Bariatric Tourism

Guatemala is located just South from Mexico. Daily flights arrive within 3 hours from Florida, Georgia, Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Arizona, New Mexico, California and several major cities in the United States (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, and New York) and from many other locations around the country.

Your safety is our number one concern. You will be on the hands of experienced medical and paramedic personnel during your stay in Guatemala. All the members of our multidisciplinary obesity surgery group have trained in the United States.  We are proudly one of the most complete and experienced obesity surgery team in Latin America.

Besides, the residents and nurses are constantly receiving training in order to update their knowledge so that they can provide the optimal care to our patients.

You will have your obesity surgery at a private, state-of-the art hospital that works under the most rigorous hygiene and safety norms of any hospital in the United States. In addition, it is equipped with the most advanced medical technology available.

Most insurance companies will not cover for your obesity surgery in Guatemala, even international insurance companies. Very few of them will cover it as a reimbursement, not as a direct payment.

We would happily fill out any paperwork needed for reimbursement by your insurance company either before or after your obesity surgery.

Absolutely. This type of service is a great alternative especially for self-paid patients. Including your plane fare, preoperative evaluation, hotel, surgery, equipment needed for the obesity surgery, and hospital fees, it will be at least half of what you would normally pay for an operation in most hospitals in the United States, with the same safety and effectiveness as if you had your obesity surgery in your own country.  Guatemala is among the most affordable countries in Latin America.

No, you do not need a visa to travel to Guatemala unless you are planning on staying for over 6 months.

No, you do not need to vaccinate before coming to Guatemala unless you are planning on taking a tour around the country before having your obesity surgery.

Then vaccination against typhoid and malaria may be recommended 4-6 weeks before your trip.

Otherwise, you will be transported from the airport to the hotel, then to the hospital, back to the hotel, and then back to the airport.

No. Your health is our number one concern. Therefore, your trip has been carefully planned to the last detail. You will be at the care of a very professional team. Someone will be with you at all times. During your stay, the comfort and care will be that of a 5-star hotel.

Your food will be selected by us and cooked under the strictest norms of hygiene. Additionally, you will be provided bottled water throughout your stay in Guatemala.

Obesity surgery requires a thorough preoperative evaluation in order to verify that you are in shape to withstand the operation and to assure that everything is in order for a normal postoperative recovery.

This includes a general blood work (CBC, SMA-28, PT, PTT), chest X-Ray (frontal and lateral view), an upper abdominal ultrasound, and an EKG. Depending on your initial evaluation, specific tests may be requested (i.e., cardiac echo, sleep apnea study, glucose tolerance test, etc.)

Seldom is the case when a specialist requires giving you a specific treatment in order to control an obesity-related disease (i.e., diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, etc) before your surgery.

However, in some cases you will need some time to control one or more of these disorders. If you have any obesity-associated disease, it would be wise to have a check-up with your primary care physician before traveling to Guatemala in order to make sure that everything is OK to have your obesity surgery.

There is no need for you to bring a travel companion. However, most people do. You can bring as many people as you want.

Nonetheless, it would be important for you to provide us with the information of whether you come alone or not in order for us to be able to prepare the best travel arrangements that fit your needs.

Absolutely. Tourism is one of Guatemala’s major businesses, and most people here speak fluent English. Anyways, a translator will be provided since your arrival to the airport and he/she will accompany you throughout your stay with us here in Guatemala, especially during your stay at the hospital.

Upon your arrival to Guatemala you will receive a cell phone with Dr. Gonzalez’s cell phone on speed dial. You will be able to contact him at any time and he, not his assistants, will answer every single of your phone calls.

We will provide you with the cell phone number so you can also give it to your family. They can call at any time to see how you are doing.

• DAY #1: Flights arriving from the US usually land late in the afternoon; therefore, we will be able to do very little on that day. You will spend the night at the hotel.
• DAY #2: Preoperative workup and evaluations with our specialists. You will be admitted to one of the hospital suites.
• DAY #3: Your obesity surgery will be scheduled first thing in the morning.
• DAY #4: The length of the time at the hospital will depend on your type of surgery. If you have a gastric banding, you will spend the night of your surgery at the hospital and you will be discharged to the hotel.
• DAYS #5-6: If you have a sleeve gastrectomy or a gastric bypass surgery, you will spend two additional nights at the hospital before being discharged to your hotel.
• The day following your discharge, Dr. Gonzalez will visit you at the hotel and to evaluate you and see if you are fit to fly back home the next day. However, you are most welcome to stay with us as long as you like.

The recovery time will depend on your type of surgery and the technique (open vs laparoscopic) to perform your surgery.

The following information is based on the average time that takes our patients to return to a full normal activity

Type of surgery	Recovery time
Laparoscopic gastric banding	5 – 7 days
Laparoscopic vertical sleeve gastrectomy	6 – 8 days
Open vertical sleeve gastrectomy	8 – 10 days
Laparoscopic gastric bypass	8 – 10 days
Open gastric bypass	10 – 12 days

Although some physicians do not accept patients unless they have their obesity surgery with them, most surgeons will be happy for you to have your follow-up with them.

Dr. Gonzalez knows surgeons all over the United States and will be able to refer you to a qualified physician who will take good care of you when you go back home.

Additionally, we work with iBariHealth, an extensive network of bariatric surgeons all over the United States that help us with support and follow-up of our obesity surgery patients once they leave Guatemala.  (for mor information visit www.ibarihealth.com)

You will be able to contact the registered dietitian from our obesity surgery team either by phone or by e-mail. Before your departure, the dietitian will hand you a detailed set of instructions so you will know what to eat after your specific obesity surgery.

Depending on your type of surgery, you will learn what to eat, how much to eat, how often you can eat, and especially, what types of foods to avoid following your operation.

Yes. Obesity is many times associated with infertility, especially if you suffer from polycystic ovarian syndrome. By losing weight you increase your chances of getting pregnant. However, we strongly recommend allowing at least one year following your obesity surgery (especially if you undergo gastric bypass) before attempting getting pregnant.

In patients with gastric banding, the Lap-Band is deflated (opened) from the beginning until the end of the pregnancy. This allows the mother to nourish herself and the baby. After the delivery, the Lap-Band is inflated again.

Depending on your preoperative BMI, how long have you been overweight, and how much weight you lose after your obesity surgery, you will have different amount of excess skin.

Most patients do seek having a tummy tuck after losing weight. Albeit we encourage plastic surgery in patients for cosmetic reasons, we also recommend it because of hygienic reasons. Loose skin usually stays moist, many times promoting fungal infections.

Nevertheless, surgical removal of loose skin is recommended until you stop losing weight, which usually occurs beyond one year after having your surgery.

A US-trained plastic surgeon is part of our multidisciplinary obesity surgery team.  You could contact him for any questions or concerns before, during or after your trip to Guatemala.