system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: So I know that you can't eat/drink x hours before surgery to not aspirate your food, but what do they do when it's an unexpected surgery and the person just ate, like a car crash or burst appendix, etc?
gpt
It's a risk vs reward issue. 

 If you can be stabilized until you are clear of food in your stomach. They will often times wait. 

If you cannot be stabilized and whatever you need surgery for can kill you anyway they have alternate anesthesia techniques can be used depending on the surgery. 

Source:work for on call ortho trauma surgeon.