| The Tobacco Reference Guide |
| by David Moyer, MD. |
| Chapter 11 Other health problems |
| tobacco reference guideg (artefact pour |
| Other health problems: Wound Healing and Surgery |
| globalink (artefact pour saut de ligne) |
| Smoking significantly increases a person's chances of suffering complications when |
| undergoing surgery. The risks are multiple: Smokers who require anesthesia are |
| much more likely to suffer anesthesia-associated complications, and their surgical |
| wounds don't heal well. Smokers require a significantly longer time in the recovery |
| room to stabilize than do nonsmokers, and they need supplemental oxygen for a |
| longer time after surgery. The inability to clear secretions is magnified in smokers and |
| is associated with their much greater risk of developing respiratory infections such as |
| pneumonia and bronchitis. Smokers also have a greater chance of suffering a |
| collapsed lung after undergoing anesthesia and surgery. |
| Cigarettes, pp. 48-49 |
| tobacco reference guideg (artefact pour saut |
| In a study of 410 patients in Syracuse, New York undergoing elective non-cardiac |
| surgery, postoperative pulmonary complications occurred in 22% of current smokers |
| compared to 4.9% of never smokers. Because of this nearly six-fold increased risk for |
| complications, the authors advise all smokers to stop smoking for at least four weeks |
| prior to elective surgery. If this is not possible, all current smokers should become |
| abstinent for the 24 hours immediately before surgery to lower their |
| carboxyhemoglobin level. Reducing rather than stopping smoking before surgery did |
| not decrease the risk |
| Chest, April 1998, pp. 857 and 883 |
| tobacco reference guideg (artefact pour saut |
| Smoking a single cigarette can reduce blood flow to the fingers by more than 40% for |
| up to an hour, posing a significant problem for surgery involving the hands. |
| Cigarettes, p.52 |
| tobacco reference guideg (artefact pour saut |
| In a study of 1186 patients undergoing face lifts, 10.2% were complicated by skin |
| sloughing, and 80% of the group with this complication were current smokers. A |
| patient undergoing a face lift who smoked had a 12.46 times greater chance of skin |
| slough than a nonsmoker. |
| Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, May 1996, p. 718 |
| tobacco reference guideg (artefact pour saut |
| Page 31 of 32 |
| globalink (artefact pour saut de ligne) |
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