Would anything bad happen if you eat before you get put under with anesthesia?

Yes: If you go under anesthesia and there is food in your stomach you run the risk of vomiting and having the vomitus go into your lungs. This occurs because your gag reflex will be either diminished or gone. This could give you a pneumonia which maybe fatal.

Yes: Aspiration is a life threatening event. It means the food in your stomach ends up in your lungs because when asleep you have no reflex to prevent it. That is why for elective surgery we fast patients. In emergencies we have no choice so we put people to sleep very quickly and immediately protect their airway with a cuffed breathing tube.

Possibly death: Going to under anesthesia with a full stomach can lead to aspiration. This is where the contents of the stomach are pushed up into the pharynx and into the lungs. This is a disaster that can lead to pneumonia, prolonged treatment on a ventilator and even death. We recommend not eating 6 hours before any operation.

YES IT CAN!: The potential for a catastrophe exists. When you are put under general anesthesia you are unconscious and have no control over your airway reflexes. If you have eaten, you will often vomit once you are "put out". The vomit can then go into your lungs and cause life threatening pneumonia, and lung damage. A patient with a full stomach who requires surgery is a dangerous situation.

NPO: It depends on the timing of the surgery and the meal. 6 hours before surgery,you may eat. 2 hours before surgery you may drink black coffee/tea and other clear fluids

Aspiration: It greatly increases the risk of vomiting and aspirating stomach contents into the lungs. It's important to follow the surgical team reccomendations about the fasting time.