Gastric bypass in Tijuana, Mexico: prices at two hospitals
A gastric bypass in Tijuana, Mexico, with bariatric surgeon Dr. Edgar Serrano makes a small pouch from your stomach and joins it lower in your small intestine. Cross Border Medical Connection Inc. coordinates your trip, from pickup in San Diego to your hospital stay. Your price is listed for two hospitals, and you meet your surgeon for a consultation as you shape your plan.
Rio Medica $4,795 USDNew City Medical Plaza $5,595 USDTrip: 3 nights, 4 days · Hospital: 2 nights
Your health deserves personalized attention.
What does a gastric bypass cost?
Gastric bypass with Dr. Edgar Serrano costs $4,795 USD at Rio Medica and $5,595 at New City Medical Plaza, for Zelle, cash, or cashier's check. Your written plan lists what's included up front, and our coordinators walk you through both hospital options.
Zelle, cash, or cashier's check price
Prices by hospital
| Procedure | Rio Medica | New City Medical Plaza |
|---|---|---|
| Gastric sleeveTrip: 3 nights, 4 days · Hospital: 2 nights | Rio Medica $3,795 USD | New City Medical Plaza $4,595 USD |
| Dr. Serrano's One-Port Sleeve, a single-incision gastric sleeveTrip: 3 nights, 4 days · Hospital: 2 nights | Rio Medica $4,095 USD | New City Medical Plaza $4,895 USD |
| Gastric bypassTrip: 3 nights, 4 days · Hospital: 2 nights | Rio Medica $4,795 USD | New City Medical Plaza $5,595 USD |
| Mini gastric bypassTrip: 3 nights, 4 days · Hospital: 2 nights | Rio Medica $4,795 USD | New City Medical Plaza $5,595 USD |
| Duodenal switch / SADI-STrip: 3 nights, 4 days · Hospital: 2 nights | Rio Medica $5,895 USD | New City Medical Plaza $6,695 USD |
| Revision surgeryTrip: set after your surgeon reviews your case | Personalized quote | |
All prices in U.S. dollars (USD). Trip lengths follow Dr. Serrano's published plan. Your written quote confirms your total and your nights.
Prices as published by Dr. Serrano at dredgarserrano.com, as of October 23, 2026.
Your price includes:
A driver from the transportation company we hire picks you up in San Diego and drops you right back.
A hotel night before your procedure
Pre-op tests and labs
Anesthesia for your surgery
Your surgery and hospital stay, with 24-hour nursing care in the hospital
One team, from pickup through recovery.
For anything not on this list, your written quote confirms whether it's included.
Not included
Flights
Extra hotel nights
Additional procedures
Your companion's meals and personal expenses
What can change your quote?
- The hospital you choose. Your quote shows the price for that hospital.
- Payment method. Listed totals are for Zelle, cash, or cashier's check, and your written plan shows your total for each method.
- Extra hotel nights or additional procedures, which aren't included.
Your written quote lists what's included and what isn't, before you travel.
Most U.S. insurances do not cover in Mexico, so unfortunately we're not allowed to take them. Check with your insurance first.
Pay by Zelle, cash, cashier's check, credit card, PayPal, PayPal Credit, or Apple Pay. There is a 4% transaction fee for credit card payments.
What is gastric bypass?
Gastric bypass, also called Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, is a weight-loss surgery that creates a small pouch at the top of your stomach. The pouch is connected lower in your small intestine, so food skips most of your stomach and the upper small intestine. You feel full sooner and absorb fewer calories.
How does gastric bypass work?
Your surgeon makes a small pouch and connects it to a lower part of the small intestine, so there are two connections. Less food fits, and fewer calories and nutrients are absorbed. Gastric bypass is difficult to reverse, although a surgeon may do it if medically necessary (NIDDK). Alcohol may also affect you differently.
Who is gastric bypass usually for?
Gastric bypass is often discussed for adults living with obesity and weight-related illness, for example type 2 diabetes or reflux, who haven't reached their goals with other approaches. Current ASMBS and IFSO guidelines (2022) look at your weight together with related diseases. Your surgeon reviews your health history, tests and goals, then decides.
Can gastric bypass help with reflux?
Reflux often improves after a bypass. In one 5-year trial, among people who had reflux before surgery, it went away in about 60% after a bypass. Your surgeon checks your symptoms and tests first.
Sources: SM-BOSS, JAMA, 2018
How much weight do people lose after gastric bypass?
Studies report average weight loss after a bypass. Individual results vary. Studies measure weight loss in different ways, so each figure below names its measure, time point and source. Your surgeon can talk with you about what's realistic for you.
- Excess weight loss: an average of 57% at 5 years in one trial (SLEEVEPASS, JAMA, 2018), and a median of 50.7% at the 10-year visit in the same trial (SLEEVEPASS 10-year, JAMA Surgery, 2022).
- Type 2 diabetes: at the 10-year visit in one trial, 33% of people who had type 2 diabetes before a bypass were in remission (SLEEVEPASS 10-year).
How does gastric bypass compare with a sleeve?
