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Total Hysterectomy
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I had to have a total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo oophorectomy (both ovaries removed) due to painful endometriosis that was severely hindering my life; the condition had also made me infertile. Due to my age, insurance wouldn't cover the procedure
in the states, so I went to Hospital de la Familia. This was my second hospital in Mexico, and since I've been hospitalized in the US also, there are some key differences that anyone considering going should be aware of. 1) If you don't speak Spanish, you
should try to bring someone who does. Both times I went alone and am not bilingual, and was assured that everyone spoke English, but that wasn't the case. Luckily, the patient coordinators Carlo and Marianne did, but they were not necessarily at my bedside;
after getting you checked in and checking on you once or twice a day, it's just you and your nurses, and the ones that do so speak English don't speak it fluently, so there is going to be definite communication issues. 2) The pain medication situation in Mexico
is much different from the US. Any medication with opiates (morphine, dilaudid, etc) which is standard pain management protocol is almost impossible to get in Mexico, and only an anesthesiologist can order it. My procedure was an extremely painful one, and
for most of my stay, I was only given Tramadol. After being on very strong pain meds in the US to manage my endometriosis, Tramadol was NOTHING and left me in extreme pain for most of my stay. Due to the communication breakdown, it was very hard to even get
something slightly more powerful, and had to wait until I could get a hold of Carlo. As soon as I did, he handled it quickly and got me slightly more powerful meds, but I was definitely in more pain after the procedure than if I'd been in the US. The big difference,
obviously, is that in the US a total laproscopy is an outpatient procedure, and at Hospital de la Familia I had 2 inpatient nights for monitoring. It all balances out. 3) The hospital is a beautiful facility. It looks brand new, and the the rooms are gorgeous.
Certain key things are different; there aren't machines to monitor IV fluids, like there is here, so you have to make sure your fluids are going in at the pace they should. Also, nurses don't round hourly here, and have shorter shifts, so there are three different
nurses per day versus two nurses per day in the US. They will come very quickly when you call, but don't put something off until they come in next, because they likely won't unless you're calling to request help or pain medication. 4) Due to the previously
mentioned different pain medication policy, don't expect to stock up on cheap pain medicine down there, or be sent home with anything specific. This is important if you're having a major procedure like I did and will have a prolonged, painful recovery. Make
sure you have plans in place with your primary care doctor to get necessary pain prescriptions, any stitches removed, etc. Overall, it was a positive experience. Carlo and Marianne were wonderful and very quick to respond if I needed them, Luis was a great
driving companion, and Dra Machado was genuinely concerned over my welfare. It was difficult for me personally, because she felt it was her duty as a doctor to talk me out of my decision of the procedure, but that's a personal trigger for myself and is unlikely
to happen for other patients/procedures, just mine.
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