Question:
What is involved in the pre op testing

I want to know the good the bad and the ugly......... and i know there is some ugly. So please tell thanks. Bird laday    — Birdlover77 (posted on August 30, 2006)

August 30, 2006
Well Patricia, for me, it hasn't been so ugly. Chest x-rays, an ultrasound of the abdomen, and upper GI (you have to drink that chaulky stuff --that is bad -- just drink it down, it only tastes bad after you finish), pulmonary breathing test where you blow into this tube, arterial blood gas (where blood is taken out of an artery -- usually the wrist), basic blood tests. Due to a hemangioma on my liver the surgeon order a CT Scan. It's like a birth mark on your liver. I'd forgotten I had it until they did the ultra-sound. The pre-op tests aren't that bad so don't worry. I believe different surgeons order various tests, I'm not sure how uniform these tests are with WLS. They also found some type of micro- organism in my stomach so they have me on what's called a PrevPac for 14 days. Trust me, if anything is wrong with you prior to the surgery that may cause you problems during and after, they will be taken care of before you have the surgery.
   — the7thdean

August 30, 2006
Hi, it all depends on your health. I was healthy but fat, and my surgeon had me do blood test and then at preadmishions I had exrays, blood test, and physical, but if you have any health problems i would think you might have more tests. I hope this helps.
   — olga8

August 30, 2006
Well for me what was involved was , I went to the hospital where the surgery will be done and I had did all pre op stuff , then I had blood drawn , then went and had a EKG then they sent me to get a Chest Xray , also Had a ultra sound done and last was the scope where they looked at the stomach. To be honest dont think it was that bad.
   — armywife123098

August 31, 2006
Hi Patrice, I've not had surgery yet, but, for me so far, I have had to do: Phych Eval, Ultra-sound of my gallbladder, 3 month dr supervised diet, pulmonary clearance, sleep study, diatary class, nutrition evaluation, and chest x-rays. Some of this was per the sergeon and some per the insurance company. As of yesterday after a peer to peer between my PCP and the insurance company, I understand that I now have clearance. But that is what I've done thus far. But, I do believe that it is different for each surgeon and/or insurance company. Best of luck to you. Jean
   — Jean N.

August 31, 2006
Hi Patrice! I agree with all the above comments, I had all of those tests, plus dopplergrams of the leg veins, cardiac stress test, echocardiogram of the heart. Nothing was painful, nothing was even more than a minor inconvenience. I'd have to say the worst part of the testing was finding a parking space! It was even kind of fun, some of the techs were very open and informative, I got to see things like my heart valves opening and closing, heard the sound blood makes going thru the veins, all very weird but hey, how often do you get to see your insides? About the only "problems" I had from the testing was getting the glue out of my hair after the sleep test (just a little extra shampoo did it) and wiping off gel after a lot of the imaging sessions. No big deal! Relax, you're going to be fine!
   — mwilson523