medicaldestinationadvisor

Hello everybody, this time I am going to share with you all a story that happened to a very sweet lady from Detroit, Michigan. She came to Guadalajara, Mexico last month with the purpose of having a breast lift with implants along with liposculpture.   When we met she told me she was struggling to quit smoking, trying every day with the desire and need of having a cigarette but she knew she had to resist it because she was having surgery.

These are the true facts about smoking prior to a surgery:

If you smoke, plan to quit 4 weeks prior to surgery, but no later than one to two weeks before your surgery and do not resume for at least four weeks after surgery. We know this is difficult.  It is not a requirement for surgery, only advice.

Tobacco is bad for your whole body and it has a very negative effect on healing. Nicotine constricts blood vessels, reducing blood flow to many areas, the most significant of which is your skin.

Smoking also negatively affects body functions and organs, and puts you at risk for significant adverse medical conditions.  Bottom line, if you smoke, you can expect slower healing and an elevated risk of complications.  Please plan to quit now if at all possible.

She told me she read this information provided by her plastic surgeon many months before the surgery so she made a New Year’s commitment of quitting if possible forever. She was doing pretty well up until the day after she had her surgery when she started smoking again out of anxiety and stress after the surgery.

That was a very bad choice, she began having complications with the healing process of her breast lift with implants, very difficult for her incisions to heal properly causing infections and a lot of pain and distress. She almost risked  losing her breast implants because of the infection she had.

Fortunately she started taking very powerful antibiotics and the situation was resolved in time. Smoking is one of the number one enemy of the healing process after surgery.  If anybody who is a smoker is reading this article and is also considering having plastic surgery, take seriously the fact of doing whatever it takes to quit smoking to avoid going through a bad experience in your healing process.

I really hope this article is helpful to anybody who is in the same shoes of this lady.  Don’t even think about having a cigarette in the preparation for your plastic surgery and medical vacation.

Like I always say to you all, find a good plastic surgeon and read everything that his/her office sends you, every detail counts.  Here is a website I find very good for doctors and low prices.  When writing to them, they will give you good advice about how to plan for a surgery.

MedicalAssociationofGuadalajara

As always, hoping this article is helpful for everybody going on a medical vacation!