Undergoing anesthesia is usually a very safe process, but complications can always arise–especially if you’re a smoker. Let’s find out what makes smokers at higher risk for complications during anesthesia, and why you should quit before any surgical procedure.
The effects of smoking and anesthesia
Smoking has complex effects on the body. Tobacco smoke negatively impacts the heart, the lungs, and even the blood vessels, all of which need to be functioning properly while you’re on the operating table.
Let’s start with the heart. If you’re a smoker, your risk of heart attack during surgery is 77% percent higher compared to non-smokers, due to the ways tobacco smoke impairs cardiovascular function. Of course, even when you’re not being operated on, your overall risk of cardiovascular disease and heart attack is significantly higher as a smoker.
Smoking affects the lungs. Smokers are more likely to have breathing difficulties and respiratory diseases like asthma or COPD, since their lungs are compromised. These breathing problems don’t just disappear when you’re in the operating room. Your anesthesiologist must work harder to keep your breathing under control and may even need to give you bronchodilator medications or worse, place you on continuous ventilator support after surgery.
Another potential lung-related complication that can arise in smokers is pneumonia, which can be triggered by increased mucus production. A collapsed lung can also occur for this same reason.
If you do make it through surgery without any adverse events, you’re not in the clear yet. Smoking reduces blood flow which in turn inhibits wound healing, so the incisions your surgeon made may take longer to heal or even become infected.
Reducing your risk
As you can probably guess, the only way to really prevent the complications detailed above is by quitting smoking. Your anesthesiologist and surgeon will strongly urge you to quit smoking at least 8 weeks prior to surgery, and at the very least 24 hours before your surgery. The longer you go without smoking before surgery, the better your outcome will be. It’s important to abstain from tobacco even after your operation, since, as mentioned earlier, smoking interferes with recovery.
How do I quit?
Quitting isn’t easy. But if you’ve finally decided to kick the habit, your doctor will be more than happy to help you. He or she can direct you to various resources for smokers trying to quit, such as support groups, online forums, and quitlines.
One such resource is operated by the National Cancer Institute and can be accessed for free by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669). Via this quitline, you can speak with a counselor about quitting tobacco and hear about the different smoking cessation medications that can be used. Your doctor may recommend that you attend in-person counseling as well.
Smoking and anesthesia don’t mix. But an upcoming surgery can give you just the motivation you need to quit smoking. To make sure your operation goes smoothly, consider throwing away that pack of cigarettes for good.
Written by Natan Rosenfeld
