Category Archives: Book

Mexicali updates: October 2013

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Here is some updated information from my recent visit to Mexicali for the Mexicali Summit (Cumbre de turismo Medico):

New Cath facility

Hospital Almater opened their new cardiac catheterization laboratory as part of their long-standing plans to build a ‘chest pain’ center.  The first cardiac cath in the new facility was scheduled to be performed October 18th, 2013.

During a discussion with the owner of Hospital Almater, at the Cumbre, I asked for permission for an ‘official’ tour of the new cath facility so I will have additional details for readers.  My request was denied.

Hopefully, I will be able to provide more information about the cath lab as well as the continued development of the ‘chest pain’ on a future visit to Mexicali.

Loss of full-time heart surgeon/ heart surgery program 

Mexicali has lost its only full-time cardiac surgeon.

Mexicali has lost its only full-time cardiac surgeon.

Several local physicians have reported that Dr. Cuauhtemoc Vasquez is no longer functioning as Mexicali’s only full-time cardiovascular surgeon.  His cardiac surgery program at Issstecali has closed (due to financial reasons), and he is no longer operating at the various facilities in town.  It is a huge loss of the city of a million residents.  Baja California residents will have to travel to Tijuana for surgery – while Imperial Valley residents will continue to travel to San Diego or Los Angeles for cardiac surgery services.

Salud Longevidad

During my visit, I was also invited to visit Salud Longevidad, a new clinic that is the brainchild of Dr.  Jorge Gallegos.  He created the clinic as a place for many of the local therapists and alternative/ complementary medicine practitioners to provide their services.  He likes to joke that he created the centro de medicina alternativa as a way to personally fight of the aging process, so “I will be young forever,” he explains with a smile.

The unassuming, nondescript exterior hides a spacious and elegant interior.  The clinic offers multiple treatments including various types of massage (and couples massage), water therapy, high colonics, magnetic therapies – and other varieties of “alternative” therapies.

The fifteen suite clinic also features a hyperbaric chamber.  Now, this is a treatment I can appreciate since there is a large volume of research on the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for wound healing and other medical applications outside of the ‘bends’ or complications from scuba diving for which the therapy is best known for*.  It also happens to be one of the nicest, most modern chambers that I have ever seen.  The majority of other chambers I have visited are either former military equipment or vintage models.

Dr. Juan Fernando Medrano, a medical doctor who also serves as the head of medical tourism at the Hospital de la Familia was gracious enough to invite me for a tour, and to watch one of his sessions at the new clinic.  He recently finished training as a medical aesthetic physician, and now performs platelet rich plasma (PRP) treatments (among other procedures).

Salud Longevidad is located on Av. Francisco Javier Mina #200 in Zona Centro (across the street from the parque de Mariachis).

For more information about Dr. Medrano and the PRP – please read my recent article at Examiner.com.

* Hyperbaric oxygen is best known for its use in treating ‘the bends” or complications from rapid decompression (rising to the surface too quickly) in scuba divers.

I have included a limited selection of medical literature on hyperbaric therapy.   However, I also want to caution readers when researching medical information, particularly when reading Chinese journals which have been recently discredited for widescale/ widespread fraud.

References

Egito JG, Abboud CS, Oliveira AP, Máximo CA, Montenegro CM, Amato VL, Bammann R, Farsky PS. (2013).  Clinical evolution of mediastinitis in patients undergoing adjuvant hyperbaric oxygen therapy after coronary artery bypass surgery.  Einstein (Sao Paulo). 2013 Sep;11(3):345-349. English, Portuguese.

While many readers know that I have a background in cardiac surgery – where mediastinitis is a serious/ dreaded complication – I hesitate to embrace these findings too enthusiastically due to the very small sample size (of 18 patients over 2 years).

