Quit smoking 12 days before my breast lift and augmentation, will I be okay or should I postpone surgery?

Thank you for your question.  Smoking is bad for you, it causes cancer, heart disease, strokes, etc.From a Plastic Surgery standpoint, we see the effects of smoking everyday in our clinics.  Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor.  When you use nicotine, it constrict the vessels.  Oxygen and would healing cellular messengers can't get to the wound appropriately.  Wound healing needs all of this to mend the wound the best it can.  Wounds that are on tension are even more susceptible to falling apart and/or having poor scarring, (Facelift, Breast Lift, Tummy Tuck).  Some Plastic Surgeons will not do these procedures on those who smoke.  Best to quit smoking as far as you can before the time of surgery, hopefully you won't find the need to pick up the habit again. If you quit, then you don't have to worry about the test.  Please speak with your Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, as each one may have a different protocol. 
Jeffrey J. Roth, M.D. F.A.C.S.
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Las Vegas Plastic Surgery

Thanks for your question. I generally recommend that my patients quit smoking one month beforesurgery.However, I have performed surgery on patients who have quit 2 weeks prior that have not had a problem.So, this would really be a question I would pose to your surgeon to see what his/her comfort level is.

Hello dear, thanks for your question and provided information as well..congratulations for your stopped smoking habit, that's really good, hope you keep it forever, also I recommend you to have oxygen treatments the day before surgery and the day after at least 3 hours, because you're a candidate of skin necrosis, because of that you have to fill your body and wounds with oxygen to help your incisions to get healed and closed before and better, hugs!

I applaud you for having stopped smoking and hope that your plastic surgeon picked up on this and had you stop prior to surgery.  Two weeks is what some of the studies show, but I think the majority of surgeons would want four weeks prior and two months after.  Hope that helps.-JGH

Dear Ms. Lauren5103,Thank you for your questions.Smoking has shown by many scientific studies to:1) deprive your heart, tissue and skin of oxygen2) increased chance of forming blood clots in your veins3) greater difficulty to breathe during and after general anesthesia 4) increase your risk of infection5) impaired wound healing ie loss of skin or dead tissue 6) poor scar formation and appearance 7) alteration in effectiveness of some medications 8) postoperative smoking is worse than preoperative smoking.Multiple studies support and I strongly suggest stop 4 weeks before (minimal of 2 weeks) an 8 weeks (minimal of 4) after your planned surgery(Hopefully forever!).I it's not just the smoke but in addition the contents within tobacco that are similar that are found in e-cigarettes.It's only fair to be truthful and honest about your smoking habits before surgery with your Plastic Surgeon. It is your body and you are making a significant financial investment as well as desiring the best result that can be achieved.I trust your Plastic Surgeons is experienced and Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. In addition and ideally he/she is a member of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (denoting by membership as having met additional criteria and a focus on Cosmetic Plastic Surgery).I wish you my best and success,R. A. Hardesty, MD, FACSDiplomate and Certified by the Am. Bd. of Plastic Surgerywwwimagineplasticsurgery.com4646 Brockton AveRiverside, Ca 92506(951) 686-7600ppp

Thank you for your question.  There are few things that make the hair stand up on a surgeon's neck more than a patient who smokes.  Many studies have shown that there is a significantly higher risk of complications in patients who consume nicotine, especially incision healing complications.  The augmentation/mastopexy procedure is already a procedure that has a higher risk of incision/wound healing complications.  When the procedure is done on a patient who still has nicotine in their system, you can be fairly certain that patient will have complications.  For those reasons, I, and many other surgeons, have patients stop using all forms of nicotine, including second-hand smoke, for at least two weeks leading up to surgery and at least six weeks following surgery.  As you can see in Dr. Brooks answer, some surgeons have their patients stop smoking for a longer period of time because the risks are so great. You might consider delaying your surgery or accept the increased risk of complications and the additional financial costs that you could incur.I hope this helps.

Thanks for the question, which is one that I am very militant about in my practice, because I have seen significantly higher rates of complications and poor outcomes in the smokers in my practice.I now have all of my smokers quit smoking for three months and then pass a cotinine urine test before I consider them an acceptable surgical candidate. I came up with these regulations through discussion with my anaesthesia colleagues, and after looking at large meta-analyses which show that respiratory complications do not change between smokers and people who have quit for less than 4 weeks. It also shows that wound healing complications do not improve unless people have been non-smokers for at least 4 weeks. I tell all of my patients that we are trying to improve lives not save them, and the procedures can be quite expensive. It is in our best interest to optimize through lifestyle modifications (smoking cessation, proper nutrition, healthy weight/BMI etc) in order to get the best outcome possible.Finally, be cautious about seeing a surgeon who does not discuss these risks with you, and as always make sure you are dealing with a board certified plastic surgeon.All the best with your surgery,Dr. T Brooks

It is recommended to stop smoking for at least 2 weeks before surgery.  At 12 days, that is pretty close.  Consult with the anesthesia department as well as your surgeon prior to surgery.