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
Click Here to Return