I keep hearing that the purpose of the pre-op diet is to shrink/soften the liver, but I can't get a clear answer on how you know if your liver even needs this.

My blood work all came back normal. I "only" weigh 222 pounds, with a BMI of 40. From what I can reason out, my liver is already softer and more pliable/movable than the liver of someone who weighed 300+ pounds for years, but have managed to lose 20 or 30 pounds with a pre-op diet.

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As far as I know, other than a full blood count and liver function tests.. there's no way in knowing if you have a fatty liver.. it's really about your diet. If you know you eat a lot of fatty foods and drink a lot of alcohol then it's very likely you have a fatty liver. The pre op diet is just to eliminate the chance of it as it makes the surgery more difficult if you have a fatty, brittle or enlarged liver.

When I had my surgery, my surgeon told me my liver wasn't fatty but enlarged which made it difficult to move out of the way to get to my stomach he actually nicked it because it was that big. My surgeon didn't mind if I did the pre op or not as he's very experienced but I definitely cut down on the bad food and stuck to salad and shakes 2 weeks before the operation, the last thing you want is to be woken up from being out only to be told they couldn't do the surgery.

I keep hearing that the purpose of the pre-op diet is to shrink/soften the liver, but I can't get a clear answer on how you know if your liver even needs this.

My blood work all came back normal. I "only" weigh 222 pounds, with a BMI of 40. From what I can reason out, my liver is already softer and more pliable/movable than the liver of someone who weighed 300+ pounds for years, but have managed to lose 20 or 30 pounds with a pre-op diet.

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I am not exactly sure how they would tell without going in and seeing or maybe a scan of some sort. The way my doctor spoke of it was that the 2 week liquid diet was to ensure the surgery could be laparoscopic. The tools can damage the liver if not small enough causing a big issue. I was not going to risk anything, so I followed that diet strict with no cheating. My highest weight was 249, and my BMI was 44. At my 1 months post op appt I was 214 and my BMI was 37. I believe following the diets helped decrease the BMI drastically.

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I looked at it this way. I wanted to give the surgeon every possible opportunity to not screw something up while carving up my insides. Not only did I follow my dietary restrictions exactly, I even trimmed my beard back to next to nothing because he said it would be easier on the anesthesiologist if they had trouble. It grew back.

Fat is everywhere. The "fatter" the person, the more fat throughout the body, including on the liver. Losing some of that fat makes the liver more flexible and, therefore, the surgeon has an easier time of maneuvering around inside.

My surgery was pushed up and I was put on a liquid diet only 5 days before my surgery. When I asked my surgeon about this he said that because I had a lower BMI that the risk of my liver getting in the way was lower. I was still diligent on the clear liquid diet before my surgery and my surgeon said he could tell that the liver was not an issue. Just follow your surgeons instructions to the T and you should be fine.

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I had my yearly physical that included an ultra-sound of my organs. I was told my liver was full of fat. I purchased a liver cleanse and I did a liver cleanse several months before my surgery.

Elevated liver enzymes (ALT and AST) from a blood test is a clue, which often leads to an ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis.

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@@BariatricGal, what is a "liver cleanse" and what does the product do. I'm not challenging you, but am always skeptical when I hear "cleanse" of any type and admit having read nothing about such things.

Pre-op diet has 2 purposes. One is to shrink the liver and the greater majority of overweight people have fatty livers. Second, it is to prepare u for post-op life.

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My surgery was pushed up and I was put on a liquid diet only 5 days before my surgery. When I asked my surgeon about this he said that because I had a lower BMI that the risk of my liver getting in the way was lower. I was still diligent on the clear liquid diet before my surgery and my surgeon said he could tell that the liver was not an issue. Just follow your surgeons instructions to the T and you should be fine.

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I had all my stuff scheduled, and was on schedule, when the woman in charge of making that schedule called me and tried to talk me into having my surgery two weeks early. I told her no way! She didn't understand, and I reminded her that I would not be able to do my pre-op diet properly, and I was not going to risk my liver for the sake of her scheduling convenience. I understand they have holes to fill sometimes, but she has been through this herself. You'd think she would have known better. I do not know how much the surgeon would have been involved in that kind of decision. I think it is more like he walks in and asks who is on the schedule for that day. I do think he would have backed his staff though.

The best way to find out if your liver is fatty is an ultrasound. I'm a radiologist and look at lovers all day and it's so obvious when it's fatty.

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@WLSResources/ClothingExch

A liver cleanse removes toxins. I purchased mine at a health food store. You can google "liver cleanse" for more information.

Edited December 27, 20169 yr by BariatricGal

I did not lose much weight during my 6 pre op months and though I was given the 3 week diet sheet but but ended up not doing the pre op diet because my surgery was for scheduled 5 days after the surgeon visit. The surgeon JOked this because my labs were normal and I don't carry my weight in my abdomen.