I've been wondering...

When I finish my work for the day, check that everything is perfect and go home for the night, I don't want to be woken with a phone call telling me that someone messed up what I had done and I have to go back in and fix their mistakes.

The surgeon does his job, makes sure it is perfect and then has to trust that the patient does not eat or drink something that causes problems with the surgery. To the surgeon you are a job. When he passes the responsibility on to you to care for your surgery, he is hoping you will treat yourself with care and common sense.

He gives guidelines for diet, not to deprive you, but to make sure you heal properly. Some surgeons are more cautious than others.

My surgeon told me a story about a patient he had that has really stuck with me. My surgeon is very cautious and with good reason. He had a male patient that had RNY right before the 4th of July. The evening of the 4th, my surgeon has to meet this patient at the ER and rush him into surgery to redo his RNY. The patient had eaten ribs at his annual 4th of July barbeque. He ruptured his new pouch. When Dr. Barnes asked the man why he ate the ribs, the guy replied 'well I always have ribs on the 4th of July!".

So, in summary, physicians tend to be extremely cautious due to their past experiences. As a nurse, I could add a dozen more stories but I wont bore you any longer!

Ceci

My surgery site very strict. Clear fluids for 1 week, full fluids for 3 weeks, then soft foods with prefeession after that. No red meat for 6 months. No protein shakes for the first month.