I Have a Facelift in 2 Weeks, but I Smoked Half a Pack of Cigarettes Yesterday?

I am sorry to hear about the death in your family.


Smoking and facelift surgery do not go hand-in-hand and this can really impact the way you heal. With that said, first and foremost is to let your surgeon know immediately

The nicotine in tobacco causes blood vessels to constrict thus limiting the healing of the skin flaps and putting them at risk of excessive bruising and even skin dying. 

There is a study in the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery that looks at performing facelifts in smokers.  This deep-plane facelift technique decreases the chance of any of these complications in smokers. It is important that your surgeon is facile in peforming this type of facelift. 


I hope this helps and best of luck

Ask your surgeon, but if you were my patient, I would request that you postpone your surgery not just because of the smoking which is a risk but also because this is a very stressful time for you with the recent death of a loved one.

. Most experts unanimously agree that smoking increases the risk of most surgical complications significantly. This especially applies to lifting procedures such as the  lift you are scheduled to have done. Just about all plastic surgeons strongly recommend women to stop smoking and all nicotine products well in advance of all plastic surgery and especially lift procedures..  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 constrict ( spasm or  tighten up). Over time, these constricted arteries and capillaries deliver less blood to the tissue which is needed for normal healing. Smokers therefore have an increased incidence of higher likelihood of complications such as tissue sloughing (death by necrosis) and infection.  General complications of surgery such as blood clots, anesthetic problems such as pneumonia are also increased.
A recent 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