Question:
What Are The Ramifications of NOT Qutting Smoking 6 Weeks Prior?

I have a friend that is having the surgery the same day as mine on 04/11/03 and has not quit smoking can this hurt her? Why is this so important to most surgeons for this surgery? Thanks, Rose [email protected]    — rose S. (posted on April 7, 2003)


April 7, 2003
Rose, if you can talk to her and convince her to quit even for the one week she has left, I would do it. It makes recovery so much easier. Surgeons want you to quit because when you are a smoker, you are more suseptable to pneumonia during recovery and it just makes it alot harder. I smoked for years pre-op and smoked up until surgery and what a mistake! It took longer to heal and feel better overall, not to mention that the whole time I was there I was hooked up to oxygen (others around me were not the whole time), had shallow breathing, coughed up blood for days (felt like it was my lung) and felt like crap. And I'm only 23 and it has this effect on me. Doesn't matter what age or how long, smoking really hurts you during recovery. Even a week can help clear her lungs a little. Goodluck to both of you!
   — Lezlie Y.

April 7, 2003
she could have severe respirtory problems, not beable to breathe on her own, have ot stay on the vent, getting dependant on it to breathe and end up spending weeks in the hosptial instead of days. she may cough more, which hurts like the devil, not be able to wlak enough because her lungs can not expand properly. i wacthed my uncle die from lunch cancer it is a hard way to go fat or skinny!
   — janetc00

April 7, 2003
My surgeon requires you to quit 30 days before surgery. I have been a smoker for 32 years and quit on Jan. 20th and I haven't even received my surgery date! I have used the patch which has been a great help. Besides it being a requirement, I quit because I didn't want to have smokers cough and difficulty breathing after surgery. It's amazing how I can take a deep breath now and laugh without going into fits of coughing. I'm sure the surgery is painful enough without having uncontrolable coughing spells. A month after I quit I coughed worse than I did when I was smoking. I NEVER thought I would be able to quit...NEVER...but I realized how serious this surgery is and I don't want to do anything that could cause complications that could have been prevented. There are a lot of life changing commitments you have to make to have this surgery and quiting smoking is one of them!
   — Jill H.

April 7, 2003
My surgeon requires you to quit 30 days before surgery. I have been a smoker for 32 years and quit on Jan. 20th and I haven't even received my surgery date! I have used the patch which has been a great help. Besides it being a requirement, I quit because I didn't want to have smokers cough and difficulty breathing after surgery. It's amazing how I can take a deep breath now and laugh without going into fits of coughing. I'm sure the surgery is painful enough without having uncontrolable coughing spells. A month after I quit I coughed worse than I did when I was smoking. I NEVER thought I would be able to quit...NEVER...but I realized how serious this surgery is and I don't want to do anything that could cause complications that could have been prevented. There are a lot of life changing commitments you have to make to have this surgery and quiting smoking is one of them!
   — Jill H.

April 7, 2003
During a resent support group meeting we were told about this exact thing, the reason the surgeon that was there said no smoking was first of all he said he was not going to do surgery on someone that couldn't even stop smoking. Cause if you cant even stop smoking for your health then you wont be able to take the needed steps to make the surgery successful. Also the risks for leaks are a lot higher. Not to mention all of the lung problems others have spoke of. So like the last poster stated tell her to QUIT NOW!
   — Kevin M.

April 7, 2003
Smokers get more leaks, heal slower, have all those breathing troubles, have a higher risk of blood clots. All good reasons to quit. Besides some surgeons check blood levels of smoke immediatekly before surgery and cancel those who doidnt quit. WLS is about getting healthy.
   — bob-haller

April 7, 2003
HI I WAS A 2 PACK A DAY SMOKER UP TO THIS YEAR AND I PROMISED MYSELF I WOULD GET HEALTHIER THIS YEAR I TRIED TO QUIT COLD TURKEY IN JAN AND WAS SORT OF CRAZY I DID CUT DOWN TO 2 CIGARETTES A DAY AND THEN ONE A DAY THE WEEK BEFORE SURGERY AND NONE THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE SURGERY AND DIDNT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS BUT PLEASE ADVISE YOUR FRIEND TO TRY TRY HARD BECAUSE I KNOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD SEVERE RESPIATORY PROBLEMS AFTERWARDS.
   — PAULA C.

