Did you know that smoking can impede the healing process after a plastic surgery procedure? That’s right, for the best possible outcome after your surgery it’s best to kick the habit to the curb. Surgeons at the University of Texas found that women smokers who underwent breast reconstruction after cancer surgery had higher rates of necrosis – tissue death – at the edges of the skin flaps near the wound site. Toxins in cigarette smoke impede wound healing and also have an adverse effect on the circulation. Any operation where there is injury to large flaps of skin poses a problem to smokers, because wound healing could be impeded.
At Tarola Plastic Surgery we’d advise to give up smoking for at least four (4) weeks after your surgery to help minimize complications. In some cases, since such operations are not usually medical emergencies, doctors may even refuse to go ahead with the surgery until the patient quits smoking.