Cao H, Ju K, Zhong L, Meng T. (2013).  Efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen treatment for depression in the convalescent stage following cerebral hemorrhage.  Exp Ther Med. 2013 Jun;5(6):1609-1612. Epub 2013 Apr 2. A small (60 patient) study looking at the effects of hyperbaric oxygen on depression in patients following cerebral hemmorhage (hemorrhagic stroke).

de Nadai TR, Daniel RF, de Nadai MN, da Rocha JJ, Féres O. (2013).  Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for primary sternal osteomyelitis: a case report. J Med Case Rep. 2013 Jun 27;7(1):167. doi: 10.1186/1752-1947-7-167. Did hyperbaric oxygen help?

Delasotta LA, Hanflik A, Bicking G, Mannella WJ.  (2013).  Hyperbaric oxygen for osteomyelitis in a compromised host.  Open Orthop J. 2013 May 3;7:114-7.  Research suggesting hyperbaric oxygen may be helpful in treating serious orthopedic infections in patients with impaired wound healing.

Recommended reading:

Chantelau EA.  (2013)  Benefits of hyperbaric oxygen still doubtful.    Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2013 May;110(21):372. doi: 10.3238/arz9tebl.2013.0372a. No abstract available.  A letter in which the author presents evidence suggesting that any attempt to conclusively state the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy is premature/ misguided (at best.)

as the mercury soars..

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into the 110’s (and higher) it’s been an interesting week in Mexicali.  I’ve definitely entered new territory in my book writing venture.  In the last books, I basically didn’t see the forest for the trees – meaning that even as I raced around, and enjoyed the cities I was living in – I didn’t include any of the information about the cities themselves.. Just the surgeons, and surgery.

In retrospect – I think that was a mistake.  While I know the beautiful multifaceted Bogotá, my readers don’t.  At the time, I didn’t want to duplicate the efforts of the many talented travel writers out there.  But on consideration – living in a city is so much different from visiting one.   It takes months to see and fully appreciate the nuance of many locations – especially cities..  Anyone can talk about the historic church built in 19 whatever, but it takes time and familiarity to see the beauty of Mexicali’s Graceland, or the changing canvas of the UABC museum.  It takes time to collect the stories that bring the city to life.  So now, I am trying to do that – in a small fashion with everything I’ve collected since coming here in March.

I am not Frommer’s.. I am more like his awkward, quirky little cousin. I don’t have the manpower or the resources to talk about the hundreds of restaurants here (more than 100 Chinese restaurants alone!) but I can tell you some of my favorite places; for a casual lunch with friends, or a night on the town.  I can’t give exhaustive listings on all there is to see and do in this thriving city, but I can show you the heart of it.  I can tell you about the things that make Mexicali more than just spot in the hard-baked earth; the things that make this city real, and make it a fascinating place to be.  I can make your stay; whether just a few days, weeks or months; interesting and informative.

It’s been a fascinating and amazing journey to discover these ‘pockets of life’ and living history – and now that I am outside my realm (of medicine and surgery) one that would have been impossible without the numerous people who have embraced me, and shared their wisdom.  (It’s becoming quite the list – and I’ll share it with you all soon.)

But I certainly hope that my future readers enjoy the journey as much as I have.

How’s the book coming?

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I was in the United States most of last week (at my reunion) but I didn’t stop working.  While a reunion may not seem like the most ideal situation for a medical writer – it’s actually a great opportunity to talk to people and get their opinions about health care, medicine and surgery.  After the first few minutes of catching up – talk naturally turns to everyday life, and for many of us – ‘everyday life’ involves worrying about the health of our families.. Also, many of my classmates – and old friends have been some of my biggest supporters of the blog (and my other work) so it was good to get some critical feedback.

Bret Harte class reunion

The book is coming along – almost continuous writing at this point.  While I (always!) want more interviews with more surgeons, I am now at the point where I am filling in some gaps  – talking about the city of Mexicali itself.  So I am visiting museums, archives, and talking to residents about Mexicali so I can provide a more complete picture to readers.  Right now, I would really like some information about 1920’s -30’s Mexicali – I can find a lot of interesting stuff about Tijuana, but Mexicali is proving more elusive.

