Surgeons forbid Can I eat or drink before an operation? / NHS patients eat 6-8 hours before surgery. Usually this time is enough Digestion: How long does it take? / Mayo Clinic so that the food leaves the stomach completely. We explain why it is better to put up with the feeling of hunger, rather than trying to have a snack in secret from the doctor.
Due to general anesthesia, the contents of the stomach can A. Ng, G. Smith. Gastroesophageal reflux and aspiration of gastric contents in anesthetic practice / Anesthesia and analgesia rise into the pharynx, and then enter the respiratory tract. This process is called aspiration. A person under anesthesia will not be able to prevent it.
If this happens, doctors will immediately begin to clean the bronchi of the patient. But despite this, the patient can P. Studer, G. Räber, D. Ott, D. Candinas, B. Schnüriger. Risk factors for fatal outcome in surgical patients with postoperative aspiration pneumonia / International journal of surgery aspiration pneumonia may develop. In 30% of cases, people die from it.
There are other complications. So, my colleague had a patient who ate 2 hours before the removal of the appendix, but did not inform the surgeon about it. During the operation, the man was intubated, that is, a special tube was inserted into his trachea so that he could breathe. At that moment, the food rose from the stomach.
The course of the operation had to be changed. Laparoscopy, during which small incisions are made, became impossible: due to aspiration and the need to clean the bronchi, the patient could not be tilted as needed. As a result, I had to perform a laparotomy — a large longitudinal incision on the abdomen.
The doctors cleared the airways where the food got into. But despite this, later the patient developed complications: pneumonia and purulent bronchitis. The man was in the intensive care unit for five days. Fortunately, he survived.
The dose of anesthetics used during surgery is more convenient Fasting before a general anaesthetic / NHS monitor when the patient has an empty stomach. This is how an anesthesiologist can predict how the body will react to drugs and adjust their work.
If a person's stomach is full, food can distort the effect of anesthesia. And this will lead to unpleasant consequences. For example, due to an incorrectly calculated dose, a person can Anesthesia Awareness (Waking Up) During Surgery / American Society of Anesthesiologists wake up during surgery.
Surgery and anesthesia affect J. P. Desborough. The stress response to trauma and surgery / BJA on metabolism and digestion of food. Therefore, after patients come to their senses, many complain of nausea, vomiting and a feeling of bloating. If you refuse to eat before the procedure, the risk of unpleasant symptoms will decrease.
In addition, there is a theory that refusing to eat before surgery helps to recover faster. So, scientists have discovered M. Luo, S. Rao, Y. Tan, H. Yin, X. Hu, Yan Zhang, Y. Liu, T. Yue, L. Chen, L. Li, Y. Huang, Y. Qian, Z. Liu, J. Cao, Z. Wang, Z. Luo, Y. Wang, K. Xia, S. Tang, C. Chen, H. Xie. Fasting before or after wound injury accelerates wound healing through the activation of pro-angiogenic SMOC1 and SCG2 / Theranostics that fasting accelerates the healing of diabetic ulcers and burns. Perhaps this also applies to postoperative wounds.
At the same time, it is important that the fasting does not take too long. If you overdo it and don't eat for a day, it's the opposite S. C. Francisco, S. T. Batista, G. D. Graças Pena. Fasting In Elective Surgical Patients: Comparison Among The Time Prescribed, Performed And Recommended On Perioperative Care Protocols / Arquivos brasileiros de cirurgia digestiva , it will slow down recovery, because the body will not have enough nutrients.
