Donnie, Michelle and Yasmin story - gastric sleeve review

Donnie: My name is Donnie Ross. I’m from Dundee in Scotland. I’ve come to get a gastric sleeve. My niece, she got just hers over a year ago. She’s lost eight stone. So we’re looking for the same results. And I was a bit very apprehensive when I was coming. And the doctor is coming in and speaking to you and then off you. I mean, it was the finest to put you at ease and have the surgery. I didn’t have any pain. Looking forward to going home now. I was speaking to Kimberly. Kimberly was talking about that. She was suggesting that go for it and things like that. And that went on for ages but she kept speaking to me about it. She sort of put my mind to ease, the way the operation would go. Everything that Kimberly said to me is happening and more. So I’d like to thank Kimberly for what she’s done for us. [00:00:51 So I selected you].

Michelle: I’m Michelle. I’m from Doncaster in Yorkshire. I decided that I wanted a gastric sleeve. I did as much research as I knew somebody else who had been to this hospital. So I booked it. I arrived and I was well impressed with the care from the nurses, the doctors, the information that we’re given from the minute we arrived till now when we’re ready to go home. I’ve had no pain. I did suffer yesterday quite a bit with acid but that’s been about it. They gave me something pretty much straight away for it. I’ve spent a day sleeping and today I feel really, really good. And I’m looking forward to a future of not yo-yo dieting. Up until four years ago when my daughter and I were in a horrific road traffic accident, I was six stone lighter than I am now and I used to enjoy going to gym and making healthy life choices. But then that trauma happened and things have changed considerably. So I’m just looking forward to getting back to me and having that restriction that will stop me from comfort eating because I don’t particularly ever feel hungry anyway. It’s just once I start, I can’t stop. So obviously by having the sleeve, I will be able to stop. So yeah, it’s not so much about the massive weight loss because I know I can diet on my own. I only want to lose about four stone, five if I push. But it’s about getting back to the person that I used to be.

 

Yasmin: Hi. I’m Yasmin, I’m from Doncaster. I’m Michelle’s daughter. Really proud of her. She’s the strong one in the family so it’s been a bit difficult for me to be the strong one. But I think I’m doing all right. It’s been really good. I’m really pleased with how they’ve been with myself and all the questions I’ve asked when she’s not been here and also how they’ve looked after my mom for the past few days. Again, I’m looking forward to going home now and just seeing really how she gets on and how much it changes our life.Donnie: My name is Donnie Ross. I’m from Dundee in Scotland. I’ve come to get a gastric sleeve. My niece, she got just hers over a year ago. She’s lost eight stone. So we’re looking for the same results. And I was a bit very apprehensive when I was coming. And the doctor is coming in and speaking to you and then off you. I mean, it was the finest to put you at ease and have the surgery. I didn’t have any pain. Looking forward to going home now. I was speaking to Kimberly. Kimberly was talking about that. She was suggesting that go for it and things like that. And that went on for ages but she kept speaking to me about it. She sort of put my mind to ease, the way the operation would go. Everything that Kimberly said to me is happening and more. So I’d like to thank Kimberly for what she’s done for us. [00:00:51 So I selected you].

Michelle: I’m Michelle. I’m from Doncaster in Yorkshire. I decided that I wanted a gastric sleeve. I did as much research as I knew somebody else who had been to this hospital. So I booked it. I arrived and I was well impressed with the care from the nurses, the doctors, the information that we’re given from the minute we arrived till now when we’re ready to go home. I’ve had no pain. I did suffer yesterday quite a bit with acid but that’s been about it. They gave me something pretty much straight away for it. I’ve spent a day sleeping and today I feel really, really good. And I’m looking forward to a future of not yo-yo dieting. Up until four years ago when my daughter and I were in a horrific road traffic accident, I was six stone lighter than I am now and I used to enjoy going to gym and making healthy life choices. But then that trauma happened and things have changed considerably. So I’m just looking forward to getting back to me and having that restriction that will stop me from comfort eating because I don’t particularly ever feel hungry anyway. It’s just once I start, I can’t stop. So obviously by having the sleeve, I will be able to stop. So yeah, it’s not so much about the massive weight loss because I know I can diet on my own. I only want to lose about four stone, five if I push. But it’s about getting back to the person that I used to be.

