Scottsdale – What does smoking actually due to you during plastic surgery? Well, here’s a not-so-easy answer.

Cigarettes have nicotine. Nicotine closes the blood vessels responsible for bringing oxygen and nutrition your tissues. Cigarettes have cyanide and that is toxic to your tissues. Cigarettes have arsenic, and that is another poison. Cigarettes also have cadmium, formaldehyde, pesticides and benzene. All of these substances are very bad for your body.

Oxygen is really good for you! In addition to blocking oxygen, cigarettes, reduce your body’s healing power.  Oxygen also fights infection and keeps tissue alive. When the blood vessels are open,  important medications like antibiotics are more easily delivered. Smoking before and after anesthesia can increase the risk of pulmonary infection such as pneumonia. Smoking during cosmetic surgery can also increase the risks of clots in the lungs.

This is why patients who smoke, have higher risks when they have plastic surgery.

Plastic surgery always entails some level of risk to your health. Smoking greatly increases those risks. Non-smokers enjoy better and longer lasting results, quicker recovery, and less risk.