Why is fasting necessary prior to surgery?

Answer 1

Probably for several reasons... So you don't vomit or evacuate (go to the bathroom, either form) during surgery. It'll also mean your blood sugar will be low (or at least they'll have a pretty good idea of what your blood sugar is).

Hopefully you won't have any chemicals in your system that will cause an adverse reaction to drugs they use, or cause any allergic reactions while you're on the table, complicating surgery, etc.

I mean there's any numberof variables that are taken off the operating room table by making sure you're cleaned out prior to going under the knife...

Answer 2

During general anesthesia (and EVERY anesthetic is a potential general anesthetic) the normal reflex that keeps you from inhaling stuff other than air does not work. This means you can inhale your vomit (aspiration).

Also, some of the drugs that we use in anesthesia can make it more likely for anything in the stomach to passively reflux into the throat, increasing the chance of aspiration.

The third reason is that many of the drugs used in anesthesia cause nausea, and if you have a full stomach, you increase the risk of throwing up after surgery.

If you have emergency surgery after getting hit by a bus on your way out of your local McDonald's, we take precautions to reduce the risk of aspiration. Then we stick a tube down your gullet and empty out the Big Mac.

Answer 3

Fasting is necessary prior to surgery becase the anesthesia they give you messes up wth your reflexes and hence puts you in danger of vomitting and then aspirating it (or the food going into your lungs).

You may also regurgitate the food in your stomach and this may also be a risk of choking and dying.

The nurse is ordered to put you in NPO, non per orem (nothing by mouth), the night before.

Answer 4

To prevent the possibility of vomiting during the surgery, possibly aspirating the vomitus and developing a potentially lethal aspiration pneumonia.

Answer 5

You don't want to vomit and breathe it down into your lungs while you are asleep during surgery. Fasting is only usually from midnight before scheduled surgery.

Answer 6

Once anesthesia is administered, if you have food or water in your stomach you could regurgitate and choke and die. It might not move very far, just far enough up your esophogus to prevent air from passing through.

Answer 7

They might tell you all sorts of stuff to scare and warn you, but the real reason is so you don't poop on the Operating table.

Who wants to clean a grown up's caca?

Answer 8

Aesthesia suppresses normal reflexes. If stomach or bowels contain food it may go into wind pipes(and cough reflex is also suppressed) and cause death.

Answer 9

because some people have an adverse reaction to the anathesia. if you vomit while under general anathesia, you could actually choke to death on your vomit. So they don't want anything in your stomach at all.

Answer 10

So you won't vomit during surgery and cause aspirational pneumonia.