Certainly, quitting before surgery is a lot to ask. But keep an open mind. Smoking may cause serious complications if you are undergoing general anesthesia or major surgery. Also, you may be forced to quit during recovery. And, at the very least, you need to prepare to not smoke in the hospital. The good news is there are ways to minimize your risk of complications and improve your quality of life before, during and after surgery.

Some things to consider:

• By quitting cigarettes your chances of postoperative pneumonia are reduced.
• Your risk of postoperative infection is reduced.
• Incisions need oxygen-rich blood to heal normally. Nicotine shrinks blood vessels, reducing oxygen flow, so you will not heal as well or as quickly as a non-smoker.

What to do:

Choose a quit method
For best results, break the nicotine addiction and smoking habit at the same time.

Keep thinking — I'm not ready yet
Tell me more about nicotine addiction and habit.

Related topics:
See the anatomy of a smoker
Build a quitting plan
How smoking aggravates chronic conditions