If you only smoke I cigarette 7 days before surgery will this affect the healing process for a Mommy Makeover?

While smoking anything before surgery can compromise the healing process and make scarring worse, it should be okay if you just smoked one cigarette. However, I would definitely suggest that you let your surgeon know.

One should not matter, but you really should not smoke at all before and after your procedure.  Best wishes for your surgery and please stop smoking!

Most plastic surgeons would have patients stop smoking about two weeks prior to any elective cosmetic procedure.

One cigarette 7 days prior will not make a difference in your healing.  But smoking regularly in the weeks prior to that may.  The more recommendations state that patients should stop smoking 4 weeks prior to an abdominoplasty.  

Cigarette smoke competitively binds Carbon Monoxide to hemoglobin and prevents the hemoglobin on the blood cells from delivering Oxygen and removing waste CO2 from the tissue which is struggling to survive. One cigarette within the two weeks prior will prevent all the red blood cells in your blood stream from doing there job. It takes two weeks to replenish new fresh cells that can provide Oxygen. Nicotiine can be used with Nicorette gum, although Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor, it is only in the blood stream 30 minutes, it's metabolite is Cotinine which is a vasodilator which stays in the blood stream 4 to 6 hours. Bottom line: inform your surgeon of your smoking, pray or postpone to a point when you are not smoking for two weeks before surgery.

I recommend to all of my patients to quit smoking at lest 2-3 weeks prior to the surgery- and after the surgery- to avoid complications.

Thanks for your question. If you are undergoing a tummy tuck and/or breast lift, smoking just 1 cigarette a week before surgery can increase your risk of necrosis (tissue death) of the skin and underlying tissue. During these procedures, the skin is undermined and relies on an already tenuous blood flow. Nicotine products decrease the body's ability to deliver blood and nutrients to the edges of the healing tissues. This leads to the tissue dying and turning black, often taking months to heal. You should inform your surgeon that you smoked, and consider delaying your procedure. Good luck!

In my practice, I delay surgery if a patient smokes one cigarette 7 days before a procedure than involves elevating skin, such as facelift, breast reduction, breast lift, and tummy tuck. In my first year of practice, I did a breast reconstruction procedure on a patient who swore she'd had just one cigarette two weeks before surgery. The skin on the tummy tissue I had moved up to her breast turned white as a sheet. The vessels were fine, but they were in severe spasm. After 45 minutes, the skin pinked up, and I completed the operation. The tissue healed, but a lot of the fat turned hard from the poor blood supply.Since then I tell patients who smoke a cigarette soon before surgery to start the clock ticking again. For procedures at high risk of tissue death from poor blood supply, I require no nicotine in any form for six weeks. I don't have that same requirement for other procedures with no tissue elevation, such as liposuction or upper eyelid surgery, are at very low risk for tissue death. The risk varies with the procedure.I paint a clear picture for patients who smoke about the consequences of nicotine exposure too close to surgery. For a tummy tuck, their lower skin can die; for a breast lift/breast reduction, their nipples can die; for facelifts, their cheek skin can die. I ask them to please confess if they smoke at a weak moment and not to feel embarrassed about delaying their surgery. The consequences of taking a gamble are just not worth it. After all, this is elective surgery. But that's just me and my practice. Your surgeon may have a different philosphy.Click on the link below for more information about Mommy Makeovers.

One cigarette prior to surgery should have not impact on the final results. However, it is best to let your surgeon know so he or she can be better prepared.

Safety should always be the primary
concern in any procedure. The goal of all plastic surgeons that perform
Mommy Makeovers is to improve the appearance with minimal side effects or problems.
Exposure to smoke, either directly or indirectly, or the use of any nicotine
releasing products, has been shown to increase the incidence of serious
complications after Mommy Makeover surgery and in most other cosmetic or
reconstructive procedures. Most plastic surgeons refuse to perform cosmetic surgery on
patients who are active smokers or are using nicotine in any form. It is
generally recommended that all smoking or the use of any nicotine releasing
products should be completely stopped at least 14 days before a Mommy Makeover,
and for a minimum of 10-14 days after the surgical procedure. Ideally, one
should stop permanently, not just because of its effect on aging, but from an
overall health perspective.

All wound healing depends on blood supply.
The blood flow to the skin and underlying tissue is diminished by smoking,
which constricts the small blood vessels. Smokers have a significantly higher
rate of delayed healing, infection, opening of the incisions, necrosis or loss
of the  skin that is elevated and the underlying tissue, poor scarring,
and anesthesia problems.

Be honest with your plastic surgeon who
should be certified by the American Board of American Plastic Surgery and
ideally a member of The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS)
about your exposure to smoke and follow all instructions. Remember that you are
a participant in your care.

Robert Singer, MD FACS

La Jolla, California