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Tummy Tuck Recovery While Being a Smoker, is This Okay?

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healing smoking

16 Doctor Answers | Asked by Teezer

Doctor Answers (16)
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Quit smoking before surgery

I strongly advise my patients who are smokers to quit smoking for at least 6 weeks before and after a tummy tuck. Tobacco smoke interferes with wound healing and gives you a much higher chance of having a wound healing complication. Why take the chance? It's best to be honest with your plastic surgeon and do everything you can to maximize your chance of having a great result!

Nicotine Exposure of Any Kind is Dangerous with Tummy Tuck

Hi there- It is very important, if you value your safety and the improvement in your body that you will get through a well-done tummy tuck, that you be completely nicotine free for at least 3-4 weeks before surgery and the same time period after. If you do not abstain from all nicotine exposure for this time period, your risks of not looking your best, or worse, having a serious complication with un-planned medical care and expenses are dramatically increased. The right thing to... more

Tummy Tuck and Smokers!

As with any surgery, especially if you are having a general anesthesia, smoking is not recommended. People who smoke have higher risk of complications after general anesthesia. Smoking before and after a tummy tuck can definitely hinder your recovery. First of all, trying to cough after surgery is very difficult, and painful. If you have any type of cough following tummy tuck surgery the chances of damaging the repair is higher. Secondly the blood supply to the incision is... more

Smoking is always dangerous especially around surgeries.

Smoking leads to decreased blood flow to the skin, During a tummy tucky your excess skin is cut away and the remaining skin edges are sutured together. The belly button is released and reattached through a new opening in the skin flap that is pulled down. Both the belly button and the skin that is pulled down to create a tight tummy are at risk to have poor blood flow when you are a smoker. The belly button can actually necrose and the wounds can have very delayed healing. Quit smoking at... more

Smoking and a tummy tuck

Active smoking when undergoing a tummy tuck could be disastrous - resulting in loss (necrosis) of an extensive amount of tissue of the abdomen as well as other significant medical problems. This is the result of the nicotine causing narrowing of the blood vessels which means less blood supply and less oxygen and nutrition to the tissues. Most plastic surgeons will require that you stop smoking for a period of time before and after surgery. The most common periods of time are 3 - 6 weeks... more

Tummy tuck and smoking don't mix

Thank you for your question. Many plastic surgeons, including me, will not perform a tummy tuck on someone while they are still smoking. It is too dangerous. The skin and fat on your tummy could die and turn black. It's not worth the risk for an elective cosmetic procedure.

Healing and Smoking do not mix

Smoking cigarettes is extremely detrimental to your health and will definetly shorten your lifespan. You are inhaling into your lungs the waste products of leaves that contain compounds that will cause cancer. In addition the chemical compounds (ie nicotine) cause permanent damage to the small and moderate size blood vessels in your body. That is why cigarette smokers have such a high rate of heart attacks, the blood vessesl that keep the heart alive are damaged. Do... more

Tummy Tuck + Nicotine Intake = Healing Disaster

Nicotine intake (be it first hand or second hand smoke, or nicotine gum or patches) results in prolonged narrowing of the blood vessels in the skin and a much higher risk of skin death and wound disruption. This is especially the case with Tummy Tuck and Facelift surgery. If you cannot stop takng in Nicotine, please do not have these procedures. You will be sorry you did.

Smoking and tummy tuck

I will not do a full tummy tuck on a smoker unless they quit smoking three weeks before and three weeks after to prevent wound healing complications.

Smoking after tummy tuck

Smoking decreases the viability of the skin flaps and places the patient at much higher risk of wound healing complications including skin breakdown or necrosis. I recommend that you stop smoking at least 6-8 weeks prior to surgery and use this as a motivating opportunity to stop permanently.

Smoking After A Tummy Tuck Is A Very Bad Idea!!

I will not perform any flap surgery on a patient that smokes. This would include tummy tucks, facelifts and breast lifts to name a few. You are at significant risk for wound healing problems including loss of skin which is very difficult to repair. I ask that all patients undergoing any of the above surgeries refrain from any nicotine products for 2-4 weeks before surgery and 3-4 weeks after. By that time, you are 5-8 weeks without smoking and hopefully you've "kicked the... more

Smoking and tummy tuck is not OK

Tummy tuck and smoking definately causes problems which can be regretable for both you and your surgeon. We can get away with smoking for breast augmentation, however the risk for tummy tuck is no joke. Patches are no solution either. Give it up or else. Best of luck, peterejohnsonmd.com

Smoking and botox

I do not perform tummy tucks on smokers. The incidence of complications are too high. I require at least 6 weeks off of any nicotine product before proceeding. Nicotine causes vasospasm in the vessels which limits blood supply and can lead to skin not surviving. I strongly advise against it.

Rick Rosen, MD

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Norwalk Plastic Surgeon

Tummy Tuck and Smoking?

Thank you for the question. You should be free of any type of nicotine product for at least 4 to 6 weeks prior to tummy tuck surgery. This holds true for other plastic surgical procedures that involve flaps, such as facelift thing and breast lifting 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... more

Tummy Tucks & Smoking Are Bad Combination

Although smoking cessation is desirable prior to most operations, it is especially important with a tummy tuck. A tummy tuck is accompanied by the interuption of major parts of the blood supply to the abdomen, Smoking a single cigarette post-op could result in spasm to a collateral vessel and lead to loss of large areas of tissue.

Smoking is not good for healing.

Thanks for your question. I strongly recommend not smoking before and after tummy tuck for at least one month. I am sure you have heard that smoking is not good; it causes cancer as well as poor healing and bad skin. When you invest money and time for elective, cosmetic surgery, you want to minimize any potential complication.