Smoking and Cosmetic Surgery - Why They Do Not Mix

Are you interested in having cosmetic surgery? Whether you want to enhance your breasts with breast augmentation, make changes to your nose through rhinoplasty, or turn back the clock with a facelift, you need to be in good overall health to be considered as a candidate for a plastic surgery procedure. One of the main steps you can take to be healthy enough for a medical procedure is not being a smoker. What impact does smoking have on cosmetic surgery? The answers will be revealed in this informative article.

Smoking and Cosmetic Surgery – When Should You Stop Before a Procedure?

Many doctors will warn you about the general dangers of smoking such as the formation of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

If you are a regular smoker, most doctors recommend you quit smoking at least six weeks before surgery. In addition, they might advise you to not start smoking again until six months after the procedure. You can consider the decision to stop smoking before cosmetic surgery as part of a lifestyle check to help ensure a successful recovery period that includes gaining the best possible results.

You should have a discussion with your doctor about exactly when to stop smoking before a surgical procedure. The act of not smoking can lead to an improved heart rate, less chances of blood clots forming, healthy blood pressure, and a reduction in the chances of a heart attack or breathing issues.

Smoking and Cosmetic Surgery – How Does Smoking Impact Your Results?

One of the main reasons to not smoke while considering cosmetic surgery is that smoking has been shown to delay the healing process and cause conditions that are less than ideal when a person is recovering from surgery.

One of the key issues that smoking can cause both during and after a surgical procedure is poor blood circulation. For the recovery process to be successful, your circulation needs to be at its optimum level which means the blood in the body has to be able to travel throughout the body as well as supply necessary nutrients to the areas of the body that were targeted during the medical treatment. Nicotine can constrict blood vessels which also lessens the amount of oxygen that is in the cells. Since smoking is able to impact the flow of blood to the body, you might not be able to enjoy a proper healing process.

There is also the possibility of smoking impacting the ability of the heart to properly function due to pressure that is put on the heart. Smoking can make the heart become weaker and also have to work harder during the actual surgery. The need for the heart to work harder can continue after the surgery so the flow of blood is able to properly occur in the rest of the body.

After reading this article so far, it likely comes as no surprise that the presence of nicotine in your bloodstream makes it hard for proper blood flow to occur on a regular basis. In addition, you might end up developing cardiovascular problems due to the reduced blood flow to the heart. Some of the most common types of cardiovascular problems include shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, and dizziness.

There are certain risks involved with most cosmetic surgery procedures and they include blood clots. Smoking might put you at a greater risk for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) which is a blood condition that occurs when a thrombus, AKA a blood clot, forms in any of the deep veins of any parts of the body (such as the legs).

The act of smoking before a procedure or during the recovery period can lead to scarring on the body. Smoking can have a negative impact on the wound healing process and even result in prominent scars that are wide in appearance. During the post-op period, smoking can impair the wound healing process due to poor oxygen supply and the disruption of collagen deposits. Follow the advice of your doctor and stop smoking when instructed before the surgery in order to improve the quality and appearance of possible scars on the body.

The purpose of this article is not to convince you that smoking is evil or to lecture you about the dangers of smoking. This article is designed to show you the health benefits of not smoking for a designated amount of time before cosmetic surgery and for a time specified by your doctor after the procedure. Smoking can have a negative impact on your healing ability and even the appearance of your body due to poor wound healing. If you make the decision to have some form of cosmetic surgery in the future, it is in your best interest to take every precaution possible to enjoy results that are aesthetically pleasing and the best results you can hope to obtain thanks to not smoking.

- MA