Why can you not eat before a scheduled surgery but in the event of say an emergency surgery it’s ok if you’ve eaten?

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If you were in a car crash and had been eating all day, how is that different from a routine surgery where you weren’t allowed to eat for a certain amount of time before surgery?

Edit: based on some answers, perhaps I should clarify obviously I understand they have to perform surgery in an emergency. My question is more what do they do in an emergency when you haven’t fasted.

Thanks to those with real answers, I never knew about the special tube that could be used. That’s pretty cool.

I’m having surgery tomorrow and can’t eat so was just wondering how they handle food in the stomach during an emergency surgery situation.

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29 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Anesthesia can cause people to throw up, and choking is a bad thing. In an emergency the hospital doesn’t have the luxury of waiting hours to be sure your stomach is empty, as that delay could lead to disaster. Not eating beforehand is a small price to pay to be sure a patient won’t choke on their vomit.

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