Smoked cigarettes 2 weeks before tummy tuck surgery, will I be okay?

Question

I had been smoke free for 6 weeks and ended up smoking ~10 cigarettes. My surgery is in 2 weeks. Will be OK or do I need to wait longer?

Sanjiv Kayastha, MD · Answer

I prefer all of my patients to be completely nicotine free for 6 weeks before and 6 weeks after a tummy tuck. Nicotine and it's byproducts cause small blood vessels to constrict and this can lead to serious complications with your surgery. The best thing to do is to discuss this directly with your surgeon.

Emily J. Kirby, MD · Answer

You definitely need to tell your plastic surgeon.  Remember, this is YOUR body we are talking about here.  If there are smoking related complications, you will be the one to deal with them!  A good way to look at smoking.... 1 single cigarette cuts the blood supply to your fingertips by almost 50%.  Wow.  Plastic surgery is all about keeping the blood supply flowing to the important places, and tummy tuck is included in that.  Good luck.

Robert L. Kraft, MD, FACS · Answer

Well, it wasn't the smartest thing to do.  You should share this information with your plastic surgeon.  Nicotine has a pretty short affect but, in your case, it wasn't a one time deal and you have had a cumulative effect of smoking up until 6 weeks ago.  I honestly think that the decisionmaker in terms of risks and whether he is willing to assume them should be your plastic surgeon.

Bruce K. Barach, MD (retired) · Answer

A complication is possible even under the best of circumstances; that said, anything one can do to decrease the chance of an untoward event is worth doing in my opinion. not smoking at all for 4-6 weeks before surgery is a good idea....noone can say with certainty just how much more risk you assume because you smoked 10 cigs 2 weeks before.     you should discuss it with your surgeon....all things being equal, if it were me, a postponement would be necessary.  Safety is everything in cosmetic surgery and a big wound healing problem after abdominoplasty would be miserable for all concerned.

Smoked cigarettes 2 weeks before tummy tuck surgery, will I be okay?

Answers (4)

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