Alcohol before surgery?

Question

I am scheduled to have surgery to get my adenoids removed and my septum fixed next wednesday. I told the hospital that i didn't smoke or drink when they called last week because I only rarely drink. If I were to have a few drinks tonight, would it put me at all in risk. From what I have read you are supposed to stop drinking 2 days before and this would give me ample time. But they don't give consumers and non-consumers different anesthesia do they?

Answer 1

1. If you're going to worry about it, just don't drink. 2. The best place to get this advice is from the doctor. 3. If they said stop drinking at least 2 days before, that is probably sound advice.

The main reason you are asked if you drink regularly is to make sure your liver is functioning properly, and they will do liver tests if they suspect it is not. Also, drinking before surgery can make you more susceptible to bleeding while it is in your system and it can interact with meds, that's probably why they said 2 days - to make sure all the alcohol is out of your system by the time for surgery and medications.

Answer 2

All surgery has risk.  The question is do you want to put yourself at a higher risk.

Answer 3

Alcohol can affect what we do in anesthesia.

For patients who are drunk when they go to the OR (usually after doing something stupid while drunk, leading to injury), we worry about aspiration of gastric contents, and potentiation of our drugs.  They're already halfway anesthetized, so we can usually get away with less.

People who are heavy drinkers have livers that work overtime, and can go through our drugs faster.  It usually takes extra drugs to keep these folks comfortable.

For moderate to light drinkers, there really isn't anything different that we do.  

Two days is enough time to make sure there is no alcohol left in your system.  Alcohol, although a liquid, actually dehydrates you, and that can make your blood pressure labile while under anesthesia.  It also makes it hard to get an IV started.  

Good luck with your surgery.