Don't you quit smoking yet? If there should be an operation one day, it would be bad luck

The phrase "smoking is harmful to health" has been mentioned for many years, as if more and more people have become numb and indifferent, just using it as a slogan that is not painful or itchy.

However, in the opinion of doctors, the phrase "smoking is harmful to health" is all accumulated by vivid and real cases. Especially in the face of patients who are about to undergo surgery, perennial smoking means more complex and difficult situations.

For example, increase the anesthesia risk, increase the incidence rate of various complications before and after the operation, cause the increase of blood pressure during and after the operation, increase the risk of pneumonia, increase the probability of angina pectoris, affect the healing of the surgical blade, and affect the postoperative recovery of patients.

What are the effects of smoking on surgery?

High surgical risk

Among patients who smoke, the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory complications during surgery is 2 to 5 times higher than non smokers! Including cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, etc.

At the beginning of general anesthesia, patients are more prone to coughing, bronchospasm, dyspnea, etc., increasing the complexity of anesthesia, and posing a significant challenge to anesthesiologists.

More pain after surgery

Patients who smoke for a long time have poor pain tolerance and require more analgesic drugs during the recovery period after surgery.

There are relevant research reports:

Preoperative short-term cessation of smoking can reduce the amount of intravenous pain relievers used on the first day after surgery, and the longer the duration of cessation, the less the amount used.

Slower postoperative recovery

Smoking causes the body to be in a long-term state of hypoxia, and over time, blood vessels can become diseased, become narrow, and harden. The impact of these changes on the body may not be detected at ordinary times.

But after surgery, these changes are very intuitive to show. These changes in blood vessels can lead to reduced blood supply to the wound, lack of access to adequate nutrition, difficulty in wound healing, and slow recovery.

At the same time, the incidence of many wound complications, such as wound infection and surgical site dehiscence, has also significantly increased. There are even cases where excessive smoking leads to serious complications, leading to surgical failures such as cardiovascular and gastrointestinal anastomosis.

Prolonged postoperative recovery time increases the number of hospital days, and the cost of treating postoperative complications can be a significant expense for patients.

How long is it good to quit smoking before surgery?

Of course, the sooner the better. No matter how old you are or how long you smoke, the risk of surgery after quitting smoking will be reduced. For example:

After 2 weeks of quitting smoking, the amount of postoperative analgesic drugs is close to that of non smoking patients;

Quitting smoking for 3 weeks or more can significantly improve wound healing;

Preoperative smoking cessation for 6-12 weeks (without capping) is ideal, and the longer the time, the better;

Among cancer patients, quitting smoking can even prolong their survival time.

There are also some "adverse" reactions in the early stages of quitting smoking:

For example, increased sputum volume, anxiety and excitement in the mood, and some people may experience weight gain. These reactions can also be alleviated through some methods. If you insist on not smoking, these reactions will gradually disappear.

Although 6 to 12 weeks before surgery is the best time to quit smoking, many people do not know when they may need surgery, and most surgeries are urgently needed before they can wait to quit smoking.