April 7, 2003
Hi Rose. I smoked prior to my surgery and quit at almost 2 months prior. Post-op, I did develope a leak which took 6 weeks to close up. I could not put anything in my mouth during this time! I did not realize leaks were more common in smokers until I read the answers below. I also had respiratory problems. They drained 200cc of fluid off my lungs (with a huge needle thru my back might I add). Now, at 8 weeks, it still hurts to take deep breaths, especially when sneezing or yawning. Needless to say, I have not picked the habit back up and do not plan to. Since surgery, smokers actually have this smell to them, it's strange. And the brand that I smoked actually smells the worst! Good luck to you and your friend on your upcoming journeys!
   — roryleigh

April 8, 2003
first, congratulations to you for starting a brand new life! You should do great. Your friend will definately regret the smoking if she does not quit. She can start back once the surgery is over if she just HAS to smoke. My surgery was March 11th and I quit Jan. 30th. Boy am I glad I did! Surgery was sooooo much easier and when I woke up after surgery it was like waking out of a sleep, simple as that. Prior surgeries were not that simple at all. Smokers coughing will hurt like hell and will she be able to live with herself if she coughs a staple loose? Tell her to use the patch. No problems with them and she will still get her fix. Good luck to both of you
   — Linda T.

April 8, 2003
I havent smoked one cigerette since 11/98 and i have to say that i am glad i havent. I had my surgery on 1/27 and at my 6 week check up i had what i thought was a chest cold, well, no, it was bronchittas and phayrengittes. It was so horrible, it hurt to even breath, if i had smoked i probably would of had pneumonia. Quit smoking now and start walking at a good pace to get those lungs moving. Also, my mom smokes, and she will quit for a couple months and during that time she coughs so bad, i wouldnt want to be in that kind of shape having surgery. The sooner you quit the better. I would hope anyone who smokes could quit a couple months before hand to give your lungs a while to breath before theyre put to sleep and on a ventalator while your in surgery. good luck all
   — rachel W.

April 8, 2003
smoking before ANY surgery is risky. in addition to the obvious carcinogens in cigarettes, there are poisons and agents that slow healing. did you know that smoking kills off tiny capillaries? the blood flow to the surgical site is compromised, and healing is slowed down a great deal. and as others have mentioned, there is congestion in the lungs, brohchial tubes and throat from smoking. if we're starting a new life with our WLS surgery, why start that life with one strike already against us from cigarettes. i quit before my surgery, it wasn't easy. but ~ i kept telling myself that this was for my own good, and deep breathing (when a cig crave hit me) helped alot. sometimes it's not the nicotine as much as the relaxation of the deep breath (when we inhale) that we crave too... please have your friend read these posts, it might help her to knock the habit.
   — Karen D.

April 8, 2003
Please tell her to quit immediately. I was a smoker up until Jan. 29th. I quit because the thought of a pulmonary embolism scared the hell out of me. I don't want to throw a clot during or after surgery because of smoking. I didn't know about the leaks but that is another great reason to quit. My surgery isn't until the first week of May. That's a little over three months smoke free before the surgery. About a month after quitting, I coughed more than I ever did when I smoked, I would not want to be going through that afterwards. Please ask her to quit.
   — Sara W.

April 8, 2003
Rose.............I am a nurse in a pulmonary clinic(Lungs) It is very important to quit smoking prior to surgery for many reasons. 1. people who continue to smoke have a greater chance of becoming dependant on the vent, I have seen several who never get off of it. 2. you increase your risk of pneumonia and therefor pneumo-thorax (collapsed lungs) 3. smoking makes it much harder for you to come out of the anesethesia...in other words...you do not wake up!!!! The doctors I work for have been doing alot of surgical clearance for WLS, however...none of the 4 docs I work for will clear a smoker for sugery!!! It is a huge risk, more so if the patient is morbidly obese. Think about how much stress is on the lungs just from the weight, and then add smoking, and anesthesia. Your friend should also have an ABG or blood gas...this will give a true idea of the patient's oxygen saturation and carbon monoxide level....we find 80% of smokers have low oxygen and high carbon monixide levels. If any surgeon agrees to preform surgery on a smoker.....I would find a new surgeon!!!! You are putting yourself at HIGH RISK for complications and death.
   — jennap




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