New to it all

I am trying to get info on a Dr. Patrick White. Also I have heard that you have to quit smoking before surgery. Is this true? Jen

hello and welcome to our state board. i didn't have dr. white as my doctor, but many doc's have different guildlines and etc for before surgery. but quitting smoking would be a VERY GOOD idea. because less chance of having problems with your lungs after surgery!!!!!! when you have anestesia (sp???) your lungs are also "put to sleep" you must wake those muscle up as you would with other muscles. being a smoker makes it harder to wake these muscles up and making it a higher chance of pneumonia and the small sacs of your lungs to possiblely collapsing. i don't mean to scare you, and i'm not saying this because your are or not a smoker, but i'm a nurse and see it every day how it affects people after surgery. as a smoker its harder to clear you air passages of secretions because the hair like projections in your passages are dimished which means you'll have a great difficulty coughing any secretions out of your lungs. this theory holds true if you get a cold/ upper respiratory infection. i hope this helps. and i hope this doesn't scare you off. take care and welcome again. jennifer