Question:
What Can I Do To Shrink My Liver Prior To Surgery?

I have not been told I have an enlarged liver, but from reading I learned if you are MO you have one. My question is; How can I shrink my liver prior to surgery (47 days) to prevent the possibility of my surgeon having to do open instead of lap.    — suzcar51 (posted on February 26, 2003)

February 26, 2003
Hi There! My doctor put me on a low carb diet 14 days pre-op to shrink the liver. It worked, he said everything looked great! :-)
   — Pizofret

February 26, 2003
My doctor had me do a low fat 1000 calorie a day diet for 2 weeks prior to my Lap RNY. I was very good about it (miraculously) and he said it made surgery very easy (1 hour 10 minutes!!!) and I lost 11 pounds to boot! Good luck!! I actually even cheated twice and had 2 bacon cheeseburgers. I wish that i had had 3! hee hee :)
   — Carol S.

February 26, 2003
My doctor had me on a high protein liquid diet for about 10 days before my surgery. He said he was able to hold my liver in the palm of his had. On other people who dont follow those instructions their livers have been extremly inlarged. He can tell by how big your liver is if you followed his instructions.
   — Darlynn C.

February 26, 2003
Believe it or not, my doctor had me on Skim milk, as much as I wanted. I could have tuna fish and a small amount of vegetables! It was awful! But, it worked... I lost 10lbs one week prior to surgery.
   — Lori S.

February 26, 2003
My surgeon requires two weeks eating protein and veggies only. I only ate a tiny bit of carbs a few times. Other than that I did fine on it and lost 21 lbs.
   — zoedogcbr

February 27, 2003
Suzanne, Just losing weight(10 lbs)decreases the size of the liver. The liver is the first place fat goes to. My surgeon always said that losing weight(which is why many pre-ops are told to lose or at least not gain) is good as the liver will decrease in size with the loss. You should try to make dietary changes now(not dieting) and this helps post op. Best wishes to you
   — Linda M.

February 27, 2003
I didn't know you could shrink your liver. Good to know, you guys are great!
   — aprilbaree