I first noticed some discomfort in December a few days before we left on our trip, and by February there was enough swelling that I went to a clinic in Auckland. The diagnosis? I had a direct inguinal hernia. There was no immediate danger, but I would need a surgery to repair it. Travel insurance covered the trip to the clinic for the diagnosis, but it wouldn’t cover the surgery itself. I sent a note to a friend whose wife is a doctor asking whether medical tourism seemed like a good option. The response was yes. It’s a common and low-risk surgery. Knowing our upcoming itinerary, I looked at Mexico and soon settled on Salutaris Medical Center in Guadalajara.
We arrived Wednesday night, and I scheduled some tests for Thursday followed by surgery on Friday. We’re staying a 15-minute walk from the clinic and headed over at 9a on Thursday. We met the surgeon almost immediately. He confirmed the diagnosis, ran vitals (blood pressure, pulse), drew blood for a lab and took a urine sample. He was very confident that I would have a straightforward surgery and seemed relieved at my condition. He made a comment that they’re always a bit nervous about the Americans who schedule remotely since we don’t seem to always present the healthiest candidates. And while Americans may not be the healthiest, we also have a healthcare system that forces unhealthy candidates to seek out alternatives like medical tourism.
We came back at 7a Friday for the surgery. I met the anethesiologist who was under the impression he was meeting a 200 *kilogram* candidate (440 pounds) and not a 200 pound candidate. Something was lost in translation. Perhaps he had to reduce the dosage! Here am I just before being wheeled down to surgery.
They wheeled me in and I guess I expected some warning that the process was beginning but it all just goes suddenly blank. I woke up in recovery – it also seemed very sudden – a bit after 11. A nurse said “todo bien” and I went back under. Leena had returned around 11:40a and I woke up soon after. I was really thirsty and they let me have just a sip of water. That was good, since it almost came back up. I complained about the oxygen mask and that came off about 15 minutes later. I slept for a couple of hours and was then able to sit up, eat lunch, and have some water and juice.
They had me on an IV with fluids and pain meds, so it wasn’t too uncomfortable. By evening I was even able to stand up a walk a bit. I slept pretty well.
I was discharged today (Saturday) after some breakfast and we walked back to our place (slowly) with a stop at the pharmacy for a couple of prescriptions for the next week. The surgery was laparoscopic with three incisions in my lower abdomen. I’m sore and a bit swollen and/or bloated. But it’s not too bad for just a day post-op. I head back on Friday to have stitches removed and we’re planning to head out to the beach for some more recovery time. I should be fully recovered in about three weeks.