Pre-op liquid diet

Good Morning everyone! 

I went to a support group meeting on Monday night and it was for a different clinic than I'm getting my surgery through so they do things different.  They are very strict on the pre-op liquid diet and the nurse said if they open up a patient and the liver is still fatty sometimes they'll close them back up and cancel the surgery!   I'm pretty sure my clinic doesn't require the liquid diet but if it'll help me have a better surgery and recovery i still want to do it for myself. 

So WHY do they have you do a liquid diet?  Something about the liver?

Tomorrow is my psychiatrist appointment!  Yay!

The purpose of the liquid diet is to shrink the liver and also have you lose extra weight before surgery. Or at least this is how it was explained to me. I am currently on the liquid diet and have neutral feelings about it. I dont love it, but I dont hate it.

I am noticing that some surgeons ask for 48 hours of liquid diet others are asking for 2 or more weeks. Mine has asked for 2 and a half weeks, maybe this is because of my weight.. I dont know but I think that 2 weeks is standard.

If you feel that the liquid diet would help your surgery but your clinic hasnt mentioned it, you should call them and ask them about it. They may have overlooked it, or thought that you already had the information.

Every MD is different, I have seen things from just clear liquids the 2 days before and a bowel prep to liquids for 2-3 weeks and no bowel prep.  My MD wants 2 weeks of liquids and if bmi over 50, 3 weeks of liquids.  I was in the 3 week group.  So glad I followed the instructions and got the surgery done.  My surgeon does not do a bowel prep, stated the liquid diet takes care of that.

The liver covers the stomach area and by shrinking it with the liquids, they are able to more easily maneuver the liver out of the way to do the surgery much easier and be able to do the small incisions for lap surgery.

Good luck with getting through the pre op stuff, consult with your MD and staff and follow their directions, whatever each MD does, works for them.  Hugs, Kathy

You were given excellent info here. My surgeon required 10 days of liquids with a small high protein dinner each evening, but all liquids the last 3 days.

You definately save yourself a lot of extra pain by allowing your liver to shrink before the surgery. The more in the way it is, the more they have to tug and manipulate things, and the more soreness you will have. But as everyone said, inquire with your surgeon, they may have just forgotten to inform you of thier procedure for the liquid diet. A few... VERY few do not require it, but sometimes it can impair their ability to get to all the places they need to during surgery, if the liver is not shrunken down. The liquid diet shrinks the liver nicely, as that is the first place the fat loss begins in our body. If we are obese, then we definately have a fatty liver.
Congrats on your upcoming surgery! Keep us posted!

I feel the same way with the pre-op diet???  I know it is to shrink the liver but pretty much everybody on here on their pre-op diet is doing liquid.  I am on my pre-op diet and it is the Atkins diet.  That is all that has been requested of me.  I go for my pre-op on Wednesday so I don't know if they are going to require anything else of me then, but all they told me was the night before my surgery to eat a light dinner and nothing after midnight.  My surgery is on the 6th.  If I thought that a liquid diet would help shrink my liver more I surely would do that as I just want my surgery to go as smooooooth as possible -