Bypass reroutes your intestine, and a sleeve doesn't. In one 5-year trial, average excess weight loss was higher after bypass than after a sleeve. A trial found reflux went away more often after bypass. Your surgeon helps you choose.
| Procedure | How it works | Reroutes intestine? | Reversible? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gastric sleeve | Removes most of the stomach; what's left is a narrow tube | No | No |
| Dr. Serrano's One-Port Sleeve | The same sleeve, through one small incision, usually at the navel | No | No |
| Gastric bypass | Small pouch joined lower in the small intestine; two connections | Yes | Difficult |
| Mini gastric bypass | Long, narrow pouch; one connection | Yes | Can be converted, or sometimes reversed, as a new operation |
| Duodenal switch | Sleeve plus an intestinal bypass; two connections | Yes | Ask your surgeon |
| SADI-S | Sleeve plus an intestinal bypass; one connection | Yes | Ask your surgeon |
| Revision | Changes or converts an earlier surgery | Depends on the plan | Depends on the plan |
Sources: NIDDK, ASMBS, a 2020 review (PMID 31982993).
How long is the stay and recovery?
Dr. Serrano's published plan is 3 nights and 4 days: 1 hotel night before surgery and 2 nights in the hospital. Many people return to light work in about a month, once their surgeon's team clears them. Plan on about four to six weeks before heavy lifting, and only once your surgeon clears you.
Before surgery, you'll follow a pre-op diet, which can help shrink your liver. Your surgeon's team gives you a plan, including how long it lasts.
Your trip, in order:
- Pickup in San Diego and transportation to Tijuana
- Pre-op tests and labs, then a hotel night
- Your surgery, then 2 nights in the hospital
- A driver from the transportation company we hire picks you up in San Diego and drops you right back.
- Follow-up and nutrition guidance after you return home
Your diet moves in stages over several weeks, from liquids to soft foods and then solid foods, per your surgeon's plan (NIDDK). You'll take lifelong vitamins and minerals as your surgeon's team prescribes.
What happens after you're home?
After surgery, Dr. Edgar Serrano's team gives you nutrition and recovery guidance. Weight-loss surgery needs regular follow-up, vitamins and lab checks, so before you travel, plan which doctor will see you at home, and bring copies of your surgery records to that first visit.
Planning your surgery? Read the 5 diet stages after gastric sleeve or bypass surgery, with daily fluid and protein goals.
Sources: NIDDK: Types of bariatric surgery · ASMBS nutrition guideline, 2017
What should you do before you travel?
- Line up a doctor at home who will see you for follow-up.
- Ask your surgeon for your follow-up plan and records in writing.
- Start your pre-op diet as your surgeon's team instructs.
- Bring a valid passport or other document accepted for land re-entry, and check the current rules with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
- Fly into San Diego, and set your return date with your surgeon's team.
- Tell our coordinators if a companion is coming with you.
Where does surgery take place?
Dr. Edgar Serrano operates at two hospitals in Tijuana. Your quote names the hospital you choose, and prices differ by hospital.
Rio Medica
New City Medical Plaza
Dr. Edgar Serrano
Dr. Edgar Serrano holds board certification in general and bariatric surgery and is certified in aesthetic surgery.
Gastric bypass FAQ
What's the price of gastric bypass, and how can I pay?
Gastric bypass costs $4,795 USD at Rio Medica and $5,595 at New City Medical Plaza, if you pay by Zelle, cash, or cashier's check. Your written plan shows your total for each option and lists what's included up front.
How much weight could I lose with gastric bypass?
One trial reports average excess weight loss of 57% at 5 years after gastric bypass, and a median of 50.7% at the 10-year visit (SLEEVEPASS). Excess weight is the weight above a healthy range, not your total weight. Individual results vary. Your surgeon can talk with you about what's realistic for your health and goals.
Can gastric bypass help with type 2 diabetes?
It may. In a five-year trial of people with type 2 diabetes, 29% of those who had gastric bypass reached a blood sugar level (HbA1c) of 6% or lower, with or without diabetes medicines, compared with 5% on medical therapy alone (STAMPEDE trial). Individual results vary, and surgery isn't a cure. Your surgeon and your own doctor can talk through what it could mean for you.
Will I need vitamins after gastric bypass?
Yes. After gastric bypass, you'll take vitamins and minerals for life, as your surgeon's team prescribes. Your surgeon's team will tell you which supplements and lab checks you'll need.
How do I choose a gastric bypass surgeon?
Ask how often the surgeon does gastric bypass.
What does Cross Border Medical Connection Inc. do, and what do the surgeon and hospital do?
We're concierge patient coordinators. We coordinate your scheduling, transportation, hotel, and communication with Dr. Edgar Serrano and his team in Tijuana, Mexico. We coordinate your care. Your doctor and hospital provide it. Medical questions go to your surgeon, and it all starts when you request your plan.
About Cross Border Medical Connection Inc.
Cross Border Medical Connection Inc. is a team of concierge patient coordinators in San Diego and Tijuana. Dr. Edgar Serrano performs your gastric bypass at Rio Medica or New City Medical Plaza in Tijuana, and our coordinators are with you from pickup to recovery.
Sources
- NIDDK: Types of bariatric surgery
- NIDDK: Definition and facts
- ASMBS/IFSO indications guideline, 2022 (PubMed)
- PCORnet cohort study, Annals of Internal Medicine, 2018 (PubMed)
- PCORnet 5-year procedures, JAMA Surgery, 2020 (PubMed)
- SM-BOSS trial, JAMA, 2018 (PubMed)
- SLEEVEPASS trial, JAMA, 2018 (PubMed)
- SLEEVEPASS 10-year results, JAMA Surgery, 2022 (PubMed)
- STAMPEDE trial, 5-year results (PubMed)
- ASMBS nutrition guideline, 2017 (PubMed)
- ASMBS: Endorsed procedures
- MedlinePlus: Gastric bypass surgery
- Dr. Edgar Serrano's published prices
Last updated:
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Your health deserves personalized attention.
Request My PlanCross Border Medical Connection Inc. is a coordination company, not a medical provider.