Can I Smoke Before Surgery? Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Do It
MedicalWhile it is no secret how smoking causes serious health problems, only a few people are aware that smoking is related to treatment failure. If you are a smoker and preparing for surgery, asking questions such as “Can I smoke before surgery?” is not new to physician anesthesiologists. It is essential to let them know about your smoking habits and allow them to discuss how smoking might affect your surgical treatment.
Why Is It Important to Stop Smoking Before Surgery?
Smoking affects your anaesthesia treatment
It is a strict implementation among the surgical team to ensure that the patient will stop smoking before the procedure. Smoking increases the risk of complications during the surgery, especially in the anaesthesia care plan.
General anaesthesia is a medical treatment given before the actual surgical procedure. It helps prevent the patient from feeling pain during the surgery. Often, anaesthesia puts the patient in an unconscious state to allow the surgeons to perform the procedure with ease.
During the unconscious phase, anaesthesiologists must work hard to maintain their breathing capacity. If you don’t stop smoking, there is a possibility of a compromise between your lungs and cigarette smoke. There will be an increase in surgical risks, and the procedure becomes more complicated.
Smoking will require your heart to work harder
Because smoking is the leading cause of cardiovascular diseases, there will be a higher chance for you to suffer from heart attacks during and after the surgery. Smoking influences heart function as tobacco and nicotine disturbs normal heart rhythms.
Smoking increases gas build-up in your system, causing inflammation and take a physical toll on your organs. Additionally, it directly affects your heart rate and blood pressure. A person with heavy smoking habits is more likely to need a piece of special equipment to help improve their breathing.
Smoking slows down your healing capacity
Aside from the high demand to use medications to increase airflow, surgical incisions will take longer to heal. A smoker’s system contains carbon monoxide, which is the main suspect for taking oxygen. For our tissues to heal correctly, a good amount of oxygen is necessary. Aside from robbing the body of its required elements for healing, a smoker’s blood contains toxins that permeate the tissues.
In simpler terms, smoking compromises the healing process. Research has shown significant evidence that smokers have a higher tendency to develop pneumonia during surgery. Slow healing heightens the possibility of acquiring infection and could mess up your treatment.
What Happens If I Quit Smoking?
As soon as you stop smoking, your body will begin to function correctly. Your organs will work better, particularly your heart and lungs. Without cigarette smoke in the system, blood flow and the healing process will begin to improve. The levels of unhealthy chemicals a typical smoker inhales will drop immediately, including carbon monoxide and nicotine.
Quitting smoking even within twenty-four hours before your surgery will significantly lower your risk of developing complications. However, healthcare specialists still recommend stopping at a much earlier time, preferably a week or more.
Furthermore, it will also be better to refrain from going back to your smoking habits after surgery. Smoking increases the chances of jeopardising your body’s healing process, especially during your recovery period. It will result in further complications and drawbacks to your overall health.
Will Smoking Improve Health?
Regardless if you’re having surgery or not, quitting smoking will improve your health in general. In fact, now is a great time to stop smoking for good. If you are interested to know what happens when you quit smoking, here are some health benefits that you can get:
- Not smoking will extend your lifespan for at least eight to ten years.
- Your risk for developing heart disease and lung cancer will be significantly lower.
- If you quit smoking, getting rid of additional hospital and treatment costs will become easier.
- Not smoking will reduce the possibilities of exposing your neighbours and loved ones to secondhand smoke.
- It prepares your body to be healthier for any surgeries that you may need in the future.
How Can I Get Help to Quit?
Quitting smoking is not very easy, especially if you happen to be a chain smoker. If you are considering stopping smoking, you can get professional help from the following accredited healthcare providers:
- Health counsellor. These professionals are well-trained to help patients quit smoking. Depending on the patients’ smoking habit, a health counsellor arranges consultations and therapy sessions. This technique is necessary to evaluate the patient’s response and health status. Often, they work closely with physicians to create treatment plans and provide medications that will ease the withdrawal process.
- Physician specialist. Anaesthesiologists studies the function of the heart and lungs. They specialise in the proper assessment of your organs and provide an in-depth analysis of your health. They can recommend cessation tools that will work best to cope with your withdrawal symptoms. These tools include nicotine patches, lozenges, and gums.
- General practitioners. If you happen to be a light smoker, a general practitioner can help with your smoking cessation. General practitioners are well-trained physicians that provide professional insights and support tailored to the patient’s needs. However, it is not the best option for patients who have a heavy smoking habit. Most of the time, general practitioners will recommend a specialist to have a more thorough treatment plan.
Bottomline
Smoking before a surgical procedure is not a wise decision to make. It can cause a lot of concerns that could result in a series of complications. If you do not want to undergo a complex process, follow your doctor’s advice and quit smoking as soon as possible. Doing so is a crucial step in improving your medical response and promoting a healthy lifestyle in the long run.
References:
https://www.cancer.org/healthy/stay-away-from-tobacco/benefits-of-quitting-smoking-over-time.htm
Leave a Reply