did anyone that has had the surgery NOT have to do the clear liquids before the diet? if so, how did that work out for you?

I am scheduled for surgery with Dr. Kuri on May 1st. He does not require a pre-op diet if your BMI is less than 47. Mine is 39.1 so I don't have to do the diet but I'm wondering why the difference between doctors? Other doctors still require a pre-op diet even with lower BMI's. Can anybody shed some light on this for me? I haven't spoken with Dr. Kuri yet directly so I haven't been able to ask him this question.

My BMI is 42 and I have to do a pre-op diet. It's not too resrictive though. It's basically a low-fat diet. My doctor says that a low-fat diet will help decrease the liver size wich they have to move out of the way for the surgery. I read that one lady did not do her pre-op diet and her liver was punctured from the device used to hold the liver back. I figure better safe than sorry. My dr. also requires an all clear-liquid diet the day before to make sure the stomach is completely empty.

I have a BMI of 46 and I will have to be a High Protein low carb diet just 10 days before surgery. Not a liquid diet pre op. I was told it is so the liver shirks and weighs less so that the doc can lift if up as to place the band exactly where he needs it. Best wishes

My surgery is Wed. 3-28-07 and my doctor doesn't require pre op diet. He says on red meat or pasta for 48 hours before surgery. He says it is because those foods take longer to leave the stomach. I asked him about the liquid pre op diet so many of you are on and in his experience it doesn't make a difference. I am so glad, I'm not sure I could do that.

My doctor had no preop diet and I did fine. I had no issues while being banded. Good luck.

BMI 40

I'm on day 5 of a two week pre-op diet - only yogurt and cottage cheese.

sigh.....

What a horible pre-op diet, Yogurt and Cottage cheese. :bolt: I don't think I can do it. I mean what is the reasoning behind Yogart and Cottage Cheese. Yes I understand I have to loose weight but I just can't do this diet.

I have modified my diet to be more of a weight watcher diet with some yogurt and cottage chees, do you think I will get in trouble or be rejected for the proceedure? I am loosing weight just not on TLBC diet.

Good for you Alex for staying on program!

Dave

No pre-op diet here...just clear liquids the day before. Everything went fine for me, even though my BMI is wicked high.

There is a lot of research out there about these pre-op diets and shrinking the liver. The majority of it was done relating to RNY, specifically in the days when most RNY or other WLS was done open versus lap. Though it doesn't really make a huge difference when you are talking about grasping the liver and retracting it whether you are open or not.

Suffice it to say, the research was done to see if shrinking the liver (so that the operative field was easier to visualize and the liver was less likely to receive a traumatic injury from the instruments and manipulation) was beneficial. It was, but the majority of the studies (not a ton of them out there, but the data is solid) showed the longer, the better. Suggesting a four, or six week diet pre-operatively was the "ideal" but who can realistically do that? So I think the surgeons decided that two weeks was acceptable (there is a little data sbout some shrinkage with two weeks). Still, there are some docs who require three weeks, and occasionally four pre-op if they believe their patient to have a very fatty liver. I'm not sure if this is ALWAYS diagnosed with an abdominal ultrasound, but I know some folks get them. Some surgeons don't subscribe to it, some do. That's why you get differences.

Also, there is the fact that the research was more geared towards a longer and more involved operation that requires more manipulation of the liver (RNY) than what is usually required in AGB (LapBand). I think that's another reason why quite a few of the band surgeons in Mexico (using them as an example) don't require it. They are highly skilled and many of them have exclusively done the band. Their table times are far shorter than a surgeon who has done say, 30 bands. The shorter on the table, the less time in the abdomen, the shorter time the liver needs to be retracted.

Some doctors may also use the pre-op diet as a way to psychologically prepare you for the long time post op that you will be without solid food. There is also some credence to resting the stomach a bit pre-op.

Though I still don't understand why some docs require a bowel prep for the Band!

Here's a link where you can go watch the actual OR, the surgeons doing it explain the whole procedure VERY well. You'll see what I mean by retracting the liver:

http://www.or-live.com/tgh/1593

Hope that helps!

What a horible pre-op diet, Yogurt and Cottage cheese. :bolt: I don't think I can do it. I mean what is the reasoning behind Yogart and Cottage Cheese. Yes I understand I have to loose weight but I just can't do this diet.

I have modified my diet to be more of a weight watcher diet with some yogurt and cottage chees, do you think I will get in trouble or be rejected for the proceedure? I am loosing weight just not on TLBC diet.

Good for you Alex for staying on program!

Dave

I second the kudos for sticking with it! But if the point is to shrink the liver, am I correct in assuming that you can only have sugar free/low fat yogurt and low fat cottage cheese? The sugar and the fat content is what makes the liver "fatty."

i get six (8oz) carnation instant breakfast shakes(made with skim milk) a day for 8 days before surgery. that's it:) it really doesn't sound too bad, but i'm sure i'll change my mind by about the second hour of the first day:):bolt: good luck with that yogart and cottage cheese!