Dr. Thomas White, Omaha: pre-surgery diet?

I am new to this and have my first appointment scheduled to talk about surgery. Some people have responded to me that I should just wait and have to ask my questions of the doctor...I understand that this is true, but I'm just so excited and trying to find out as much as I can. So I'm wondering if anyone who had Dr. White as their doctor could tell me about a pre-op diet of any kind. I have been reading on the main boards that some doctors require a 6-month supervised diet, some require a 2-week liquid diet, etc. I had never heard of this before. Of course I'm willing to do whatever it takes, I am just curious as to what diet, if any, this doctor requires. Thank you so much for your time. emily

I could be wrong, but what I've generally found is this: Some INSURANCE COMPANIES require a 6 month doctor supervised diet prior to surgery. I've never heard of a surgeon *****quired that unless it was the insurance company's policy. Most surgeons require some kind of 'pre-surgery' diet for a couple of weeks, just to shrink the fat deposits on your liver since those 'get in the way'. Dr Hung in Lincoln says to do two 'slimfast' shakes a day and one meal of meat and veggies for two weeks. (It doesn't have to be slimfast... carnation instant breakfast is OK, and I actually did yogurt instead.) You could try sending a personal message to some of the people who commented on this doctor, and ask them. Good luck! Sally

Dr. White was my surgeon. He requires a 10 day liquid diet. He will explain to you about softening the body fat around the liver so that it can be easily moved out of the way during surgery since your stomach is behind your liver. If you don't soften the fatty tissue enough to allow him to move the liver then he will have to make the large incision (Yuck) down your belly to get at your stomach. I suggest you take his advise. I drank protien shakes for the 10 days prior. This allowed me to get used to them and find the ones I liked best. It also helps clean out your bowels which is handy those first days so you are not putting pressure on your stomach. Hope this helps :cool