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Last year Cathleen Adams weighed 176kg before deciding to fly to Mexico for weight loss surgery.
She was otherwise fairly healthy, but getting “more depressed with my weight”, and was told she wouldn’t be eligible for a publicly-funded bariatric procedure in Aotearoa.
In May, the 44-year-old spent about $12,000 total to travel from Napier to Tijuana with her mum, where Dr Mario Camelo of Tijuana’s Oasis of Hope Hospital performed the procedure. The entire trip cost half the estimated price of surgery back home.
She said six other Kiwi women were at the same hospital at the time.
Auckland-based surgeon Dr Ben Wheeler told Stuff the number of people having bariatric procedures has increased in recent years, so a surge in surgical tourism would also make sense.
He said Kiwi surgeons do not have access to actual numbers, however.
The “main” type of weight loss surgery is a sleeve gastrectomy, known as a gastric sleeve. It’s a laparoscopic procedure (which involves several small incisions rather than a large one) where the majority of the stomach is removed, leaving behind a long sleeve or tube in its place.
To be approved for publicly-funded surgery is “very difficult” in New Zealand, said Wheeler, and between 90 and 95% of surgeries are in the private sector. The cost of which is usually “mid to high 20 [thousands]”.
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Chantel Bennett with her surgeon Dr Ismael Cabrera.
The operation is safe, which is why a surgical tourism model can work. But complications – such as a leak of fluids in the staple line where the stomach was removed – can occur. This is rare but usually happens within a few days of surgery, and would lead to a, “big problem” if stuck in another country.
And once back home, if any other problems arise, “that’s left for the New Zealand system to deal with. [The Mexican surgeons are] externalising one of the costs,” said Wheeler.
For 32-year-old Rotorua resident Chantel Bennett, post-surgery complications came in the form of a seroma (a buildup of fluids where tissue has been removed) in one of her wounds days after returning to New Zealand in July this year.
She told Stuff she spent two days at Rotorua hospital where she also had RSV (a respiratory virus).
Bennett was part of an organised group of New Zealanders who flew to Tijuana for the surgery. The organiser said she had been taking groups to Mexico for surgery since 2018.
Bennett saw Dr Ismael Cabrera at Tijuana’s Premier Medical Centre. His Instagram profile, with 4000 followers, lists himself as an entrepreneur and bariatric surgeon.
She had no regrets – she imagined she would have required aftercare had the procedure been performed in Aotearoa, too.
But from Wheeler’s perspective, aside from surgery complications, learning to live healthily after the procedure is a process that takes, “weeks and months”.
He was concerned that if people are having surgery in Mexico then “left to it” it leaves, “the rest of the New Zealand health care system to pick up the pieces”.
And while he was, “sure the [Mexican] surgeons are very good,” New Zealand has a very “robust system” in place. Patients having bariatric surgery are entered into a registry so, “we can monitor safety”. It’s a way of ensuring everyone that does the surgery is, “qualified and capable”.
Once home, Adams had an infection from the drain site which was seen in Aotearoa, but she didn’t blame the visit to Mexico and said medical staff she dealt back home were supportive of her decision to travel for the operation.
More than a year later, Adams had lost 74kg and said if she’d waited in NZ “I’d still be on a list”.
“I’m feeling really great about myself. Without this I wouldn’t have had that opportunity.”
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Cathleen Adams in January 2022 and most recently in April 2023.
At a pre-surgery weight of 128kg, Hawke’s Bay man Kieren McKinlay struggled with weight his whole life. The 37-year-old was also told by his GP without major health conditions he would not get on a public wait list.
He and his wife made the call to fly to Mexico with their 10-month-old son in July this year, to also see Dr Camero, who goes by the name Superdrsleeve on TikTok, where he posts videos of patient transformations to Shaggy and LMFAO soundtracks.
The hospital only accepted cash, and cost US$3900 (NZ$6533). He chose to have his gallbladder removed for an additional US$600 ($1005) “cash in hand job”.
His surgeon followed up to check the wound and McKinlay kept in contact with the hospital dietician. After recovering without complications, and returning to work 20kg lighter, McKinlay was glad he went under the knife.
“If you’re pinching pennies, and you want to change your life, I’d recommend it to anyone.”
Wheeler emphasised the surgery is safe, but, “there is a bit of a gamble that’s going on.”
He understood why people take the option, given that the public system is almost impossible to get on and private is often cost-prohibitive.
“[Obesity is] not a disease of choice. When you’re trapped and suffering in an overweight body you need to do something about it,” he said.
Patients having surgery are spending money, “on an operation that the public system should have provided for them, so they don’t … cost the country a lot more. From a health economic perspective, they’re actually doing the country a service.”
While most people will come home post-surgery and recover, he was concerned there is a lack of supportive care afterwards.
“If you want to drive to work, you don’t just get handed a car. You need to be taught how to use it.”
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