You are contemplating surgery that has absolutely nothing to do with your lungs, yet your surgeon says you have to quit smoking before the operation can take place. Does the surgeon just dislike smokers or is there a real reason for it?

The answer is your surgeon is putting your health first. The recent anti-smoking trend in surgery is based on cold hard facts. Smokers have a much higher risk of becoming ventilator dependent after surgery, unable to breathe without the help of a machine. Smokers have significantly more scarring, heal more slowly and are more likely to have life-threatening complications like blood clots.

Some plastic surgeons even test their patients for nicotine prior to surgery to make sure they really have quit, because the risk of scarring is so high.

The final word on smoking and surgery? The more time between your last cigarette and your surgery, the better your chances of having an excellent outcome.