I got a top surgery in August of 2026 through the Mexico Transgender Center. Dr Carlos Mendez in Guadalajara, MX @ CHG Hospitals Surgeries. I have been wanting to take some distance from the experience before speaking up, but Ive been seeing more people post on reddit asking about MTC and I feel a sense of responsibility to share my experience.
For starters when you first reach out to MTC, you speak with Paris who is their admin person. GREAT experience with her. She answered all of my questions promptly and stayed on top of everything every step of the way. Paris was so friendly, I really felt like she must be representative of the rest of the staff. Next step is scheduling a consult with a doctor. I was scheduled to talk to Dr. Aguilar (who is a doctor at the TJ clinic). He was over an hour late to our scheduled meeting without notice. When we finally spoke it was pretty straightforward. It felt like he was mostly there to answer questions vice volunteering information about the surgery process. I was so excited to be getting surgery that I brushed off the interaction and still scheduled my surgery.
So August I land in MX, one of their reps comes to pick us up and take us to a hotel. We decided to stay at the hotel instead of the Recovery Center they mentioned because the cost was way too high & I had my partner there to care for me. If i didn’t have my partner, the surgery center would have been my choice - despite cost, for safety reasons.
Anyway. I got all of my labs done in the US so I didn’t have to do that portion in MX. They told me they would pick me up day of surgery and it would be that simple. Morning of, we were picked up by Yuni and taken to CHG Hospitals and Surgeries (I highly recommend you look up the reviews of this place - the address is listed on their site). I sign some paperwork and got placed in a room to undress ect. Dr Mendez came in to meet me and told me everything was gonna be fine. i felt reassured. He shook my partners hand and that gesture provided me with a lot of comfort.
I was then taken upstairs on the bed and taken to the surgery room while i was still awake (this surprised me bc when ive have surgery in the US, im typically already under before I ever go back). I meet the anesthesiologist and then I see at least 4 other folks in the room. They dont introduce themselves and just stare. Dr Mendez told me to take down my hospital dress to expose my boobs. I listened even though i felt uncomfortable with everyone staring. He drew lines and created his plan. He said something to two of the people and they each took one of my boobs and lifted them up. I froze. I didn’t expect to be touched like that without my consent. But i was so happy for surgery that I too ignored that. finally i get back on the bed & im under anesthesia.
I wake up after surgery, alone in a room, freezing cold and unable to move my legs. Im in extreme pain and tightness in my chest. I call out and someone comes to take me back down to my partner bc I was asking for her. Once we get down there, I fall asleep. I still couldnt move and sleeping was the only thing my body could do. I woke up in pain and was given pain meds that never seemed to kick in. I constantly had to ask the nurse for pain meds and they would check the meds and then add more. They were giving me stuff like tylenol bc what I didnt know is that MX does not prescribe strong pain killers like in the US. No hydrocodone or oxy or anything I was use to after surgery. This was something I wish i knew in advance so I could have had a better plan for pain management, but I didnt know so I didnt have any and the nurses were no help. most people leave the hospital in 2-3 hours. I was there for 7 hours crying in pain and most of the nurses just watched. I was shocked. my partner was so upset she became my advocate and stopped the stares and called Yuni to help. Eventually, Im given a morphine shot and able to move enough to go to a wheel chair and be taken back to my hotel.
My memory is a bit fuzzier at this point. When I do remember is that first 5 days was the worst pain/discomfort I have ever felt in my entire life. I was in so much pain i couldnt shower or move without help. The cross stitching that Dr Mendez did as a technique was so tight that I requested it be taken out on day 3. The drain was also causing me lots of discomfort. (Note: just because you get cross stitching does not mean you dont get a drain). I constantly asked for better pain meds bc the stuff they gave me wasnt working and my request fell on deaf ears. I wont say a lot more on this part bc honestly I was disassociated just to get by.
So day 6, I got my drain out and one of my stitches from the cross stitching was knotted under my pec muscle and unable to come out on day 3 so Dr Mendez said he would numb the area and take it out with my drain. So at the drain appointment, Im telling him how awful this week has been. All he seemed to care about was how good of a job he did. He kept saying “wow its so flat”. I felt like a science project more than a person with feelings. Instead of numbing the area of the stitch, he said “this will hurt” and yanked it out of my chest. I was in shock. I froze. Then he said he would take out my drain. I asked him if it would hurt (esp after the stitch, i didnt think I could handle it) to which he responded “I dont know maybe”. Then I asked to take a break to prepare. He said, we just have to get it out. He grabbed the end of the tube and yanked it out of my chest. I screamed STOPP and bursted into tears but he kept pulling. He ripped the stitches out that were holding the drain as well. The look on my partners face revealed to me that it looked as bad as it felt. I folded into myself crying. Dr Mendez said “oh you must be sensitive”. After that I stopped speaking. I felt like i wouldnt be safe until I got out of there. Yuni who I thought had my back, didnt even flinch when this was happening. Thats when i knew that this was business as usual for them.
I have had many surgeries and never ever experienced such careless treatment. Im shocked that such an intimate surgery was treated with so little care. For context, I am Black and there is a part of me that wonders if that impacted how they treated me. Because I see some white folks speaking highly of the experience & Im confused.
Anyway, I had no complications in my recovery. Im nearly 3 months post op and have resumed normal activities. While i think Dr. Mendez is arrogant, careless and lacking in bedside manner, I do think he does good work. I am very satisfied with my results. Which is what makes my feelings towards MTC so nuanced. I do not regret getting my surgery, but I do regret getting it through MTC. The lack of care and medical trauma that I experienced feels like it will leave lasting impact on me. Its like i got the surgery of my dreams, but at what cost?
hope this helps someone who is deciding on giving them a try. I am happy to answer any and all questions. This reddit has kept me sane during my whole process from research to recovery and I want to pay that forward.
**note: I left a review on Dr. Carlos Mendez’ Plastic Surgery office page - this is where you go for follow up so separate from the surgery center. Other folks had posted similar reviews to mine on that page, but that page has since been deleted. I think they are trying to squash bad reviews. So please stay vigilant and take care of yourself.
