Smoking Cigarettes. No Good. Just bad and ugly.

With smoking being a large risk factor for complications in surgery, we thought you may want to know how it can effect you.  The basic concept is that in order for things to heal, they need blood flow.  Blood provides all the nutrients, minerals and cells that help bone and tissue reform after they have been injured.  Cigarettes severely impair this blood flow, making it very difficult for breaks to heal.  Imagine a river that feeds into a rice field.  If the river flows, the rice grows.  However, if there is no water, there is no water for the rice and it doesn't grow. 
In our groups experience, our doctors have struggled to get patients to completely stop smoking.  We understand it's impossible to stop "cold turkey."  However, the new medications we have are really working and stopping cigarette smoking.   They are promising, we've seen it first hand.
Our doctors have all found higher rates of bones not healing in cigarette smokers as well as more wound complications in those patients as well.   We can only control so many variables in an operation and cigarette smoking is a very difficult hurdle to overcome.  Help us help you.  Ask us about quitting smoking.  We're here to help.
Recently published, a review article looking at cigarette smoking listed a few highlights in the article summary.  Take a look at what it says.