Will Smoking One Cigarette A Day Hurt My Plastic Surgery? And If Yes, How?

Question

Will Smoking One Cigarette A Day Hurt My Plastic Surgery? And If Yes, How?

2 Answers

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Answer 1

Plastic surgeons tend to advise patients to give up smoking - especially right after surgery.

The reason for this is that smoking cigarettes will slow down your healing process, and make you more susceptible to infection.

Can I smoke after plastic surgery?
Most doctors would advise that you resist the urge to smoke.

Smoking (or consuming nicotine in general) will constrict your blood vessels - and constricted blood vessels mean less oxygen getting into your bloodstream.

This is bad for two main reasons:

Your healing tissue needs oxygen to fight off infection.
Decreased oxygen levels increase the likelihood of tissue or skin death
Smoking clogs up your lungs, and increases your chances of getting a lung infection.

Wounds associated with plastic surgery are very complex, and require your system to be working at an optimal level. Smoking will significantly weaken your immune system, and will prolong your healing process.

As much as I'd like to tell you it's OK to have a smoke - the answer is simply NO, put it out!

Answer 2

Studies have shown that smoking can impair the body's ability to heal itself immediately after surgery. So I would suggest you must quit smoking.

It can result in weathering of skin, and creation of lines and wrinkles on the face, as cigarettes have harmful toxins that create a bad environment for the body. Nicotine causes vasospasms in the vessels, which can result in restriction of blood flow.

Carbon monoxide in cigarettes can also block oxygen from getting to the skin.