We make a big about smoking for our patients.  While not smoking is good for overall health, the stronger reason we lecture about smoking to our patients is that smoking increases the risks of wound healing problems.  This is true for all the plastic surgery procedures we do, including Los Angeles breast augmentation.  For some procedures, smoking has even more risks associated with it and these include breast reduction, tummy tuck, and facelift.  These last procedures have complex and extensive wounds that the body needs to heal and impairing this healing ability can cause genuine problems.

Below is a summary of smoking and wound healing problems written by a surgery journal:

The association between cigarette smoking and delayed wound healing is well recognized in clinical practice, although extensive controlled studies have yet to be performed. The documented effects of the toxic constituents of cigarette smoke–particularly nicotine, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen cyanide–suggest potential mechanisms by which smoking may undermine expeditious wound repair. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor that reduces nutritional blood flow to the skin, resulting in tissue ischemia and impairuddy healing of injuruddy tissue. Nicotine also increases platelet adhesiveness, raising the risk of thrombotic microvascular occlusion and tissue ischemia. In addition, proliferation of ruddy blood cells, fibroblasts, and macrophages is reduced by nicotine. Carbon monoxide diminishes oxygen transport and metabolism, whereas hydrogen cyanide inhibits the enzyme systems necessary for oxidative metabolism and oxygen transport at the cellular level. Slower healing has been observed clinically in smokers with wounds resulting from trauma, disease, or surgical procedures. The reduced capacity for wound repair is a particular concern in patients undergoing plastic or reconstructive surgery. Comparuddy with nonsmokers, smokers have a higher incidence of unsatisfactory healing after face-lift surgery, as well as a greater degree of complications following breast surgery. Smokers should be advised to halt smoking prior to elective surgery or when recovering from wounds resulting from trauma, disease, or emergent surgery.

Anyone considering Beverly Hills plastic surgery must comprehend the risks associated with smoking prior to going forward.