How Long Do I Need to Be off Smoking After Breast Implant Surgery?

I had breast augmentation 24 days ago and I know smoking is VERY important to the healing. I quit 3 weeks prior to sugery, a week before the "quit date" that I cut down to only 1 per day. I started smoking again at 3 weeks after my surgery. Now, I am just wondering if this will have an effect on my healing? My incisions look like they are coming along very well, but I still have have stitches, they are the dissolving kind. What is your opinion? Thank you very much for your help!!

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10 Doctor Answers | Asked by 5440anon in Calgary, AB

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Smoking and Healing

No disease or man made disaster has claimed more lives and caused more diseases than smoking which affects nearly every organ system in the body. While smoking enriches and keeps busy every medical specialty and morticians as well, it has hampered and frustrated Plastic surgeons since they came into existence. Nicotine and the hundreds of other toxins found in smoke reduce the amount of oxygenated blood flowing through the skin. Any reduction in oxygen supply to the skin affects the texture... more

Smoking and Surgery

Thank you for the question. The use of nicotine (as in any form) can lead to devastating complications after surgical procedures. Nicotine is a potent constrictor of blood vessels, preventing the delivery of oxygen etc. to surgical sites that require good blood flow to heal. The resulting decreased blood flow leads to potential problems with healing, tissue necrosis, open wounds, infections… Don't even think about the use of nicotine around the time of your... more

Smoking is Bad Before and After Surgery

Most experts unanimously agree that smoking increases the rate of breast augmentation surgical complications significantly - This applies both before and after your surgery. For example smoking after surgery dramatically increases your risk of having a capsular contracture (hard abnormal looking breasts).. Just about all plastic surgeons strongly recommend women to stop smoking and all nicotine products well in advance of breast augmentation with breast implants... more

Smoking and implants

In general, smoking should not be done. But, I usually ahve patients do what you did and avoid 3 weeks before and stay off 3-4 weeks after. But even still there are increased risks.

Steven Wallach, MD

12 reviews

Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Breast augmentation and smoking

Smoking and diabetes account for a large majority of wound healing issues. If you add bad nutritional habits and general lack of physical conditioning to that the wound healing problems become more commonplace. Stop smoking and give you incisions time to heal.

Smoking and Plastic Surgery

Do not go hand in hand. You are basically guaranteeing yourself to have issue with your health and/or your plastic surgery. It is a fact that patients who smoke have a higher capsular contracture rate. So eventhough you may have healed well, you are setting yourself up for problems with your surgery as well as your health.

When to resume smoking after elective cosmetic plastic surgery

STOP SMOKING FOREVER is the easiest answer. Without being sarcastic, that may save you additional cosmetic procedures at a later date. There are no definitive studies to answer your question. As long as your wounds are healing, smoking has the potential to compromise your result. However, that having been said, typically the vast majority of the scar tissue has been deposited by 3 weeks after surgery. Scar tissue can undergo a maturation process that takes up to two years. more

Otto Joseph Placik, MD

33 reviews

Chicago Plastic Surgeon

Smoking after breast augmentation

It would be great for your overall health if you could stay off cigarettes permanently, but for the purposes of your healing at this stage, you should be OK. You should advise your surgeon at your next visit that you've started smoking again, but it would be unusual at this stage to have a complication which could be directly attributed this. Best wishes, /nsn.

Smoking and the risks of complications

We would love it if all of our patients quit smoking forever for their general heal as well as healing from surgery. We also know that it is a habit that is difficult to break but the risks are still there. I ask my patients to avoid ANY exposure to tobacco products for at least 2 weeks before and after surgery. It does depend on the surgery, how extensive, how thin the tissue flaps, potential vascular compromise, etc. I can also assure you that there are some plastic surgeons that will... more

Breast Augmentation in Smoker

Although I generally refuse to perform tummy tucks and face lifts in smokers, I do not require my augmentation patients to stop smoking. I am aware that some plastic surgeons feel very strongly about this, but I am not aware of any sigificant wound healing problems in my breast augmentation patients who smoke.