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Chicago Plastic Surgeon

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Monday, January 21, 2008

Risks of Smoking and Cosmetic Surgery

Smoking causes premature aging and impairs healing:

  1. It uses up a lot of vitamin C, about 35 mg for each cigarette. Vitamin C, among other things it does for us, helps preserve the skin’s collagen. Collagen supports the skin, keeping it smooth and plump-looking. It slowly breaks down as we age, but cigarette smoking speeds that break-down, giving us wrinkles and fine lines, especially around the eyes and mouth.
  2. With each drag on a cigarette, a person typically screws the eyes shut to some extent, and purses the mouth. This contracts the muscles in these areas, encouraging earlier wrinkles.
  3. The carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke displaces oxygen because the blood absorbs it about 200 times faster than it absorbs oxygen. This starves the entire body of the refreshment that oxygen brings. The skin becomes yellowish-gray and the lips lose their color. Recovery from wounds is impaired.

The good effects of any facial enhancements procedures, such as facelifts, laser skin resurfacing, or dermabrasion would be undone by the negative effects of smoking. There would be no benefit to having them done.

If you have cosmetic surgery done and continue to smoke, you will be retarding your own recovery. Smoking constricts blood vessels as well as adding toxins to the blood. The body needs all the oxygen it can get for a successful recovery from surgery. The skin will not heal well, and perhaps not even heal at all, if you continue to dose it up with toxins. Good incision healing is especially important in procedures that involve skin flaps, such as a tummy tuck.

This is why any experienced and reputable cosmetic surgeon will ask you to stop smoking several weeks before your surgery, and refrain from smoking for several weeks afterwards. This will allow the blood to carry more oxygen to all the organs and give your body a better chance to recover well.

posted by Patti at 4:25 PM

Disclaimer: The information provided on Bodysculptor.com regarding medical procedures, practices, and technologies is only meant to provide information as public service. The website content is not intended to substitute for health care provided by a physician. Email or call us at 874-398-1660 for more information.

Dr. Otto J. Placik M.D., Chicago Area Plastic Surgeon, plastic,reconstructive & cosmetic surgery, breast enlargement, breast reduction, breast lift, liposuction. We feature BioMedic ® Clinical Care, Skin Rejuvenation, Laser Peels, Chemical Peels, Botox ® and Collagen Injections.

Dr.Placik's before and after photos have been selected to appear on the Consumer Guide to Plastic Surgery, a website providing comprehensive, up-to-date information on breast enhancement, face lift, liposuction, rhinoplasty, tummy tuck and bariatric surgery.

Associated Plastic Surgeons, S.C.
Otto J. Placik, M.D., F.A.C.S.
(847) 398-1660 or (312) 787-5313
Arlington Heights and Chicago, Illinois