Increased Risks from Breast Lift for Smokers?

I strongly encourage you to quit smoking for 3-4 weeks prior to your procedure.  I agree with several of the other physicians that smoking prior to surgery can lead to devastating outcomes.  In general my patients are off of nicotine products and smoking for at least 3-4 weeks prior to a facelift, abdominoplasty and breast lift.  It is likely safer to have a heart bypass procedure in a smoker than to have an of the above stated procedures in terms of minor complications.

Thank you for your question. Fortunately, significant complications from breast lifts are infrequent. Every year, many thousands of women undergo successful breast lift surgery, experience no major problems and are pleased with the results. Anyone considering surgery, however, should be aware of both the benefits and risks. Those patients that do have complications invariably are those that will not stop smoking. As stated above, this combination procedure very often does very well; however, if the implant chosen is too large, problems can occur. Smoking could cause risks during the operation. Best of luck!Dhaval M. Patel Double Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Hoffman Estates Barrington Oakbrook Chicago 

Using tobacco products brings a significant risk of cancer, stroke, heat attack, etc. From a Plastic Surgery standpoint it is a vasoconstrictor. Wound healing is all about getting oxygen and needed entities to the wound. It is well known that patients who smoke have a tremendous increase in their rate of serious complications, (infections, wounds falling apart, etc.). Nicotine is the main vasoconstrictor, so getting a patch or lozenge of nicotine won't help the vasoconstriction. Best to be off the tobacco/nicotine entirely before surgery. A breast lift by definition places the wound on tension.  Tension is also a risk factor for wounds.  Please be honest with your Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Together you can make a plan.  The amount of time to be nicotine free, (before and after the surgery), will depend on the procedure and the individual surgeon. 

Most experts unanimously agree that smoking increases the rate of breast augmentation surgical complications significantly. Just about all plastic surgeons strongly recommend women to stop smoking and all nicotine products well in advance of breast augmentation with breast implants. Many plastic surgeons recommend stopping all tobacco products several months prior to surgery.Here is the reason why: the nicotine in cigarettes and other tobacco products (including Nicorette gum, patches, etc) is a vasoconstrictor, meaning it makes the Smoking is a significant multiplier of many potential complications following surgery and breast augmentation with implants are no exception. Nicotine from smoking causes blood vessels to vasoconstrict ( tighten up). Over time, these constricted arteries and capillaries deliver less blood to the breast tissue which is needed for normal healing. Smokers therefore have an increased incidence of higher likelihood of complications such as infection, and in particular capsular contracture (hardening and distortion of the implants). General complications of surgery such as blood clots, anesthetic problems such as pneumonia are also increased. A scientific article in the Archives of Internal Medicine indicated that, among all forms of surgery, quitting smoking eight weeks prior was never associated with an increased risk of complications.In young patients you will probably statistically avoid these complications, why tempt fate by increasing your odds that something bad will happen.On a long term basis, smoking also causes accelerated aging of the skin and loss of elasticity. Hopefully these reasons will help give you the will power and courage to stop smoking.

Thank you for your question. Smoking before or after your surgery can increase your risk of developing complications including infection and wound healing problems. I tell my patients that it is ideal to stop a couple months ahead of surgery and then for a couple months after surgery.

Smoking is very detrimental to the recovery process following breast lift and other surgery. It compromises your immune system making your body less effective in fighting infection. It also hinders circulation making the recovery process slower. I usually recommend my patients stop smoking about four weeks before surgery. However, if you were smoke-free for three and only smoked one cigarette, you may be okay. Please ask your surgeon for their advice.

Hello! Thank you for your question! The issue with nicotine is that it also acts as a vasoconstrictor, clamping down of blood vessels. Blood supply is always of great concern during any surgical procedure, but especially in such a procedure as a mastopexy where the viability of the nipple-areolar complex is obviously important. Since the vascularity to the area is already tenuous since it will be raised by cutting around the area, maximizing blood flow to the tissue is critical. Typically, we recommend at least 6 weeks of smoking cessation prior to any surgical procedure. Nicotine always increases the risk for infection, nipple necrosis, and wound complications, as well as other health consequences.  I would discuss this with your surgeon prior to your procedure. Hope that this helps! Best wishes!

