A ^Retired Plastic Surgeon's Notebook

Seattle Plastic Surgeon nags because she cares.

She’ll be sorry.

I recently spent a week in Italy and although indoor smoking was banned a few years ago, there’s a lot of puffin going on at outdoor cafes and restaurants.  And it seems like the majority of smokers are young women.  Smoking is not only incredibly bad for your health, it’s really, really hard on your appearance.  Here’s a list:

• Bad teeth and bad breath (not to mention stinky clothes and hair).
• Stained and stinky fingers.
• Premature aging of the skin (I can tell a long time smoker a block away).
• Smoker’s lines around the mouth.

And there are many plastic surgery procedures I will not perform on a smoker because of poor circulation to the skin and increased risk of poor healing.  These include tummy tuck, face lift,  breast lift and breast reduction.

Some of my proudest moments as a physician involve convincing a patient to kick the habit to make them eligible for one of these procedures and then seeing them kick the habit for good.

Here’s information about Washington States Tobacco Quitline Services.  If you are a smoker and want to quit (and who wouldn’t?), take a look.

Thanks for reading!  Dr. Lisa Lynn Sowder

Related posts:

Smoking and tummy tucks – a bad combination that makes me wanna holler. It’s been 50 years since the Surgeon General told us smoking was a bad idea. Hey Girlfriend! Lose the cigarette already! A cancelled operation is like an empty airliner taking off.