Exact Answer: 1 – 2 Months.
Rhinoplasty is an operation to change the shape of the nose. It is a form of plastic surgery, commonly known as a nose job. Thus, Rhinoplasty is a facial cosmetic procedure that assists patients who want to enhance the appearance of their noses or to improve their functionality.
Smoking is extremely detrimental to people who have just gotten their nose job done. Rhinoplasty patients particularly need to be careful not to smoke immediately after their surgery to ensure that their healing and recovery are not affected.
How Long After Rhinoplasty Can You Smoke?
| Reason for undergoing Rhinoplasty | Duration |
| To enhance the appearance of the nose | 3 – 4 Weeks |
| To improve breathing | 2 – 3 Months |
‘Smoking is injurious to health’ is a fact which is known to all. Despite that, every day we find numerous people smoking on the streets. Several warnings about the hazardous effects of smoking are issued, such as that it can increase the risk of lung cancer and can trigger diseases like heart stroke, etc. Even the pack of cigarettes has the warning written on its packet that smoking causes cancer which ultimately leads to death.
During Rhinoplasty, the nasal cartilage and bones are modified or tissue is added. It is also performed to repair nasal fractures and other structural problems. It aids in rectifying any crookedness of the nose, removing any bump, or simply reducing the size of the nose to make it fit better with the facial structure.
It is important to note that the recovery after Rhinoplasty takes about 1 to 3 weeks. Thus, during this period it must be ensured and the nose is given sufficient time to heal properly. However, this healing can be severely affected if the patient starts smoking before the nose has completely recovered. That is why it is highly recommended by doctors to stay away from smoking for at least a month after Rhinoplasty.
Why Can You Smoke So Long After Rhinoplasty?
Smokers have higher levels of toxins such as nicotine and carbon monoxide in their bodies. This can lead to some drastic effects in the recovery after nose surgery. Smoking after rhinoplasty negatively affects the body in numerous ways. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients and delivers them to each and every cell inside our body. However, smoking slows down the blood circulation in the body.
When a person recovers from any type of surgery, the body requires more oxygen and nutrients to facilitate healing. When a person smokes, the toxins present in it block the arteries and narrows them down, making the blood pressure high. This causes unnecessary complications as the amount of blood delivered to the areas which are healing drastically decreases.
Nicotine present in cigarettes has a huge effect on neutrophils, a type of white blood cells (WBCs) having a major role in the healing of damaged tissue and preventing infection, which reduces their ability to destroy bacteria. Thus, if smoking is continued immediately after the surgery, the risk of getting an infection increases considerably.
Smoking also slows down wound healing. Carbon monoxide which is one of the by-products of smoking combines with hemoglobin which limits blood’s ability to deliver oxygen to the cells. This, in turn, results in wounds taking a much longer time to heal.
It is absolutely essential to wait for a while before resuming smoking after rhinoplasty because the irritating gases present in smoke like ammonia makes the nose produce more mucus, which leads to clogging of the airway, making it much complicated for the patients to breathe.
Conclusion
It is recommended by doctors to avoid smoking after Rhinoplasty for at least a month. It must be kept in mind, the more time the patient refrains from smoking after Rhinoplasty, the better will be his results after the surgery and health in general. Guidelines given by the doctors must be strictly followed to avoid the development of visible scars or post-operation complications.
Inhaling tar and carbon monoxide present in smoke are extremely bad for post-surgery recovery. Thus, if a person doesn’t want to hamper the recovery and healing process, it is highly advisable to refrain from smoking at least in the initial weeks after the surgery.
References
- https://journals.lww.com/jcraniofacialsurgery/Fulltext/2020/05000/Disastrous_Complications_Following_Rhinoplasty_.54.aspx?context=LatestArticles
- https://academic.oup.com/asj/article-abstract/39/4/439/5053842
I’ve put so much effort writing this blog post to provide value to you. It’ll be very helpful for me, if you consider sharing it on social media or with your friends/family. SHARING IS ♥️
This is good information. Smoking is very dangerous, especially after rhinoplasty.
Absolutely. People need to be well aware of the risks and exercise caution.
This was a well-written article. It describes the impact smoking has on recovery very clearly.
Yes, the details offered here are very helpful for anyone going through this type of surgery.
I appreciate how this article highlights the importance of following doctor’s recommendations for recovery.
Definitely. Too many people underestimate the impacts of not following post-surgery advice.
The negative effects described here are a good reminder to take post-surgery recovery seriously.
The impacts of smoking in post-surgery recovery are worse than many people realize.
Absolutely. Recovery is such a crucial aspect of any surgical procedure.
I’m thankful for articles like this that provide detailed information on important matters like this.
The information provided about the impact of smoking is both fascinating and alarming.
Absolutely, this information is invaluable for anyone considering this surgery.
This post does a great job at explaining very technical processes in understandable terms.
The specific effects of smoking on recovery were very well articulated in this article.
The author did an excellent job explaining the importance of post-surgery recovery.
I greatly appreciated the guidance provided about smoking after this type of surgery.
This article had a good balance between technical information and general advice.
There’s a lot of useful information here for anyone in the recovery process.
Yes, articles like this one are very important for raising awareness on relevant issues.
This article is very informative and helpful. I’m glad to have found it!
I agree with you. This article explained the impact smoking can have on rhinoplasty recovery very thoroughly.
This article’s clear explanations are very useful for anyone considering rhinoplasty.
Agreed, people often need more detailed reasoning behind recommendations to fully understand their importance.