 

Yasmin: Hi. I’m Yasmin, I’m from Doncaster. I’m Michelle’s daughter. Really proud of her. She’s the strong one in the family so it’s been a bit difficult for me to be the strong one. But I think I’m doing all right. It’s been really good. I’m really pleased with how they’ve been with myself and all the questions I’ve asked when she’s not been here and also how they’ve looked after my mom for the past few days. Again, I’m looking forward to going home now and just seeing really how she gets on and how much it changes our life.

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Amy's gastric sleeve in Poland review

Amy: So not only is Kim and the KCM team there to help, but also there’s ex patients that are really happy to provide their experience and advice as well.

So my name is Amy. I’m 34, and I’m from Yorkshire in United Kingdom, and this is my third time in Poland and my second time at KCM.

I had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy at KCM in 2019. And before that, I had researched the clinic sort of where to have the surgery and KCM was coming out top recommended. And so I chose KCM for my VSG surgery. And then since then, as well, I followed the clinic on social media and decided to choose KCM for my skin surgery following my weight loss.

I’ve lost seven stone overall and so I’ve got quite a loose, saggy stomach with some stubborn fat that’s not quite going. So I’ve come to have a tummy tuck with Dr. Marta and some extra lipo to hopefully help me achieve sort of my final look following my big weight loss.

I’ve heard a lot of positive things about Dr. Marta and I’ve seen a lot of before and after pictures and case studies and spoken to ex patients as well. And that just sort of cemented my decision to come and have the surgery here. So I hope I get the same results as other people have had, and the surgery is as successful as previous surgeries from Dr. Marta.

Following the sleeve surgery anyway, just every sort of stone that came off was new things that I could do; so smaller dress sizes, and exercising better and no knee pains and things like that. So I feel tons healthier already.

What I’m hoping for after this surgery is that I can wear the clothes that I really want to wear, I don’t really need to hide in a bikini on holidays and just feel like I look better as well as feel better now.

The Facebook groups are really, really helpful. I’ve made a few friends on the Facebook groups as well. So, when I had my weight loss surgery, I made a couple of friends who I’m still in contact with now, two years later, and I’ve stayed on both groups and just sort of pass advice myself to the patients on my experience. And then recently on the plastic surgery group that I’ve been following for a little while. again, I’ve made some friends who I can message and ask questions and they’ve been helpful as well.

People ask me quite a bit, why Poland and they’re very surprised when I’ve said I’m going to Poland for my surgery again. But for me, I think the care is fantastic, the hospital is really, really good, I’m well taken care of when I’m here, my results are brilliant as well and I think, you know, there’s just as good, if not better, in fact, I would say better, treatment and procedures here as what I could get anywhere else really. And I think that’s supported by KCM’s position as number one bariatric surgery in the world, isn’t it? And then is it top 10 for plastic surgery as well. So yeah, I think this is, for me, a no brainer and I would certainly recommend KCM to other people. And I think if I need anything else doing, I’ll definitely be back.

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Josh' gastric sleeve abraod review

Josh: To the people who are going to be watching this, don’t second guess yourself and go for it because it’s the best decision I’ve made.

So my name is Josh Kennedy, and I’m 26 years old. I’m from Dublin, Ireland and it is my first time in Poland.

So the reason why I chose to do to surgery is because I’m starting my final year of college and I’m studying psychology. And going into a new career, I wanted to have a more kind of better outlook on myself and I wanted to feel healthier going in to help people who may suffer with this type of illness, like addiction to maybe sugar or even alcohol and stuff like that. So that’s why I decided I wanted to kind of finally be rid of the weight.

Yeah, so to me with the dietician and the psychologist was actually really good, being informed of how you were going to feel before you could even feel it. So over the next like week or two, you’re expecting, you know what to expect which is really good because knowing what to expect, you know how to react. So being able to help from the dilatation, know the vitamins that we need to take, the protein, and how often up the protein. But then being able to link you with a psychologist who showed the connection between the mind and the gut and how they’re kind of all connected as one was really, really helpful.

Well, from arriving here, it was actually perfect. We arrived on the Wednesday and then we only had to stay a week. So when we arrived on Wednesday, the driver was there to pick us up. It was no hassle at all. And put bags in the back of the car and we drove here. The hotel is amazing, the staff are very friendly. And then on the Friday, we came here for all the preop and pre-operation kind of care. So I’ve an ECG, blood work and X-ray and stress tests and an endoscopy. But from the starting to finish, it was amazing. You didn’t feel nervous, there was no stress on yourself. You kind of just felt very, like everything happened straightaway, which was really good. And then from there, on Saturday, the operation was a success. The surgeon came in and talked to me. And it was very– He made me feel so relaxed, which was the main thing for me because I was stressed going under surgery, but yeah, it felt, it was amazing. It felt really good.

