Our office just got an email inquiry from a patient who desired cosmetic rhinoplasty surgery from Dr. Hilinski. In her inquiry she noted that she was a smoker. This was a nice opportunity for us to clarify our stance and opinion regarding rhinoplasty surgery and smokers.
The bottom line is – smoking is not good for you. But it is really, really bad for you when considering any type of elective cosmetic surgery, such as rhinoplasty. The negative effects of smoking are well-established and widely known. And one of the major risks has to do with reducing the blood supply to certain tissues. The other is the direct toxic effects nicotine and its byproducts can have on human tissue. Patients who currently smoke should realize that smoking will significantly complicate your recovery process – and will lead to unwanted complications with your rhinoplasty surgery.
As the adjacent photo shows, so much of the toxic smoke goes right up your nose. If you just had rhinoplasty surgery, there are a number of incisions and cuts inside (and sometimes outside) of the nose that are then subject to the direct, negative effects of the smoke. In so many cases, this toxic smoke will lead to real complications with your healing. And this can occur even weeks out from rhinoplasty surgery. Meaning, if you resume smoking after weeks out following rhinoplasty surgery, you are putting yourself at risk of complications – including a less than optimal cosmetic rhinoplasty result that may lead to you having to have a revision rhinoplasty procedure.