Drinking before surgery?

Question

I had 3 or 4 drinks at a party two nights before my surgery. Is everything going to be ok?

Answer 1

There are several reasons why you should not drink alcohol before surgery. Alcohol slows the movement of food through the stomach and also irritates the stomach lining increasing the chances that you will vomit or regurgitate. Alcohol also adds to the effects of sedative and anesthetic agents. This makes it difficult for the anesthesiologist to estimate proper doses of the anesthetics.

I would call your doctor and double check, just in case. Better to be safe then sorry. I'm sure it will be fine, but you don't want that to be the reason you have a complication during surgery. Best of luck.