Five Days Smoke Free Before Body Lift?

Unfortunately the smoking curse affects many people and is the bane of Plastic Surgeons worldwide. Nicotine, the drug that is delivered to your body when you smoke, is actually the culprit that causes the most immediate trouble when it comes to Plastic Surgery, however.  This drug causes blood vessels to clamp down and thus restricts the blood flowing through the blood vessel.  This is quite important because blood has the job of carrying oxygen to the tissues in your body and all tissue in your body needs oxygen to live and stay healthy. When a surgeon does a Body Lift or a Tummy Tuck they have to undermine tissue and thus decrease the tissues blood supply, now there is a certain amount of redundancy of blood supply that will in most cases be enough to allow the procedure to heal without difficulty. However, when you add the affects of the Nicotine to the mix, that amount of redundant blood supply is dramatically reduced and therefore increases the risk of complications to approximately 35%!!  That is a very large complication rate!  Also you should know that the affects of one cigarette on the blood vessels lasts for 18 hours!  Bottom line, you should not have this kind of procedure unless you stop smoking for at least one month or six weeks and even then we know that your risk does not decrease to the level of a non-smoker for over a year. Also remember, it is the Nicotine that is the culprit, so if you take the patches or chew the Nicotine gum you are doing the same thing as smoking as far as your blood vessels are concerned!

Thank you for your question regarding whether you will not have problems being five days smoke-free before a body lift. I do not suggest you have surgery if you have only stopped smoking five days before surgery. Nicotine is still in your system; blood can be ordered to test nicotine orders. Nicotine is a potent vaser constrictor and restricts blood flow to the tips of the flap. This constriction and blood flow leads to poor wound healing, blood breakdown, and long-term complications. Therefore, I would not suggest you have your surgery if you've only stopped smoking five days before surgery. Most experienced board-certified plastic surgeons have their patients stop smoking at least four months before a torsoplasty or body. You mustn't smoke because nicotine has been proven in the medical literature to compromise wound healing significantly. I hope I've answered your question regarding five smoke-free days before a body lift.
Sincerely,
Dr. Katzen

It's not unusual for cosmetic surgery patients to smoke cigarettes. When patients smoke cigarettes, they have an increased rate of complications. This occurs for several reasons including constriction of blood vessels and decreased oxygen carrying capacity of red blood cells. This can result in decreased blood flow and decreased oxygen delivery to the skin and subcutaneous tissue. Unfortunately, cessation of cigarette smoking only five days prior to surgery won't lower the risks of this activity.Patients who smoke cigarettes have a higher incidence of wound breakdowns, open wounds, tissue necrosis, infection and scarring. For these reasons, surgeons are very cautious when treating patients who smoke cigarettes or use nicotine products. The risks vary with the type of procedure performed. Procedures that involve extensive undermining of skin such as facelifts, abdominoplasty, lower body lifts, breast lifts and breast reductions are associated with high complication rates.In an effort to minimize complications associated with cigarette smoking, we recommend not smoking for 4 to 6 weeks prior to surgery. We also recommend not smoking for at least one month following surgery. This approach is modified based on the type of procedure performed.If you have questions regarding cigarette smoking and your surgery, make sure you discuss them with your surgeon. Your surgeon should be able to discuss your risk factors.

Absolutely not!  If I were your surgeon, I would not perform this surgery on anyone who is actively smoking.  This is due to the well-known negative effects of smoking on pulmonary function, microvascular circulation, and venous thromboembolism.  I require patients who smoke and are considering major elective surgery involving large skin flaps (and your case is such a situation) to completely stop smoking at least 6 weeks.  Most other respected plastic surgeons would probably concur with these or similar recommendations.  You might be able to find a surgeon who would proceed with your case while you are an active smoker, but this surgeon does not have your best interests at heart and you should probably avoid them. 

I reccommend patients stop smoking at least three weeks before and three weeks after.  This includes no nicotine patches.  You are at greater risk for wound complications with five days of smoking cessation.  Does your surgeon know?