Smoking is not good for anything. This is something we all know clearly. But we also know that one cigarette during your life is not going to provoke cancer. But 220000 (1 packet a day for 30 years) is almost sure. It’s a dependant dosage. The more you smoke, the more problems.

In the healing of the tissues something similar occurs. The tobacco damages the vessels, the veins and the arteries that carry the blood to the operated area. And to produce the healing process, it is fundamental that the blood reaches it because, from it, the gasoline (oxygen) will be extracted which will make the cells in charge work properly. What we mean is the tobacco damages the vessels which carry the oxygen you need to heal. Therefore you will heal badly and in some cases, produce necrosis and the death of the operated tissue because the damage is so bad that your body is not capable of healing normally due to the grave damage that the tobacco has caused you.

But not all surgeries are the same. Putting implants in a 30 year old woman who smokes a packet a day is not the same as an abdominoplasty on a 60 year old woman who also smokes a packet a day. The age, the number of cigarettes and the quantity of years of smoking determines many problems.

In general,a patient who is a heavy smoker is recommended to stop smoking at least six weeks before and six after. It is incredible how they can start to improve when they stop smoking.

Do you have any questions about your health during recovery after breast surgery for Dr. Valverde?