How can Illegal drug use and cigarette smoking affect my recovery after mini tummy tuck surgery

Hello,Thank you for the question. Drugs can have various negative effects on the body and cigarette smoking can lead to delayed healing and tissue death. It is highly recommended to stop before and after surgery. Be sure to follow up closely with your Plastic Surgeon for optimal results and let your friend know what you find out here. All the best

Hello, wound healing may be compromised by smoking in the preoperative period, so it is best to avoid smoking (or even second-hand smoke) after surgery.

I would not advise smoking so close to the operation date because it can cause delay in the recovery process... Dr. JSB

I highly encourage your friend to stop using cigarettes, meth, or any other drug not approved by her surgeon. Cigarettes contain nicotine which constricts blood vessels. This can lead to delayed healing, wounds, necrosis, and infection. Meth is simply dangerous and can lead to a host of issues including death.

As has been noted previously on this question, and widely elsewhere, smoking cigarettes can have disastrous consequences in plastic surgery.  This is particularly so for procedures in which a "flap" is used - tissue that has had much of its blood supply disrupted and so depends on limited blood flow - such as a facelift, tummy tuck, breast reduction, etc.  In those cases, at their extremes, the diminished blood flow from cigarettes smoking can cause necrosis and flap loss.  This leads to defects, widened scars, contour irregularities (after a prolonged recovery) and generally unfavorable results.All of the surgeon's instructions for the pre and post-operative period should be followed strictly but among the top items is to avoid cigarette smoking in the peri-operative period.I hope that this helps and good luck,Dr. Alan EnglerMember of #RealSelf100@RealSelf

Smoking before and after having a tummy tuck delays healing tremendously. Smoking constricts blood vessels, and reduces oxygen to your cells. Without oxygen it can delay healing by causing skin necrosis and wound separation. There must be proper, uncompromised blood flow to the surgical area to keep the skin and tissue from dying. Search online "skin necrosis and wound separation from smoking after a tummy tuck"The pictures speak for themselves. If there is wound separation occurs it can delay healing for months on end, requiring packing of the wound and dressing changes daily. Once the wound eventually closes the patient is left with a noticeably large, wide spread scar.