When Can I Smoke After Rhinoplasty?
If you are considering getting a rhinoplasty to have the dream nose that you have been desiring for so long, you should avoid certain things and change your daily habits. Especially unhealthy ones such as consuming alcohol or excessive coffee and of course smoking.
As you may be aware, smoking is lethal. It kills the quality of your life before killing you. For example, if you smoke tobacco products such as cigarettes or cigars for an extended period of time, you are practically guaranteed to develop heart disease, stroke, lung diseases and difficulties, diabetes of all types, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Smoking also increases your chance of tuberculosis, some eye diseases, immune system difficulties such as rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer.
Similarly, if you get a surgery, whether it’s invasive or not, you become more open to any kind of diseases or health issues. Furthermore, many people who use tobacco products are concerned about how smoking may affect their healing time or overall rhinoplasty results. During your consultation with your surgeon, he or she will most likely emphasize the importance of not smoking for at least three weeks in order to achieve the optimum results. While this is the current recommendation, unless you are able to quit smoking permanently, it is preferable to avoid smoking for at least four weeks. Because nicotine constricts the blood vessels, the nose is more prone to poor healing, an increased risk of infection, and other complications that may necessitate a second rhinoplasty surgery.
Certain negative effects of smoking on your body;
- Inadequate or delayed healing.
- Scarring, necrosis, and/or skin loss
- Reduced oxygen and blood flow to the area due to constricted blood vessels.
- Nicotine can linger in the body for up to two weeks.
- Obstruction of the airway
- Anesthesia response risk is increased.
- Nasal asymmetry or poor outcomes
- Excessive bruising.
To summarize, you should cease smoking at least two or three weeks before your surgery and refrain from doing so for at least four weeks. Who knows, you might quit it for good!
Why Can’t I Smoke After Rhinoplasty?
Because it constricts your blood vessels, smoking has a negative impact on nose job healing. After a rhinoplasty, or any other surgery, you should be certain that you have the best blood flow possible so that you can heal as quickly and as properly as possible.
Human blood, as you may know, is a fluid that transports cells and antibodies to every area of our bodies via a complex network of arteries and veins. After rhinoplasty, your body needs to flow at full capacity to deliver nutrients to your nose so that you can heal. However, because nicotine constricts blood vessels, patients must refrain from smoking following rhinoplasty.
What happens if you smoke after rhinoplasty?
Smoking after rhinoplasty could affect your recovery because it narrows your blood vessels. As you know, doctors want you to have the best possible blood flow after rhinoplasty, to be healed as quickly and fairly as possible. Smoking can also increase the risk of post-surgical complications, such as distorting a patient’s immune system leading to the increase of infection risk at the incision site. That is why you should not smoke for at least one month before and one month after rhinoplasty. Actually, it would be better if you don’t smoke ever again after the surgery.
References:
https://www.spsboca.com/blog/can-i-still-smoke-after-a-rhinoplasty/
https://rhinoplastytoronto.ca/blog/about-rhinoplasty/smoking-after-rhinoplasty/
