According to Ontario's Anesthesiologists smokers should cease their habit even for a short time to help curb the risk of complications both during and after any surgical procedure. To this end, Anesthesiologists have released a new campaign to get smokers to butt out before surgery. The campaign is called - Stop Smoking for Safer Surgery, and it is meant to be a public-patient awareness campaign.
Complications during and after surgery costs the Canadian health care system untold millions of dollars each year. Getting smokers to cease their habit, even for a limited time frame before and after surgery can save the health care system millions in needed money.
It has long been known that cigarette smoke contains very harmful elements such as nicotine and carbon monoxide amongst others. For those undertaking medical procedures, nicotine affects the heart by making it work harder than it should, thus consuming more oxygen, but the carbon monoxide prevents the blood from carrying the necessary oxygen to the heart. This combo leads to an increased risk of heart attack and/or other complications while under the influence of an anesthetic.
Dr. Stephen Brown, who is the Chair of Ontario's Anesthesiologists, says of the campaign, "Smokers are used to the health warnings on cigarette packets, to restrictions on smoking at work and in public, to warnings from their family physicians. To hear the message from an Anesthesiologist is probably something new for most smokers. The risks of pre-operative smoking are not widely known."
"Smokers are more likely to have heart problems during surgery and breathing problems after surgery. They heal more slowly and have an increased risk of wound infections," adds Dr. John Oyston, founder of the Stop Smoking for Safer Surgery initiative.
Doctors stress even a few hours of smoking cessation can reduce complication risks. "If a smoker quits prior to surgery, it will make their date with the surgeon less risky," explains Dr. Brown.
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