> Why would a surgeon know anything about anesthesia risk?

Idunno, maybe because their entire career is performing surgeries which include anaesthesia and they have worked for potentially decades alongside anaesthesiologists? For instance, I've worked in the same type of role (programmer) for my entire career and I somehow know a ton about the disciplines adjacent or closely related to mine, especially because I work with them every day.

Graciously, I think this was the point they were trying to make, with an inappropriately sarcastic intro.

Medicine is not programming.