Our Patient Process and Travel Itinerary

Your journey has officially started! Here is all the information about our patient process, surgeons, and much more.

Start Health Questionnaire

Steps to Scheduling Your Surgery Date

3 easy steps to being approved for surgery, given a final quote, and scheduling your appointment. If you have any questions or need help, please don’t hesitate to contact our amazing patient coordinators at 855-768-7247.

Fill out a Health Form

Once you complete the form online and submit it, we receive an electronic copy to review and will contact you with the results!

Start Health Form

Pick a Surgery Date

Once approved, your coordinator will send you an official “Approval” e-mail asking about which date(s) you are interested in for your procedure.

Pick a Date

Pay Your Deposit

So you picked your surgeon, chosen a surgery date, and are ready to book your surgery? Simply pay your $350 deposit safely online.

Make a Payment

Preparing for Your Surgery Date

Your Journey to Weight Loss Success Starts Here

Keep in touch with your coordinator if you have any changes in your medications, health status, travel plans, and any questions or concerns. Your coordinator will be happy to assist you in any way they can to assure that you are very prepared for your procedure.

Documents Needed Before You Travel

Have Your Documents Ready: Do take this time to make valid passports (book or card) are up to date, read the pre-op and post-op diets, and stock up on the items you will need the first couple of weeks when you return home.

  1. Complete the Consent Form
  2. Copy of Passport (Unless you have spoken to your Patient Coordinator and have arranged a different form of Identification)
  3. Copy of Flight Itinerary (Arrive in San Diego before 2:00 pm. Departure After 12:00 pm noon)
  4. Proof of Final Payment (14 days prior)

Learn more about Passport Requirements

What to Bring for Your Trip

Packing List: Pack lightly, and make sure that any laptops, notepads, or electronic devices are in travel cases with your name clearly on them. The hotel and hospital have the standard US outlets, free wi-fi, and free phone while at the hospital.

Make sure to pack a loose, comfy nightshirt, the role of medical tape, gauze, or larger bandages for sensitive skin, also a soft “sports bra” and take any medications you take on a regular basis with you in the original prescription bottles. It is not necessary to bring any drinks or foods with you to Tijuana; you can buy any sports drinks or juices once you arrive at the hotel.

Check out our Patient Recommended Packing List

Travel Itinerary for Bariatric Surgery in Mexico

DAY 1: Fly to San Diego!

Book your flights to and from San Diego, CA International Airport (SAN). Flight Instructions include;

  • ARRIVAL DATE: Before 12:00 pm (noon)
  • DEPARTURE DATE: After 2:00 pm

Once you arrive in San Diego, we take care of the rest. Our private driver will pick you up outside of the airport (along with a few other patients who have surgery), and drive you across the border. We have a medical lane pass, meaning we don’t have to wait with normal commute traffic.

We will take you directly to the hotel, just about 20 minutes across the border in Tijuana. At the hotel you will meet Karla, our patient coordinator in Mexico. She is amazing and will assist you with anything you need (including checking you into your room). Checking into any hotel will require that you have a credit card for a $100 security deposit; it will not be charged for anything unless you charge something to your room or cause damage.

You will be given an information sheet with all phone numbers in case you would like to contact them while anytime during your travel. Please give Karla your final payment cashier’s checks as needed to pay for the balance of your surgery. Periodically the coordinators will check in with you post-op to make sure you are doing great. They will also inform you what time to meet them in the lobby the morning of your surgery for a fun shuttle ride to the hospital!

Patients flying to Tijuana, Mexico for bariatric surgery
Dr. Louisiana Valenzuela Pre-Op with Patient - Hospital Mi Doctor

DAY 2: Surgery Day!

Once you arrive at the hospital, you’ll meet the patient advocate/coordinator, you might have a small wait in a general waiting room area and have a chance to talk and get acquainted with the other patients that are scheduled for surgery on that day.

Our patient advocate/coordinator will escort you to your hospital room, where you’ll be given a hospital gown, and have lab work done. The surgeons, anesthesiologists, and an internist will come in and do the pre-surgery consults. This is a very good time to ask any questions you might have for the doctors about restarting medication, vitamins, wound care, diet, and exercise. Then you will have your procedure done.

The process times will vary depending on which surgery you have, and you will be sleeping for several hours post-op. Make sure that you tell your family members back home that you will call them when you wake up, but you may be sleepy for several hours post-op. It is not customary for the hospital staff to call family members for you. You can use the phone for free at the hospital, just asks the nurse for the phone.

DAY 3: Recovery at Hospital

*For gastric bypass, mini gastric bypass, some revision surgeries, and duodenal switch surgery – stay one extra night at the hospital.

Make sure to walk, walk, walk post-op. The following day they will take you upstairs for a quick scan of the tummy to check for leaks. You will be given a small cup of contrast media (gastro graphene) to drink and also a CD of this scan to take home with you.

The doctor(s) or their surgical assistant will be the person checking in on you daily. The morning of your release, the physician(s) will check on you and depend on which doctor you have for your procedure; they will remove any drain tubes, but sometimes the surgeon may decide to leave the drain tubes in place for another day or two.

The nurses will dress your wounds, and you will be given a bag with antibiotics, pain medication, the CD of your leak test, procedure verification along with the doctor’s names, and email addresses. Make sure that you receive a patient bag “before” you leave the hospital because it is tough to obtain medical records once you leave the hospital. You will then take the shuttle back to the hotel along with your new “surgery buddies.”

