2 surgeons referred to nicotine in restricting blood vessels. This confused me, as the popularity for imitation cigarettes is becoming more popular in helping smokers to stop inhaling all the other more dangerous chemicals. Would a surgeon still refuse to perform a facelift on a woman who uses these inhalers but has stopped smoking cigarettes?
Answer: Nicotine Is a Vasoconstrictor Smokers are far more likely to experience complications following surgery than non-smokers for various reasons, including the presence of nicotine and carbon monoxide. This is why virtually all qualified plastic surgeons require patients to stop smoking at least 3 weeks prior to a procedure. If by "imitation cigarettes" you are referring to electronic cigarettes, most of those products still include some nicotine, which constricts blood vessels. If you are committed to doing whatever is needed to get the best possible results of your cosmetic surgery, I recommend stopping all smoking and nicotine intake of any kind, including nicotine patches, before your surgery. I also include in this list all weight-loss pills (many contain ephedrine-type of substance or other vasoconstricting chemicals) and some medications treating ADHD for the same reasons. Good luck to you!
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Answer: Nicotine Is a Vasoconstrictor Smokers are far more likely to experience complications following surgery than non-smokers for various reasons, including the presence of nicotine and carbon monoxide. This is why virtually all qualified plastic surgeons require patients to stop smoking at least 3 weeks prior to a procedure. If by "imitation cigarettes" you are referring to electronic cigarettes, most of those products still include some nicotine, which constricts blood vessels. If you are committed to doing whatever is needed to get the best possible results of your cosmetic surgery, I recommend stopping all smoking and nicotine intake of any kind, including nicotine patches, before your surgery. I also include in this list all weight-loss pills (many contain ephedrine-type of substance or other vasoconstricting chemicals) and some medications treating ADHD for the same reasons. Good luck to you!
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Answer: Is It the Nicotine Itself That Constricts Blood Vessels? Hello,
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Answer: Is It the Nicotine Itself That Constricts Blood Vessels? Hello,
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April 17, 2020
Answer: Nicotine and surgery Smoking combines the effect of nicotine that constricts the blood vessels and the effect of carbon monoxide that reduces the ability of the blood to transport oxygen to the tissues. This way it creates a combined negative impact on the healing tissues in particular when tension is also involved which reduces the blood flow. For this reason, the World Health Organisation has recently issued a statement indicating that their studies show a minimum of one month of stopping smoking before surgery is necessary to decrease its negative impact on healing.It becomes more difficult to know whether the same is applicable to nicotine in vaping, chewing gum or patches but it is fair to assume that at least part of the negatives of smoking would still be applicable still constriction of the blood vessels. The main issue here is related to the risk of creating irreversible damage in the skin versus the desire to continue using nicotine around the time of surgery. No surgeon wants to risk a poor result and in an elective intervention we try to minimise the risks not only related to nicotine but a multitude of other factors. It would be in your interest to exert your willpower and stop the risk factors that you can rather than to continue the inhalers and expect a lucky outcome.
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April 17, 2020
Answer: Nicotine and surgery Smoking combines the effect of nicotine that constricts the blood vessels and the effect of carbon monoxide that reduces the ability of the blood to transport oxygen to the tissues. This way it creates a combined negative impact on the healing tissues in particular when tension is also involved which reduces the blood flow. For this reason, the World Health Organisation has recently issued a statement indicating that their studies show a minimum of one month of stopping smoking before surgery is necessary to decrease its negative impact on healing.It becomes more difficult to know whether the same is applicable to nicotine in vaping, chewing gum or patches but it is fair to assume that at least part of the negatives of smoking would still be applicable still constriction of the blood vessels. The main issue here is related to the risk of creating irreversible damage in the skin versus the desire to continue using nicotine around the time of surgery. No surgeon wants to risk a poor result and in an elective intervention we try to minimise the risks not only related to nicotine but a multitude of other factors. It would be in your interest to exert your willpower and stop the risk factors that you can rather than to continue the inhalers and expect a lucky outcome.
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July 29, 2018
Answer: Nicotine & Facelift surgery Nicotine does constrict blood vessels, and, therefore could decrease the blood supply to the skin creating issues with healing. This is true whether the nicotine is coming from cigarettes, e-cigs devices, gum, patch and so on. Not every smoker will have problems healing, but there is certainly an increase in risk. I recommend that patients stop using nicotine for 3-4 weeks prior to facelift and often plan for treatments with hyperbaric oxygen after surgery to improve healing (if needed). Given the fact that this is a completely elective procedure, I do not recommend surgery on active smokers/nicotine users. I don't believe the risk is worth it - it's better to plan and postpone the surgery until you're ready.
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July 29, 2018
Answer: Nicotine & Facelift surgery Nicotine does constrict blood vessels, and, therefore could decrease the blood supply to the skin creating issues with healing. This is true whether the nicotine is coming from cigarettes, e-cigs devices, gum, patch and so on. Not every smoker will have problems healing, but there is certainly an increase in risk. I recommend that patients stop using nicotine for 3-4 weeks prior to facelift and often plan for treatments with hyperbaric oxygen after surgery to improve healing (if needed). Given the fact that this is a completely elective procedure, I do not recommend surgery on active smokers/nicotine users. I don't believe the risk is worth it - it's better to plan and postpone the surgery until you're ready.
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February 17, 2018
Answer: Nicotine does constrict skin blood vessels and causes a much higher rate of complications for cosmetic surgery procedures The answer is very simple. Yes, nicotine does constrict skin blood vessels and causes a much higher rate of complications for cosmetic surgery procedures. Narrowing of the blood vessels means less blood flow and then oxygen to the cells. This is needed to heal from surgery. All surgeries are usually more likely to have complications in smokers especially lung complications but also depending on the type of surgery if tissue is rearranged, these flaps can also be at risk for dying or undergoing necrosis. The risk is simply not worth it.
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February 17, 2018
Answer: Nicotine does constrict skin blood vessels and causes a much higher rate of complications for cosmetic surgery procedures The answer is very simple. Yes, nicotine does constrict skin blood vessels and causes a much higher rate of complications for cosmetic surgery procedures. Narrowing of the blood vessels means less blood flow and then oxygen to the cells. This is needed to heal from surgery. All surgeries are usually more likely to have complications in smokers especially lung complications but also depending on the type of surgery if tissue is rearranged, these flaps can also be at risk for dying or undergoing necrosis. The risk is simply not worth it.
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December 10, 2018
Answer: Nicotine and blood vessels The nicotine in cigarettes and other tobacco products (patches, gums, e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco, etc) causes constriction of the blood vessels and increases the chances of complications after facelift procedures. This decrease in blood flow to the skin can compromise the blood flow of the facial skin flap and result in death of the skin (necrosis). Some surgeons will perform facelifts on tobacco users, but almost all surgeons will force patients to stop using nicotine products at least several weeks in advance and for several weeks after surgery. Some patients may lie about their smoking in the perioperative period, but this is a dangerous proposition as loss of the skin can be a devastating complication that results in significant scarring.
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December 10, 2018
Answer: Nicotine and blood vessels The nicotine in cigarettes and other tobacco products (patches, gums, e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco, etc) causes constriction of the blood vessels and increases the chances of complications after facelift procedures. This decrease in blood flow to the skin can compromise the blood flow of the facial skin flap and result in death of the skin (necrosis). Some surgeons will perform facelifts on tobacco users, but almost all surgeons will force patients to stop using nicotine products at least several weeks in advance and for several weeks after surgery. Some patients may lie about their smoking in the perioperative period, but this is a dangerous proposition as loss of the skin can be a devastating complication that results in significant scarring.
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