It’s a bit of a change from my usual research – finding out about decades old scandals (even local haunted houses), visiting restaurants and nightclubs, but it’s been a lot of fun., even if it seems frivolous or silly at times.  I hope readers enjoy this glimpse into Mexicali’s rich history as much as I have.

Finished the cover – which to me, is critical at this point.  (I use the cover to inspire me when it comes to the less than thrilling stage of copy editing) so I am posting an image here.

cover for the new book

Meeting with an architect later this week – to learn about, and write about some of the variety of styles here in Mexicali.  (There is such a surprising array – I thought it would be nice for readers to have a chance to know a bit more.)

Now there’s one house I’ve dubbed “Mexicali’s Graceland.”  I don’t know why Graceland comes to mind every time I go past this home (it looks nothing like Elvis’ home in Memphis) but the term has stuck.  I am hoping to get some of the history on this house because it just looks like a place where even the walls have stories to tell.

The pictures aren’t the most flattering – but I’ll post one so you can tell me what you think.  (It’s actually far more lovely in person – with the contrast between the pink walls and the white scrollwork, as well as some of the more classic design features.) I guess my imagination tends to run away with me – with images of grandeur and elegant ladies sipping champagne in the marbled halls of the past – but then – most of my usual writing is technical in nature, so I have few outlets for my creativity.

Mexicali’s Graceland

Meeting with my co-writer today to go back to the archives..

Mexicali book update

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The service is quiet so I am spending the day writing and working on the Mexicali book.  For new readers, I would like to explain that the Mexicali book is a little different from my previous offerings.  This is not an exhaustive compilation of surgeons and facilities in Mexicali, as frankly, I do not have the time or resources to accomplish such a task at this point in time.

Like all my books, it is a labor of love, but differs in that it highlights some of the best, and worst of Mexicali and medical tourism in this city.  So instead of interviewing and observing hundreds of surgeons, it highlights the limited number of physicians who agreed to participate in this project.

As such, no plans are being made to market this book commercially. Instead, I plan to offer it as a free pdf download for interested readers.  I will also be offering a full color soft-bound edition (at cost) for people interested in the many full color photographs of surgeons and surgery in Mexicali.  I will be placing the soft-bound edition on Amazon.com for interested persons.  Unfortunately, the cost of producing such a book (color photos) in limited runs is fairly expensive, so I apologize in advance to readers – but as I said – it’s a labor of love, and I won’t make a dime off of it.  I can only hope that if readers enjoy this book, they will consider purchasing one of my longer, more detailed books on medical tourism (such as the Bogotá book.)

More information will be forthcoming as I get further and further towards completion of this project.

The App Store: Android Market

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For anyone traveling to Bogotá or Cartagena, I have created some FREE mobile apps for Android phones. (Still working on iTunes versions).  These apps contain maps, local resources, travel links, and emergency information.  Where to go if you are experiencing chest pain?  Got you covered.. Where to stay?  also covered.. Cheapest flights – in the app..  Where to get a good meal – it’s in there too.. The apps will also keep you connected to the blog where I post all updates to the books, and news about the destination.

Bogotá Apps:
Bogotá Surgery – primarily based on the blog – for those who can’t stand to miss a post.

The Bogotá Companion– maps, travel resources and references, emergency information.

Cartagena app:
The Cartagena Companion – chock full of information, including short videos about Cartagena.

You don’t have to be a medical tourist to enjoy these apps – best thing is, they are all FREE..

World Health Information & Patient Safety

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As Bogotá Surgery readers know, we were just talking about the  relevance of hospital rankings, and scorecard criteria for patient safety and optimal patient outcomes.  In particular, we were talking about the use of this criteria  (along with Core Measures) as just one of the ways surgeons, hospitals and surgical programs are evaluated for Bogotá! a hidden gem guide to surgical tourism.

Now several news outlets have picked up the story under the headline, “Hospitals riskier than airplanes.”