Patient Before and After in Hospital with Dr. Alejandro Gutierrez
Hospital Mi Doctor in Tijuana Mexico - Mexico Bariatric Surgical Center

DAY 4: Released from Hospital and Stay at Hotel

Once back at the hotel you will “check in” again as your post-op patient process begins and you will have one night to rest and relax!! Remember that you will receive three bowls of broth, 3 Jellies and two bottles of water daily while at the hotel. The restaurant is lovely, and we encourage patients to have their broth in the restaurant. The patient coordinators will instruct you when to meet in the lobby for your return trip back up across the border.

Double checks your room before you leave for any personal items. You will be required to check out before you leave and turn in your room key card. There is a kiosk in the lobby to print your boarding passes for flights.

The driver has an exclusive license and dual insurances which will allow him to take you through the border in a special medical tourism line that lets us “Hopscotch” to the front of the line, but depending on the day and the time it will vary on the amount of time it will take to cross back into the United States.

DAY 5: Drop-Off at Airport for Flight Home!

Make sure whether you drive or fly back from San Diego to move your feet frequently!!! Stop and stretch out your legs or if traveling walk to the restroom often and make sure to keep hydrated.

Do not try to lift your bag into the car or overhead storage compartment, ask for assistance. Drink juice and water for the flight home. No coffee or tea.

COVID-19 Nurse with Personal Protective Equipement - Mexico Bariatric Center

Post-Op Diet (Back at Home)

We recommend patients to take 2 to 3 weeks off work (total starting from surgery day) for gastric sleeve. Although, for most patients it can be a lot less time. It all depends on how you feel. Please let us know if you need paperwork signed for medical leave from work!

A good rule of thumb for the post-op diet, starting from your surgery day;

  • Phase One (5 to 7 days): 1st week continues clear liquids
  • Phase Two ( 7 to 14 days): 2nd week add thick liquids to your diet.
  • Phase Three (14 to 21 days): 3rd week adds pureed foods and soft solids to your diet
  • Phase Four (21+ Days): 4th week add solid foods. Go slow when starting on solid foods again, remember you are trying to give your tummy time to heal and let the swelling go down.

Restart your medications as instructed by the doctors. If you are diabetic and use insulin, you may have to adjust the amounts as your dietary needs have changed. *Make sure to sip 64 ounces of clear fluids (like water) all day long.

Make sure to discuss with the doctor when to start daily vitamins, Hair, Skin & Nails (biotin), calcium chews, and sublingual B-12. Your stomach may be rumbly for several weeks!! Refer to the post-op diet plan for which foods to incorporate back into your diet.

If you have any questions regarding your post-op diet you can email them to the Mexico Bariatric Center, Dietitian/Nutritionist who can be found here. Any medical questions should be directed to the doctor or their assistants. Your patient coordinator can assist you in sending your questions to the physician. Finally, make sure to schedule a follow-up appointment with your primary care doctor within ten days of returning home.

Mexico Bariatric Center® is a U.S. Based Corporation started in 2012. Three of our surgeons are board-certified in bariatric and metabolic surgery – which is more than any other provider. Mexico Bariatric Center has performed more than 10,000 successful surgeries. That is the difference – giving the guaranteed lowest price for the highest-quality weight loss surgery package.

Our all-inclusive gastric bypass surgery package includes;

  • Starting at $4,795*
  • Ground Transportation
  • Accredited Hospital (2 nights)
  • Board Certified Surgeons
  • Bring a Companion Free
  • State-of-the-Art Medical Equipment
  • Anesthesiologist and Nurses
  • 4 Star Hotel (2-3 nights)
  • Aftercare Nutritionist and Support
  • No Hidden Costs

For Gastric Sleeve Surgery, here is you’re 5-Day Itinerary!

Day 1: Fly to San Diego. One of our Private Drivers will be waiting. 20 minute drive across the border to our facility. Get Pre-Op Testing. Sleep at Hyatt Hotel (few minute drive from our hospital.)

Day 2: Surgery Day! Stay the Night in Hospital.

Day 3: Recover in Hospital. Post-op testing and recovering. (For other surgeries you will stay one extra night at the Hospital.

Day: 4: Get released from hospital and we take you back to the hotel. Sleep at the Hyatt.

Day 5: Fly Home!

Step 1: Submit Health Questionnaire to get approved!

Step 2: Pick Surgery Date

Step 3: Make $350 Deposit

Mexico Bariatric Center operates at Hospital Mi Doctor, translated to ‘My Doctor Hospital’. Our hospital is both bariatric-specialized and full-service making it one of the best in Mexico for weight loss surgery.

All of our patients stay at the Hyatt Hotel in Baja California Tijuana. The Hyatt is a beautiful hotel in a lovely, safe region of Tijuana, Mexico. With an arrangement of shopping, corporate workplaces, restorative practices, and exciting entertainment– all just a short walk away.

To achieve the highest patient care possible, Mexico Bariatric Center offers the best bariatric surgeons who have shown impeccable care and understanding and unparalleled medical expertise. Each of our surgeons prides themselves on delivering the highest success rates, lowest complication rates while providing an affordable option.

World-Renown Surgeons

Surgeon’s experience and surgical technique matters. Collectively, our surgeons have performed over 10,000 successful bariatric surgeries. Trained and/or certified in the U.S. and are the well-known around the world.

Excellent Patient Care

Mexico Bariatric Center has patient care that is among the highest-rated and recommended in all of Mexico. There is a reason why we’re named the #1 bariatric provider based on reputation and trust.

Complete Support

Our surgeons and staff at Mexico Bariatric Center exclusively specialize in weight loss surgery in Mexico. The stories are incredible and the price is affordable. Pick your surgeon now by contacting us!