Liver shrinking before surgery

I get the idea of why you would want your liver smaller before the surgery, because it would make it easier for the surgeon, etc. But how do they decide that yours is too big/enlarged and you need to be on liquids days or weeks before your surgery? Is there a test or xray that they use to see how big it is? I plan to have my band in the next two months. I am self pay and have no health issues, except that I'm overweight.

it seems that each surgeon has their own plan--not an exact science i guess. this was one of my biggest worries, that they'd get in there and the liver would be too big and they'd covert to an open surgery. but i listened to my pre-op diet religiously (except for one errant cup of soup). i was fine, and most people are. if you're concerned, ask the surgeon or staff, or even start planning for the liver shrinking now--cut down on sugars, carbs and alcohol and try to loose some weight (not all of it--just a few lbs will help).

but really, your surgeon will know what needs to be done or what's most likely to work.

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During surgery the doc discovered my liver was too large. In the process they accidently perferated my stomach and had to do an "open" surgery to repair the stomach and install the LAP-BAND®. I was NOT put on any pre op diet. I don't know if that would have made a difference or not, but I think it sure would have helped. I woke up to find I was stapled from the bottom of my breast bone to the top of my belly button and instead of one week recovery, looking a six weeks. So the pre diet to shrink the liver is VERY important and hindsight I would have done it on my own. Im a guy, and were different that we carry all our fat pretty much in our stomach, and our liver. It's very rare they have to do an open surgery. I posted to find out who else had and only one other person responded and they too did have a pre op diet. Follow the diet and I'm sure you'll be fine. Good luck and keep us posted.

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I agree... do the liver shrinking option because I did and my liver was still too large to operate, they didn't know until I got opened up... plus they found my liver was predominately on my left side where everyone elses was on their right side :( You just never can tell these things. So I had to endure another op 4 weeks later and luckily it went ahead but was still difficult. If you look you can see that your liver sits right infront of your stomach so they have to prop it up out of the way... I guess the smaller the better.

They had me on just low carb diet 1 week prior to my surgery... and i was fine for the surgery...

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273/156/170 Met my goal!! But setting a new goal of 150!
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Dr. Teng, Las Vegas NV
Banded July 18th - Self Pay

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I just had an abdominal ultrasound done (unrelated to LAP-BAND® approval) and it was discovered that my liver is enlarged due to fatty infiltration. This is a condition extremely common in obese people, and is the reason they put us on pre-op diets - they want us to shrink it so it's easier for them to operate, and so the liver is less likely to rupture during the procedure. So don't cheat on the Pre-op!

As an aside, fatty infiltration of the liver can lead to serious complications down the road, such as cirrhosis. Thankfully, bariatric surgery helps reverse this condition and restore the liver to health. The more weight you lose, the better the outcome.

I'm scheduled for my band this Thursday July 31st and the liver shrinking is one of my biggest concerns. I haven't done very well on the pre op diet at all. I did pretty good at eliminating sugar and carbs in food but I still drink red wine almost daily. (nerves have been bad this past week) Cutting out the bad food was almost no problem at all. I'm not terrified that they will have to convert to an open surgery or not be able to do it all because of my liver size.

i had an abdominal ultrasound

i also am being operated on the 31st good luck

I have been wondering about some of this myself...

I have been on a modified liquid diet with V8, low carb slim fast, crystal light and water, with once a day meal of grilled chicken salad or cheese and eggs. I have lost 14 pounds with this plan and as of tomorrow I plan to go full liquids.

My question is the concern of how many carbs per day is okay to continue to shrink my liver? Does anyone know??

Shelia

I also have to do the two week pre op diet. I'm not looking forward to it b/c I was approved for surgery with a low BMI of 35 and hypertension. If my BMI was any lower I wouldn't have been approved. I'm told I will not be weighed again but I'm trying not to loose too much weight before surgery. I'm scared my BMI will be below 35 and somehow after surgery find out my insurance will not cover it any more.

I know these are just fear and my wife keeps telling me not to worry about it, however, has anyone else been in this same situation. Did your BMI drop below the required amount for insurance and you will still covered?

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Approved: 7/15/08
Surgery: 8/25/08
First Fill: 2cc's 10/02/08
2nd Fill: 1cc 11/06/08
3rd Fill: 1cc 12/04/08
4th Fill: 1cc 1/08/08

I asked my nurse this question and she said not to go over 30g of carbs a day and I would be fine.

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Psych Eval: 07-09-08
Dietician: 07-10-08
Consult w/Dr. Smith: 07-10-08
Pre-op education: 07-10-08
2 week low carb diet: 07-24-08
Labs: 07-31-08
SURGERY: 08-07-08 / Dr. Adam Smith / Ft. Worth Lap-Band®

Thanks Cass for your info... Sounds like you are well on your way to being banded... Congratulations !

Shelia