system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ElI5: How can people be put under anesthesia for emergency surgery but for general surgery they say you will aspirate and die if you eat anything 24 hours prior to being put under?
gpt
Aspiration is relatively rare, but given the damage it can cause, and that the only downside is that you miss a meal, people are warned not to eat before surgery. But if you need emergency surgery, well, you need emergency surgery. In that case, the benefits outweigh the increased risk of aspiration.