Will I get dead nipple from smoking after gynecomastia surgery?

Thanks for the question. I suggest you should meet your Board Certified Surgeon to talk this situation. Because it's better to wait 3-4 weeks because your operation area trying to get healed. Then after yes, you can do smoke and drink. I wish you all the best.

The male breast is composed of glandular tissue and fatty tissue. An excess in either type of tissue can cause the chest to take on the look of gynecomastia. Gynecomastia can affect #men of all different body types. There are different types of #gynecomastia.Several common factors can cause gynecomastia including excessive levels of #estrogen, natural #hormone changes, use of recreational drugs or alcohol, medications and their associated side effects, and, various health conditions. Also, there are different types of #gynecomastia. Therefore, weight gain, steroid use,recreational drug use and have hormonal conditions can contribute to a return of gynecomastia regardless of previous surgical removal and treatments. It's important to implement healthy lifestyle choices to not only prolong your surgical results, but most importantly, to reduce your risk of illness and disease which will impact your health.

Smoking is a problem when there are big incisions and big habits.  Bad combination.  A few cigarettes a couple weeks before a gynecomastia surgery should not impair wound healing.

One cigarette isn't going to kill your nipple especially after two and a half weeks. Generally consumption of tobacco related products decrease tissue blood flow and hence the healing power of all damaged and Susceptible tissues (in your case nipple & skin). The risk reduces drastically a few days (1 week) after procedure.But if there is one habit that I ask my clients to quit then it is always smoking!!!

I can't provide the exact answer to your question (risk your nipple will fall off 19 days after surgery if you smoke).  Suffice it to say that smoking is known to increase your risk of wound healing complications and it's best to stop before and after surgery.  I recommend stopping for a minimum of one month before and after surgery, but the risk of complications will drop even lower if you can stop for a longer time.

Hi johndoe612,

Thanks for your post. The chance that smoking 1 cigarette will cause nipple necrosis 2.5 weeks after your surgery is extremely low. That being said, it is advisable to stop smoking several weeks before and several weeks after surgery. The reasons for this are:

1. Cigarette smoking causes vasoconstriction, which leads to decreased blood flow to the surgical area and can impact healing
2. Cigarette smokers can have inflamed airways going into surgery, and if the surgery is done under general anesthesia, they have a higher chance of coughing, bronchitis, and possibly bleeding due to the coughing.

Hope that helps,

Dr. Dadvand

At this point 2.5 weeks out from surgery, you are not likely going to have an issue with the blood supply to the nipple from simply smoking a cigarette.  Most wound healing issues, and vascular issues are going to be seen fairly quickly after surgery, within the first week.  Nipple necrosis, or dead nipples, are fairly uncommon, and the longer you are out from surgery, the less likely it (in general) will occur.  Listen to your physician's recommendations on postoperative care, and good luck with the recovery!

Tissue necrosis related to tobacco use after surgery is typically seen within the first five days. After that, blood supplies start developing, compensating for the changes in blood supply from the surgery itselfAt 10 to 14 days, the chance of something going wrong because of tobacco use is unlikely.As your surgeon probably mentioned, the very worst is to smoke cigarettes immediately before or after the procedure.Perhaps this is a good time to push for quitting for good.Check with your surgeon first.Best of luck,Mats Hagstrom, M.D.