I made a mistake before surgery — what now?

Not always. It depends on what you ate and how long before your surgery. A light meal usually needs about 6 hours and a large or fatty meal about 8 hours of fasting; if you're inside that window your team may delay your slot rather than cancel it outright. The safest move is to call your pre-op line and tell them exactly what you ate and when — don't guess, and don't hide it.

Usually not, if it was more than about 2 hours before your arrival — water and clear fluids are typically allowed up to 2 hours before surgery, and a small sip to take essential medicine is often fine even closer. If you drank within 2 hours, or drank milk, a milky coffee, a smoothie or juice with pulp (which count as food), call your team to check.

Call your pre-op line and tell them which medicine and when you took it. Most of the time surgery still goes ahead — for example, accidentally taking a blood-pressure tablet rarely cancels anything. But a few matter more (such as diabetes SGLT2 tablets or blood thinners), so let the team decide rather than assuming. Never take a second dose to 'fix' it.

Call your surgical or pre-op team as soon as you realise. Your surgery may need to be delayed so the blood thinner can wear off safely, because operating while it's still active raises bleeding risk. Don't take any more of it, and don't panic — this is a common situation your team handles routinely. They'll tell you the new plan.

Always tell them — and no, you won't be in trouble. Anesthesiologists would far rather know and reschedule than have you go under anesthesia with a full stomach, which can be dangerous. Being honest about exactly what happened and when is the single most important thing you can do.