Many bariatric clinics and surgeons will recommend that you commence a pre-op (pre-operative) diet before weight loss surgeries. Well, it may surprise you (and relieve you!) to hear that our surgeon, Dr Padovan, does not require his patients to undertake a pre-op diet.

You might wonder, how can this be when so many other surgeons insist on one? It sounds too good to be true, we know! But, there are actually plenty of reasons that you can go without a pre-op diet at Emerge, and why it may actually be better for you.

Our skilled surgeon

A common reason that a pre-op diet is recommended to patients is due to the fact it will reduce the size of the liver.
The liver is a large organ that lies over your stomach and will most likely be even larger if you are overweight. A pre-op diet will aid in reducing the size of the liver, which many surgeons claim makes it easier for them to operate. However, Dr Padovan is an extremely experienced, skilled surgeon with fellowship training. The size of the liver makes no difference to the success of his procedures.

You can read more about Dr Padovan’s extensive qualifications here.

Studies show it’s not proven to make a difference

It is also widely-thought that pre-operative weight loss, which is often induced by a pre-op diet, will mean better results operatively and post-operatively.

However, studies suggest that it doesn’t actually make much difference. For example, this study from the journal of Bariatric Surgical Practice and Patient Care looks at differences in surgery duration and post-operative weight loss by comparing groups that lost weight, gained weight, or maintained their weight before their bariatric surgery.

The study found that surgery duration differed by only one minute between patients that lost and gained weight, and that pre-operative weight loss is not indicative of post-operative weight loss.

Therefore, you can be sure that you will still be getting the most of your surgery, even without a pre-op diet.

“Another diet? Really?”

A pre-op diet can often consist only of shakes, clear liquids and soups or extremely limited, low fat, low carb foods. This can be damaging to you, the patient, who has potentially tried multiple diets to try and induce weight loss before considering surgery.

Traditional dieting can put a lot of stress on your body both physically and mentally. If you’ve had a negative experience in the past, a pre-op diet can be far from ideal, and can bring back those negative emotions.

The best thing for both you and our team is for you to be feeling happy, healthy and relaxed before your procedure!

Want to know more?

We like to let our reviews speak for themselves. If you’d like to hear about our previous clients’ experiences, you can check out our Emerge Surgical Facebook page and see our reviews and recommendations.

You can also read up on the weight loss surgeries we offer here.

Get in touch!

If you’ve ever thought about having weight loss surgery but have been worried about prerequisites like dieting and weight loss, then our team at Emerge can help you.

Get in contact with us by calling 9544 5200 or filling out our contact form. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have and look forward to hearing from you!