Is taking a couple of drags of a cigarette 11 days before septorhinoplasty a cause for concern?

The fact that you say you quit smoking 3 weeks ago but had a 'couple of drags' 11 days before surgery tells me that you are living in a justification fantasy. You didn't quit 3 weeks ago, you quit 11 days before your surgery; only one puff ends your abstinence. Quite frankly 2 weeks is not even considered a safe minimum. If you are having an open rhinoplasty, this is especially important, but even if you are not you should consider rescheduling. Smokers have double the risk of all complications.

That is not a reason to cancel your surgery but we do recommend patients to quit smoking at least 4 weeks before their surgeries. Smoking significantly delays the healing process. Therefore we do not want our patients to smake after their surgeries as well. Couple of drags will not hurt you but please do not smoke anymore until your surgery day. Good luck

In my opinion, the main reason to stop smoking before surgery is because tobacco is a lung irritant. All of our patients who undergo rhinoplasty surgery received general anesthetic with inhaled anesthesia. As long as you do not have chronic bronchitis with daily coughing from chronic tobacco use, in all likelihood, surgery will be fine moving forward from an anesthesia standpoint. I hope this helps! Sincerely, Dr Joseph