I understand your hesitation in letting those quacks near you with blades too! ;) The way I look at it is that rather than what is the 'norm' and trying medical Science first you are doing the right thing by allowing your body the best chance to repair itself first. I have no doubt that fasting will make you stronger, healthier and will certainly help repair some of the damage done. And even if it doesn't stop you needing the operation you will be better equipped to survive the operation and allow it to be a success.
And who knows, you may have enough success just with the fasting to avoid the operation altogether. We really don't know the limits of the human body as yet so it's always worth giving it your best shot.