There are many reasons not to smoke. Everybody knows it is not good for you. Smoking can cause heart disease and cancer. It causes bad breath and makes your clothes smell. But if you are having cosmetic plastic surgery there are very specific and important reasons why you should not smoke.
Heart disease from smoking is the result of the accumulation, over many years, of changes to your blood vessels. Initially, smoking affects only the smallest blood vessels. Over time, the changes in the small blood vessels affect the larger blood vessels, and eventually these changes ultimately affect the heart. Someone with heart disease is typically not a good candidate for elective cosmetic surgery. The changes to the heart caused by smoking, however, are not the only changes that can be detrimental with respect to cosmetic surgery. In fact, it is the short term changes that take place in the small blood vessels, as a result of smoking, that can be the most problematic. These changes adversely affect healing and may lead to poor quality scars, delayed healing and even open wounds.
The goal of cosmetic surgery is to improve a condition from good to better. Everything is done to achieve this goal. And because cosmetic surgery is elective, it should be done only when all of the variables that are controllable, such as smoking, are optimized. Not smoking will not guarantee perfect results or no complications, but not smoking will make it much more likely that the outcome you desire is the outcome you will get.
Weston Office
2300 N. Commerce Parkway
Suite 202
Weston, Florida 33326
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