Pre-op diet not what I expected

Hello!  New to the forums, and wanted to start off with an intro and question.  I've been overweight all my life, and finally got my wife's approval to get surgery.  I'm scheduled for a gastric sleeve on March 14th in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico with Dr. Luis Enrique Parra Menchaca.  So happy to finally get this done!  

I've been given a pre-op diet, and this was not what I expected.  I had read allot about people only getting liquids for 2 weeks prior to the diet.  And my diet up to 4 days before the surgery is just like any normal diet.  It is limited in quantities, but I'm eating fish, meat, chicken for lunch, and your normal light breakfasts and dinners.  I'm fine with this as it seems like a piece of cake, but should I be concerned?  

The four days prior to the diet are little more extreme, but not your typical liquids only.  Here is an example of the day before surgery

Breakfast:  Water with protein supplement, or tea/electrolyte drink/diluted juice

Snack:  Clear liquids/Jello or protein supplement with water

Lunch:  Chicken broth + 1 chicken breast + clear liquids

Snack:  Clear liquids or 1 protein supplement with water

Dinner:  Chicken broth + 1/2 chicken breast + clear liquids

As I was typing I realized that the last few days are clear liquids, with chicken breasts (or fish) spread throughout the last 4 days.  I'm not complaining since this won't be as hard as i thought, but should I complain to my doctor?  

Assuming you trust your surgeon, which you should, I'd recommend following his plan for pre-op and immediately post-op.  

Why do you trust strangers on the internet more than your surgeon?

Seriously, we can't override your medical team's plan for you. Every surgeon's pre-op plan seems to vary widely from every other's, from weeks of clear liquids to "eat light the day before, no special diet necessary."  As far as I can tell there is no magic pre-op bullet that every patient needs -- but it's probably a good idea to get in the habit of trusting your team's plan for you rather than trying to conduct an internet referendum every time it looks a little different than what you expected . . . you will get exhausted otherwise!

You are completely right!  I do trust my surgeon 100%, just thought that the diet was too easy compared to what I thought was standard practice (liquids only for 2 weeks).  He did mention that he would require a diet like that for more at risk patients but that it wasn't necessary for me.  I guess that's good for me!

there is no standard practice when it comes to pre op diets or post op for that matter. 

Since surgeons are individual ppl and not clones of each other,it stands to reason that their diets would be different also.

Preop diets are not standardized at all and range from absolutely none to weeks on end of clear liquid. Glad to read that following the plan is humming along for you!

I appreciate all the replies, I'll be using this forum a whole lot more in the near future.  Wish me luck!

I've never understood the value of those liquid pre-op diets (have never found anyone with a good explanation for them, either...) - a low carb diet for a while is said to improve the condition of the liver for those docs who are concerned about that, but that doesn't involve a liquids-only protocol.

This question came up with one of the surgeons at our dinner meeting the other night, and his reason for not doing the pre-op diet thing, beyond not being necessary for his needs, is that he want his patients as strong and healthy as possible for surgery, and fasting for a couple of weeks doesn't do it!

Be happy - of the various diets out there that docs use, your doc has one of the saner ones.

(now the edit function shows up - thanks OH!)

My surgeon required no pro-op diet whatsoever, except clear liquids only the day before. Happy me!