The Saturday was rough. It was, yeah– Because you still kind of feel sick and not used to the feeling of someone has been inside your stomach. But by Sunday you’re back to normal. The nurses and the doctors that come in and take care of you are second to none so you feel very relaxed. And once they’re relaxed, you can kind of be more okay, I feel like it’s okay. Everything’s going to be fine. And then by the Monday, you’re back to normal. You wouldn’t even realize you had surgery, because today is Tuesday for me so I had the surgery four days ago. And it’s back to the normality really which is great.

KCM: How was the first time eating since the surgery?

Josh: Lucky for me, it was actually really fine. I had some natural yogurt that I was given on the Monday, I think it was. Yeah, the Monday, and it was absolutely fine. So I was able to have, I think four spoonfuls and it was grand. So, yeah, really happy.

So from my own research, I stumbled across KCM. But I actually know two people that came here before. And talking to them actually made me decide KCM as the final option as they had nothing but good things to say.

So my hopes is, well, one, I wanted to come here to be healthier and I can’t wait to get new clothes, I’m not going to lie. I’m excited to be able to start a new career and, yeah. And I just look forward to opportunities that kind of allows me to come across being a more kind of toned and better individual, healthier individual.

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Debbie's gastric band review

Debbie: Hi, I’m Debbie. I’m a married mom of three. I had a gastric band put in in England nine years ago but I’ve had numerous problems with it over the years. Although I’ve been living in Spain, I’ve come back to the UK and had band adjustments but it’s just really not been the thing for me. This year, I made the decision to have it removed, but me and my husband, we made a lot of inquiries, investigated a lot, spoke to a couple of Polish people that we know and the best company that we’ve decided to use was KCM clinic.

I flew last week from England because I was there on holiday, I flew directly from England to here to Wroclaw. And I was met at the airport as promised, brought to the hotel as promised. I’ve had the operation and then in two days’ time, I will go back. I will be flying back to Barcelona. Everything has been fine. I’ve been sort of fully updated on everything that’s been happening. The nurses are a wonderful blessing, but you’ve been got the coordinators. There’s three of them that I’ve seen: Maciej, Dominik and Evelyn, and they are, you know, they’re brilliant as well. It’s my first time out of bed and I’m doing okay. Just can go and pop in and see one of the other ladies that I’ve made friends with, see how well she’s getting on.

In the past I’ve ended up in a hospital in France. And I think I lived in a bubble when I thought the NHS in Scotland was the only treatment or care that you got. And ended up in an emergency situation and the care was absolutely stunning. And a very modern hospital with modern facilities just like the NHS. And I think that made me more willing then to think if I’m doing something like this, it needs to be affordable, because when you start going up and waiting seven years on the NHS, well, that’s up to a seven-year waiting list for the NHS and no need of getting it. So this offered to me that it wasn’t too far away either. You could travel reasonable distance. You’re not going fly six hours on a plane when you think I’m going to be sore and sore or not I go either.

Debbie: I think probably like you, I was happy to come aboard because I’ve moved from England to Spain, and I’ve dealt with, you know, at the beginning my children being taken into hospital or various things and having to try and communicate as opposed [00:03:08 with your hands]. And I’m realizing that other countries have got good health care as well.

And because of the nature of it, they can provide just as good a care. So the environment is clean, it’s modern, they’ve got everything you would need. You know what? I think it’s well known the people who are here working, especially the surgeons, they’re doing a lot more to these than what the NHS does. So actually, they’re more expert on the bariatric surgery than some of the NHS doctors. They’re not getting the same throughput as much as they’re getting here.

Debbie: They’re not getting as much experience, are they? They’re not getting as much practice.

Well, they see a specialist in it so they’re doing it much more frequently than what they are at home.

Debbie: And I think it was Dominik or one of the coordinators. He said to me that they would rather have nurses here that don’t speak English but are specialists at what they do rather than having, you know, don’t know what they’re doing but they speak English. And I agree. I think they’ve been wonderful.