Hi Saggy Girl 46,
As others have answered, smoking comes hand in hand with problems.
You shouldn't be afraid of surgery .. it's the cancer stick that you should fear. There's no better feeling for me to nail it on a breast lift in a patient that has quit. Many use this as motivation so kick it and get going!
Good news and bad news ...
-the good news is that this is a great opportunity to quit smoking.
-the bad news is that if you don't quit, not only should you not get this surgery but you are at risk of developing lung cancer, emphysema, cardiovascular disease, etcetera. In other words, if you get this breast lift that means you quit .. so plastic surgery saved your life.
I've always been very interested in how many plastic surgeons out there do mastopexy on patients that smoke when polled at our national meetings. All I can say is that in the best interest of my patients (and in the interest of self preservation) I don't do this operation on smokers - especially with an implant. It's not like other surgeries where an incision is made, something is fixed up inside then it is closed (in case you had this and then healed up properly). In a breast lift, all of those tissues that you've seen slowly droop are separated and rearranged so that they're perky and tight once again. You need normal blood supply for this to heal and leave tiny lines behind.
This is your wake up call .. answer it!
Best Wishes,
doctorMEade

Smoking causes constriction of blood vessels. Blood vessels provide blood and nutrition to the wounds while they heal. A breast lift operation requires many incisions. There is a tremendous amount of healing that must take place for a breast lift operation to heal well.
Smoking greatly interferes with healing. The risks of complications, such as infection, wound healing, poor scarring, opening of wounds, are signficantly increased by smoking.
Every surgeon is different. I personally require that patients quit completely for at least one month before their surgery. This is the only way I can be sure the patients will heal well.
You should discuss this in detail with your surgeon.

Here are the major points of smoking Tobacco or Marijuana before or after surgery:1. There is nicotine in tobacco, but not in marijuana. However, most joints are rolled with marijuana and tobacco combination. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor that decreases blood flow to the tissues. This is the major problems that can cause a very bad outcome in some surgeries. In a breast augmentation, there is not a lot of risk as there are not a lot of incisions which decrease blood flow to the tissues. In a breast lift or tummy tuck, on the other hand, there is much longer and more involved incisions. The decrease in blood flow to the tissues in combination with the decrease in blood flow from the nicotine can cause tissue to die. This can cause part of the breast or nipple, or in the case of a tummy tuck, part of the belly tissue to die, resulting in a very bad outcome. Marijuana without tobacco does not cause this problem, or marijuana in an edible fashion. Vaporizers do not decrease the amount of nicotine in tobacco, only decrease the smoke.2. There is carbon monoxide in both tobacco smoke and marijuana smoke. Carbon monoxide decreases the oxygen carrying capacity of hemoglobin in the blood. This is different from the vasoconstrictor effect, but has the same result of having the risk of tissue death in conjunction with surgeries that decrease the blood flow to tissues such as breast lifts and tummy tucks, as opposed to an augmentation alone that does not decrease blood flow to as great of an extent. Again, edible forms of marijuana do not have smoke, and thus carbon monoxide poisoning.3. Coughing. Both tobacco and marijuana smoke disrupt the lining of the lungs and bronchi and can lead to coughing episodes. Coughing episodes can lead to internal bleeding after surgery that can lead to hematomas and complications, and again a bad outcome. Again, edible forms of marijuana does not have this effect.4. Anesthesia effects. Marijuana can have drug interactions with certain anesthetic drugs. Thus it is important to tell your anesthesiologist about your marijuana use.In conclusion, Smoking, whether it be tobacco or marijuana, is detrimental to your surgery outcome. Edible marijuana is much less so, but be honest about your use with your surgeon and anesthesiologist so that you can have the best outcome. In general, you should quite smoking many weeks, ideally 6 weeks before surgery, and not smoke for at least 2 weeks after surgery.Best wishes,Pablo Prichard, MD