Plastic Surgery: Q&A
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Do Plastic Surgeons Try to Get Their Patients to Stop Smoking?
Do you actively try to get your patients, who are smokers, to stop smoking? Please elaborate.
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6 Doctor Answers |
Asked by
anon
+3
Planning cosmetic surgery is a strong motivator to stop smoking
As a plastic surgeon, I am not an expert on nicotine addiction, which is an extremely difficult conditon to treat.
Many people who smoke (about 65%) are not physically addicted to nicotine, and these patients are often able to stop smoking when they understand that they cannot have the cosmetic surgery they want (typically a face lift or a tummy tuck) unless they do stop smoking. If a person absolutely cannot stop smoking (one of the 35% who is truly addicted), then I refer them to an...
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I tell all patients who smoke that I will not perform...
I tell all patients who smoke that I will not perform their surgery if they don't stop all nicotine exposure for one month before and after surgery.
This is especially important in surgeries where the skin is lifted to tighten it and the blood supply is partially compromised by this. These procedures include facelifts, breast lifts and reductions, and abdominoplasties or tummy tucks.
Nicotine gums, patches, and even secondhand smoke must also be avoided. The nicotine causes the blood...
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Many plastic surgeons limit the type of procedure they...
Many plastic surgeons limit the type of procedure they perform on smokers. Tobacco smoke contains more than 3,800 identified substances, of which nicotine and carbon monoxide are two of the most detrimental to wound healing and may cause pulmonary complications. This impaired wound healing may dramatically decrease the final cosmetic out. That is why, most plastic surgeon would recommend to their patients to decrease or quit smiking prior to their procedures.
However many plastic...
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Active measures to help patients quit
Yes. The ways that I, and likely many other plastic surgeons, actively take a role in getting patients to stop smoking is as follows:
1. Setting a quit date 2-3 weeks before the anticipated elective surgery date.
2. My nurse or I keeping in touch with the patient to check on smoking status and success in quitting.
3. Referring the patient to a support group or psychotherapist who may aid in this process, which is often multidisciplinary or involving several providers (even things like...
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Many good studies in the medical literature indicate...
Many good studies in the medical literature indicate that risks of complications after surgery increase in those patients who smoke. In patients undergoing cosmetic surgery, specifically facelifts, the risk of killing the skin which is elevated is signficantly increased in smokers over non smokers.
In my practice, if a patient will not quit smoking for two weeks before surgery and two weeks after surgery, I will not perform a cosmetic procedure on them. With cosmetic surgery, patients are...
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Yes, I encourage my patients to stop smoking completely....
Yes, I encourage my patients to stop smoking completely. Several studies suggest that the complication rate of smokers compared to non-smokers can be as high as 50%.
I inform patients that they should stop smoking at least 3-4 weeks prior to surgery and continue to not smoke for at least 3-4 weeks post-operatively. Nicotine patches or nicotine gum are not acceptable because the nicotine can cause vasconstriction (choking of the vessels).
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