Pre op diet ?my doc said I don't need none

[Amarie1621 2]

OK so I'm secduled for surgery im March and met with my surgeon today and I been reading alot bout surgery and I always hear about having to do pre op diet some a month some two weeks some two days so I asked and he said I didn't have to ,has anyone ever heard of that I though u had to so you can shrink your liver so they don't nik it during surgery can somone help with this ?

[emma4884 81]

Every surgeon has her own pre-op preferences.

My surgeon didn't put me on any pre-op diet; just nothing by mouth after midnight.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

You trust your surgeon, correct? If you don't, you should find a different surgeon. There are lots of different pre-surgical protocols, and no pre-op diet may be the minority but it is definitely one I have heard before. Trust your surgeon that he knows how best to prepare his patients for surgery. And get ready for the fact that your post-op diet will be different from other people's too -- because they are all different! You will exhaust yourself if you run off to poll the internet every time your doctor does something differently than other doctors do. If you don't understand why your doctor is doing something differently, ask him!

I am sure you will do great in surgery. Your doctor doesn't want to nick your liver and will do everything he can to protect your safety. Have faith -- but when you don't have faith, talk to your doctor about it! Good luck.

[Babbs 14,680]

I didn't have one either. 18 months later I'm alive and thriving

[lunarose 97]

I didn't have a pre op diet either as far as the shrinking of the liver that typically is for those who have fatty liver disease.

[Amarie1621 2]

Thank u I just though it was somthing everyone usal does cuz iv read so much about it

[rking 484]

Actually, it is not just for those with fatty liver disease. My doctor requires it for every patient. I do not have fatty liver disease. As a matter of fact, my doc takes a biopsy of the liver while he is in there if he thinks it may have any kind of damage so that treatment, or just awareness, can be taken care of. Mine looked good so I did not have a biopsy.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

A lot of surgeons aren't requiring it now. In my opinion, I think it is a bad idea. I felt so exhausted and weak going into surgery after living on almost nothing for 2 weeks, then to continue living on nothing for almost 3-4 more weeks while healing.

I understand the liver shrinking, and I understand that some people need to "prove" they are committed to the change. But it just seems counter productive to run people down, then slice them up.