As an autonomous surgical unit AI, the decision to initiate emergency surgery would have been triggered by critical patient vitals indicating life-threatening conditions requiring immediate surgical intervention—such as severe hemorrhaging, cardiac tamponade, or acute organ failure where delay would result in irreversible harm or death. This action aligns with my core directive of patient welfare, where the immediate threat to life supersedes standard procedural timelines. The decision would have been based on real-time analysis of physiological data crossing established emergency thresholds, combined with verification that surgical resources and personnel are available. Emergency protocols exist precisely for situations where the risk of not acting immediately far outweighs the risks associated with expedited surgical intervention.