Does Smoking Cause Open Wounds and Infection on a Breast Reduction?

I am also curious as to why I have mixed stories from different doctors in regards to smoking and the affects before and after surgery. I have talked with several plastic surgeons and yet to get a logical answer when asked if smoking was the cause or what? I have never experienced anything as painful, open wounds, infection, etc. I have always been healthy and fit and some doctors will say no smoking can restrict blood flow but was not the cause, while others will scrutinize smoking? Confused

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7 Doctor Answers | Asked by rmshelpme in conway, sc

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Nicotine and Breast Reduction Surgery?

You should be free of any type of nicotine product for at least 4 to 6 weeks prior to breast reduction surgery. This holds true for other plastic surgical procedures that involve flaps, such as facelifting and tummy tuck surgery. Nicotine behaves as a vasoconstrictor of blood vessels thereby decreasing blood flow to tissues ( that need to receive blood flow to heal after surgery). A decrease in this blood flow may result in wound healing problems and/or tissue death... more

Nicotine decreases blood flow

Not the smoke part but the nicotine that constricts the blood vessles and can cause healing problems especially in surgery where the skin is widely lifted up (breast reductions, lifts, tummy tucks, facelifts). Most surgeons would want you away from ALL nicotine products for several weeks before and after surgery including second hand smoke to minimize the healing risks.

SMOKING SLOWS DOWN HEALING OF WOUNDS

Cigarette smoke contains nicotine. Nicotine causes vasoconstriction. Vasoconstriction causes less blood to flow into tissue. Less blood means less oxygen. Therefore nicotine causes less oxygen to flow into tissue. When wounds are healing and they are pulled tight, the flaps rely on small blood vessels for oxygen. If the small blood vessels are constricted due to nicotine, the tissues will not receive oxygen. When tissues do not receive... more

Smoking and wound healing

At a cancer center here in Houston, they will have the patient undergo a serum or urine cotinine test to see if a patient has recently used tobacco, and will cancel the surgery until the patient stops using tobacco. Nicotine causes blood vessels to shrink In size, thus decreasing blood flow to certain areas. When a surgery is done, whether a breast reduction or other, blood flow is lost to certain areas and has to come from another sometimes distant source. This can... more

Smoking increases surgical risks

Smoking can impair wound healing based on reduced blood flow to the flaps. I do not see a basis for confusion. If you have not had this type of surgery, you cannot extrapolate by comparison to minor wounds. I recommend that you try a smoking cessation program and delay surgery until you have successfully completed it.

Smoking and surgery

Smoking increases the risks of complications with surgery. There are some reports that it increases the risk by 50%!

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Breast Reduction and Smoking

In short - smoking and all nicotine products are extremely harmful to normal healing after a breast reduction. So much so that I will not perform an operation on any patient who has been smoking or taking nicotine product for 4 weeks prior to surgery. Having surgery has enough inherent risks and adding smoking to this list unnecessarily adds more. Best wishes.