Is weight loss necessary before surgery??
OK.. this may seem like a silly question, but after seeing some posts on other boards I am curious. If a person has a very high BMI, like lets say 66 or 68 with a weight of 500# or more, would a surgeon most likely require a patient to lose a certain amount of weight before performing surgery? Im sure its a question for the actual surgeon however I thought maybe you guys could advise me now.
Thanks in advance!
Thanks in advance!
Shea
Shea each surgeon is different in regards the diet or no diet they want you to follow prior to surgery. So insurance companies reqyured a 6 month supervised die prior to approval. If your liver is fatty or large they like to use the liquied, medifast etc diets prior to surgery so they dont have problems getting around the liver to insert the lapband
Thanks for the reply. My fiance is worried about having to lose so much weight before surgery. Believe it or not, his insurance UNITED HEALTHCARE doesnt require 6 mo diet - only a letter of necessity from his doctor. We are attending a seminar next weekend and will talk to the surgeon about Gastric Bypass.
Shea
That depends on what surgeon you pick I think and your insurance on weather or not you have to have a 6 month diet records. My second surgeon that I had pick was trying to make me lose 100 POUNDS before he would even attempt to do just Lap band on me. I'm 5'4 and weight almost 400 pounds..which wouldn't be a bad idea for me to lose weight but If a person could lose that much weight....why in the world would you need surgery?? So I chose a different doctor....and he wants me to lose what I gain the first time I seen him which is 20 pounds. So I'm trying to do that as of right now. Probably will have to wait and see what the surgeon says. Like the other lady said....depends on the surgeon and programs and stuff like that. Best of luck! After all he doesn't have to have the 6 month diet thingy...which is great.!
Of course it would be great for any of us here to lose weight before surgery, however, if we were successful at losing weight why would we need the surgery! LOL
Fiance' is a truck driver and I think that hurts his chances of losing weight pre-surgery. He is a team driver on the road over 5 days a week. With teams, the truck never stops. There is no time for excercise. Makes it VERY difficult to lose weight without excercising.
Sigh.... I just read on another board that some surgeons require you to be under 450 due to problems with instruments .. so Ill be holding my breath for him until the seminar when we meet with the DR.
Wish him luck!
Fiance' is a truck driver and I think that hurts his chances of losing weight pre-surgery. He is a team driver on the road over 5 days a week. With teams, the truck never stops. There is no time for excercise. Makes it VERY difficult to lose weight without excercising.
Sigh.... I just read on another board that some surgeons require you to be under 450 due to problems with instruments .. so Ill be holding my breath for him until the seminar when we meet with the DR.
Wish him luck!
Shea
Good luck to your fiance. Some places require a 10% loss, some none at all. I am almost 100% sure with Dr. Husted he will need to do a liquid diet pre-surgery, and he will lose weight with that and also shrink his liver.
The reason they say under 450 is due to a large stomach. In which case they can just do it open and won't have to worry about instrument size. Lots of surgeons will attempt to do it laproscopically and if it isn't working they will switch to open. If your honey is taller and perhaps doesn't carry all his weight in his midsection he shouldn't have a problem with doing it lap.
You both will learn a lot at the seminar. My best piece of advice- get a pen and paper and prepare a list of questions. It will ease both of your minds.
Good Luck,
Katrina
Edited to add:
I just read your profile, I see you're having surgery with Dr. Husted, not him.. Sorry about that. Also tell your fiance that making time for exercise pre surgery will only help him. It helps reduce the risk of clots during surgery, and makes exercise easier after surgery. Most surgeons will have you up and walking hours after surgery. I was up minutes after mine.
The reason they say under 450 is due to a large stomach. In which case they can just do it open and won't have to worry about instrument size. Lots of surgeons will attempt to do it laproscopically and if it isn't working they will switch to open. If your honey is taller and perhaps doesn't carry all his weight in his midsection he shouldn't have a problem with doing it lap.
You both will learn a lot at the seminar. My best piece of advice- get a pen and paper and prepare a list of questions. It will ease both of your minds.
Good Luck,
Katrina
Edited to add:
I just read your profile, I see you're having surgery with Dr. Husted, not him.. Sorry about that. Also tell your fiance that making time for exercise pre surgery will only help him. It helps reduce the risk of clots during surgery, and makes exercise easier after surgery. Most surgeons will have you up and walking hours after surgery. I was up minutes after mine.
Hi again Shea.
Dr. Sonnanstine does not normally require weight loss before surgery..HOWEVER, there have been times he has ask the patient to do a low carb thing to shrink the liver before surgery. A week or two maybe..not sure about how long he ask, it's been awhile since I have known anyone he required to lose weight.
The liver lays on top of the stomach.. an instrument is used to pull it up and holds it out of the way during the procedure. IF it's fatty or very large it could be a pest..but not impossible to deal with.
As for open. I have never known Dr. Sonnanstine to open a patient because of their size. He is a very experienced and talented laparoscopist- to him size should not ever be an issue..they do make instruments long enough to reach through the belly wall..When I have known him to open a patient it's almost always due to adhesions, scar tissues.from previous or multiple surgeries.etc. although it's rare that even that keeps him from doing laparoscopic. ....All of these things are good questions to ask him at the seminar...He will be happy to answer your questions and again go into more detail about the DS.
Brenda
Dr. Sonnanstine does not normally require weight loss before surgery..HOWEVER, there have been times he has ask the patient to do a low carb thing to shrink the liver before surgery. A week or two maybe..not sure about how long he ask, it's been awhile since I have known anyone he required to lose weight.
The liver lays on top of the stomach.. an instrument is used to pull it up and holds it out of the way during the procedure. IF it's fatty or very large it could be a pest..but not impossible to deal with.
As for open. I have never known Dr. Sonnanstine to open a patient because of their size. He is a very experienced and talented laparoscopist- to him size should not ever be an issue..they do make instruments long enough to reach through the belly wall..When I have known him to open a patient it's almost always due to adhesions, scar tissues.from previous or multiple surgeries.etc. although it's rare that even that keeps him from doing laparoscopic. ....All of these things are good questions to ask him at the seminar...He will be happy to answer your questions and again go into more detail about the DS.
Brenda
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