I think they can communicate well. Whether they speak English or not, it’s definite they can communicate because I have not felt that anything that I’ve been going through I’ve not been able to ask for anything, I’ve not been able to ask them. And even if they might not understand me, they’re really able to communicate. I don’t feel sort of I must know from having nurses that don’t automatically speak English. I think they’re very good at what they do.

Debbie: Yeah, and I think the important people that we need to speak to in English are [00:04:44 made for taste] and surgeon…

The cardiologist.

Debbie: Yeah, and the coordinators help us out with everything else. So I feel totally calm about the whole thing. I think if I hadn’t been able to speak to someone in English about the actual operation, exactly what’s going to happen next, why am I got to drink blue liquid after, but they talk you through it.

And I think the other thing that has been sort of the issue [on board because I think, so long 00:05:11] as getting all the text beforehand. I know. Having been in the waiting list for NHS for a long time and have tests and things, I wouldn’t thought that I could just test here. The fact that they do the stress test, the ECGs, the heart ultrasound, the stomach ultrasound– My background is in nursing. I think being a nurse means that you want to be reassured to the health aspects, you want to be reassured that the systems, processes, the equipment that they use, the environment they use, has appropriate arrangements for things like infection control and all the things that maybe you don’t think about if you’re not a nurse. But if you’re a nurse, there’s an added element. And that was the kind of thing that I needed the extra part about. So how does it work? Is it a hospital environment? What equipment do you use? And also when you’re here, that’s the kind of thing that means something to me. When I see the nurses coming in with their gloves and making sure that they wash their hands frequently and that, you know, they do all the things that are really important. And as a nurse, I think you recognize these things. You’ll get cleaners coming in very frequently, generally make sure everything’s done. And you do not miss them as a nurse because they’re the kind of things [indistinct 00:06:25].

Debbie: When I had the gastric band put in, I flew from Spain to Birmingham to a very good clinic that I’d researched to have the gastric band and I didn’t have any tests or blood tests. And I think I had an X- ray. And that was it. I never had the camera down in my tummy, I never had a stress test, I never had…

The ultrasound.

Debbie: The ultrasound or anything like that.

And what made for me is when I was asking people why they do all this, what they said is they want to make sure the surgery is as successful as what it can be and just do it fast possible. That reassures me. I like people saying the certainty and the money doesn’t come above your health. That suits me. That’s reassuring to me. I don’t want people to put the profit or the money above whether it’s right for me to have the surgery. I do know all that before. And insisting you come before so you’ve got time for the testing.

Debbie: Yeah, I’ve been very happy. And I at the beginning as well when I was asking questions to Philip, he was then at the time, he was so informative. And it didn’t matter how many times I sent him another email. Can I ask you about it? Yeah, no worries, yeah. I know that there’s obviously several different procedures. You can have either a gastric sleeve, you can have the balloon, you can have the band, you can have the bypass, you can have the mini bypass. And all of them are suitable for various different people, some are better for other people. I opted to have the sleeve or the mini-bypass for medical reasons for me. Originally, the band, as I said before, didn’t work so I chose to have that done. The most I know about it really is that it’s done laparoscopically where what they cut out, they cut out the hungry hormone which I wanted to say goodbye to.

The part that appealed to me was they were removing the hunger area of the stomach. So hunger area, I believe it’s called is just the upper part of the stomach. And that’s the part that’s removed. So not only do you get a smaller area, so you get the distraction that limits your food, but you also feel less hungry with it. And because you’ve got the absorption area, in the longer term, yes, you might still have to take some supplements. But in terms of if you get your food right, you can get majority of your supplements and the vitamins that you need through eating really well because the absorption are isn’t removed whereas in a bypass you have to take lifelong vitamins and supplements as well.

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Layla's opinion

Layla: So I’ve just really wanted to say that if anyone’s doubting coming over to Poland for the surgery, then we’ve had a fantastic experience. And you were more doubtful.

I was very sick, skeptical. But from the moment we’ve landed, the whole experience has been amazing. I was very worried, very worried for Layla and myself. We went to the shopping mall and got a taxi home. And I asked the taxi driver where said the shop was. He drove all the way around. He walked us to the shop where I wanted then they took us to the bank. Unbelievable friendship. He was…

Layla: We researched them because not all not all clinics are going to be as good as KCM. When I was looking at going abroad, KCM just kept getting recommended and recommended. I’m a nurse and the care here has been amazing. And I can see what we can learn as professionals from it.

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