Today I went to my Dr to have my consult and pre-op evaluation. My surgery date in Wednesday, April 4. The doctor said that there is no need to put me on a pre-op diet. I know that a lot of people here have to go on a liquid diet before surgery to shrink the liver or something like that:phanvan :cry . Does anybody knows why some doctors do and some don't?:welldoneclap:

Mine didn't require because he said to get any really good effect from preop diet you would have to be on it at least 6 weeks so he didn't require any and I was at 270 and 5'8" and my liver was fine. I guess they're just all different. Congrats and good luck on your upcoming surgery.

My doctor did have me on one either. I think the better surgeon's don't care.

One thing that I’ve read about pre-op diets is that some insurance companies require them. I was self-pay, so that wasn’t a factor (darn exclusion clause!). More importantly (I hope) is that my pre-op blood work all came back fine, so I didn’t have a pre-op diet to follow either. All I was told was to start my Vitamins as soon as possible, eat “take it easy meals” (Soup & salad, etc.) the day prior to surgery & no food after 10pm, no drink after 12am. Easy as that.

Everybody’s clinic seems different, so be sure to get a handle on what your doc wants. I think that’s the most important part. Their protocol is prepared for their surgical situations.

Good luck to you!

I was told it has to do with the experience of the surgeon. Very experienced doctors can place the lap band with no problem- no matter if the liver is large or not. Inexperienced ones need the liver to be smaller, so there is less chance of mistake. (I'm sure the insurance could be a big factor, too-anything to avoid a mistake and save themelves $$$).

Thanks for the info is good to know. My surgeon has perform more than 3,000 lap-band surgeries, I think he has enough experience.:star::star:

From my talking with the doctor he wants all of those having the procedure to be on a liquid diet 1 week prior to having surgery. I was thinking after i get my surgery date i might try for two weeks liquid diet so i can get used to the idea of eating from a straw after surgery. Cause i dont want to think "oh well I can handle it *flex flex*" and my tummy say something different lol . Grats on your surgery date! We will look forward to hearing from you after your surgery!

BlueTatoo: Don't use a straw after surgery. I learned the hard way - using a straw invites more gas into your tummy. Ouch!

My doctor did not require a pre-op diet (though I was told not to eat fried foods and cut back on sugar). My doctor also has me on mushies today (I was banded yesterday). My Breakfast today in the hospital was cream of wheat and apple sauce. This seems to be very different from what a lot of other docs recommend.

With all due respect, the experience of the surgeon has absolutley nothing to do with wanting to put you on a 2 week liquid diet prior to surgery.

Surgeons have different opinions just like anyone else and if you put your trust in a surgeon - you really should do what he/she suggests.

"Very experienced doctors can place the lap band with no problem- no matter if the liver is large or not. Inexperienced ones need the liver to be smaller, so there is less chance of mistake."

I think this is totally incorrect and could be very misleading to people who read this board for recommendations and information.

My doctor is one of the most experienced at Lapband surgeryin the world having done more than 4,000 (I believe that was the latest quote) and he feels very strongly that it helps to de-fat the liver prior to the procedure.

I don't think he's trying to make it easier on himself - I think he wants the patient to be as healthy as possible when they go in for surgery.

I agree with Benbax. My surgeon was very experienced and there was not much of a pre-op diet and I am already on mushies (banded yesterday). I think they all just have their own way of doing things, experience aside.

With all due respect, the experience of the surgeon has absolutley nothing to do with wanting to put you on a 2 week liquid diet prior to surgery.

Surgeons have different opinions just like anyone else and if you put your trust in a surgeon - you really should do what he/she suggests.

"Very experienced doctors can place the lap band with no problem- no matter if the liver is large or not. Inexperienced ones need the liver to be smaller, so there is less chance of mistake."

I think this is totally incorrect and could be very misleading to people who read this board for recommendations and information.

My doctor is one of the most experienced at Lapband surgeryin the world having done more than 4,000 (I believe that was the latest quote) and he feels very strongly that it helps to de-fat the liver prior to the procedure.

I don't think he's trying to make it easier on himself - I think he wants the patient to be as healthy as possible when they go in for surgery.

My doctor did require a pre-op diet and is one of the most experienced in the world. He has performed over 4,500 lapband surgerys. He also proctors many surgeons all over the world. It does not have to do with his experience.

Stacy

I too say it is misleading to credit it to the # of bands place. Doc Spiegal has 8000 + band.. he requires a 1 day prior liquid diet, and common sense and what I know from previous surgeries is this..

Anesthesia slows your bowels down considerably. They normally won't let a person go home after any surgery until they poop/fart/urinate, to make sure the anesthesia is wearing off.. If you eat before you run the risk of getting impacted.. (not fun).. and besides, with the incisions the last thing you want to do strain in anyway.. Not to mention being bloated.. wiping can be a bit of a challenge. I'd be more concerned about a doc who didn't want you off solids than one who did.

just my .02

Rebecca

A one day pre-op diet is much different from the one and two week pre-op diets I think most folks are talking about. I agree that it is probably a really good idea to have low residue in your intestines as you are correct, things do get slowed down with narcotics (some with anesthesia, but not as big of an issue as the narcotics are).

The data absolutely speaks to the fact that the ideal pre-op diet for defatting the liver should be SIX weeks. Studies have been done and research proves that the longer the diet, the better. Six weeks was ideal, four weeks still provided some changes. I think the reality is that not many people could follow a very restrictive six week pre-op diet. Not goning to happen, and four weeks is still a long time. I have not been able to find a single study that speaks to two weeks or one week diets. But perhaps I just have been missing them. Because there must be some reason for lots of docs to pick those numbers. Unless it's like much of history, the story is told by one and spread to the next and the next and the next and all of a sudden it's accepted as gospel. I think perhaps some doc somewhere started teaching the two week diet and it spread.

But since that's what my doc orders, whether or not I agree with it (I don't because again, the data just isn't there) I AM going to do it. The surgical group I'm seeing has one of the best mortality rates in the country and hasn't had a slip yet. No matter the reason, I also cannot argue with those stats.

So, we go from the Docs. that won't put you on any pre-op diet (like mine), to the one day, to the one week, to the two weeks and research proves that 6+ week is ideal. I don't think anesthesia is the reason because after 3 c-sections, I was never told to go on a liquid diet because you are having a baby in two weeks. I know anesthesia slows your bowels but that's not the reason.

I guess then, this is a personal/professional choice of the doctor so lets just stick to "what the doctor says".:tape: