico to see his surgeon.
He had several additional surgeries there and eventually a sleeve gastrectomy to replace the lap-band. He ended up staying in Mexico for about three months.
Today, he talks about his Mexican surgery experience matter-of-factly, boasting of his less-than-200-pound weight on his 5-foot 9-inch frame.
“My quality of life has gone up 100 percent. I’m thinking about cruises,” he said, something he would have never considered before.
Dodd said the hospital didn’t charge for treating his complications and the additional hospital stay. “Jimmy, you were our guest,” he said doctors told him
