Do I really have to stop smoking if I want a tummy tuck or abdominoplasty surgery?
In a study of complications among abdominoplasty patients, almost 50% of smokers developed wound healing problems compared to 15% of non–smokers. In other words, smokers were more than three times as likely to develop wound healing problems as non–smokers. In addition, hospital stays were longer for smokers. Another study enrolled 84 tummy tuck patients. Post–operative infections occurred in 13 of the patients. All but one of them were smokers (PRS 121:305e). Nicotine, carbon monoxide, and many other toxic tobacco by–products interfere with normal wound repair. Hormones that actually retard the production of new skin and wound repair may also be produced. Vasoconstriction, the constriction of blood vessels, reduces blood flow and oxygen delivery to the skin and extremities. Binding of toxins to hemoglobin in the blood further enhances this oxygen deficient state. Numerous cellular functions, critical to wound healing, are altered by the presence of tobacco by–products. Delayed healing,
