Gastric sleeve in Tijuana, Mexico: prices at two hospitals
A gastric sleeve in Tijuana, Mexico, with Dr. Edgar Serrano, a board-certified general, bariatric, and aesthetic surgeon, removes most of your stomach to help you eat less. 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.
Rio Medica $3,795 USDNew City Medical Plaza $4,595 USDTrip: 3 nights, 4 days · Hospital: 2 nights
Your health deserves personalized attention.
What does a gastric sleeve cost?
A gastric sleeve with Dr. Edgar Serrano costs $3,795 USD at Rio Medica and $4,595 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 hospitals.
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 a gastric sleeve?
A gastric sleeve, or sleeve gastrectomy, is a weight-loss surgery in which about 80% of your stomach is taken out. What's left is a narrow tube about the size of a banana. A smaller stomach holds less food, so you feel full sooner. It can't be reversed, because part of the stomach is taken out for good (NIDDK).
How does a gastric sleeve work?
Your surgeon does the operation through several small incisions in your belly. The smaller stomach holds less food, and the surgery can also change gut hormones that affect hunger. Your intestine isn't rerouted.
Who is a gastric sleeve usually for?
A gastric sleeve is often considered for adults living with obesity and related health conditions who haven't reached their goals with other approaches. Current ASMBS and IFSO guidelines (2022) look at your weight together with related diseases, for example type 2 diabetes. Your surgeon decides based on your health history and current guidelines.
How much weight do people lose after a sleeve?
Studies report average weight loss after a sleeve. 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 49% at 5 years after a sleeve, and 57% after a gastric bypass (SLEEVEPASS, JAMA, 2018).
- Excess weight loss: a median of 43.5% at 10 years after a sleeve, and 50.7% after a bypass (SLEEVEPASS 10-year, JAMA Surgery, 2022).
- Total body weight loss: about 25% at 1 year and about 19% at 5 years after a sleeve, in a U.S. study of more than 65,000 adults who had weight-loss surgery, nearly 30,000 of them with a sleeve (PCORnet, Annals of Internal Medicine, 2018).
How does a gastric sleeve compare with other surgeries?
A sleeve doesn't reroute your intestine, and a gastric bypass does. A large U.S. study reports more weight loss on average 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 sleeve FAQ
What's the price of a gastric sleeve, and how can I pay?
A gastric sleeve costs $3,795 USD at Rio Medica and $4,595 at New City Medical Plaza, for 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 a gastric sleeve?
One trial reports average excess weight loss of 49% at 5 years after a sleeve (SLEEVEPASS, JAMA, 2018). In a large U.S. study of more than 65,000 adults who had weight-loss surgery, nearly 30,000 of them with a sleeve, average total body weight loss was about 19% at 5 years after a sleeve (PCORnet, 2018). Individual results vary. Your surgeon can talk with you about what's realistic for your health, habits and goals.
Can a gastric sleeve be reversed?
No. A sleeve can't be reversed, because part of the stomach is taken out for good (NIDDK). Ask your surgeon how these options apply to you before you decide.
What is recovery like after gastric sleeve surgery?
You'll start walking soon after surgery. Your diet moves from liquids to soft foods and then solid foods over several weeks, and you'll take vitamins and minerals for life. Plan on about four to six weeks before heavy lifting, and only once your surgeon clears you.
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 sleeve at Rio Medica or New City Medical Plaza in Tijuana, and our coordinators are with you from pickup to recovery.
Sources
- NIDDK: Definition and facts
- NIDDK: Types of bariatric surgery
- ASMBS/IFSO indications guideline, 2022 (PubMed)
- SLEEVEPASS trial, JAMA, 2018 (PubMed)
- SLEEVEPASS 10-year results, JAMA Surgery, 2022 (PubMed)
- PCORnet cohort study, Annals of Internal Medicine, 2018 (PubMed)
- PCORnet 5-year procedures, JAMA Surgery, 2020 (PubMed)
- ASMBS nutrition guideline, 2017 (PubMed)
- ASMBS: Endorsed procedures
- MedlinePlus: Sleeve gastrectomy
- Dr. Edgar Serrano's published prices
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Your health deserves personalized attention.
Request My PlanCross Border Medical Connection Inc. is a coordination company, not a medical provider.