Why is it important to quit smoking before surgery?

The majority of men with lung cancer smoke, and the majority of women smoke secondhand smoke. In the case of a doctor’s consultation, a history of smoking is a must, and patients are reminded to quit. In some cases, “old smokers” have gone through long waits and complicated tests, only to be asked by their supervising physicians to “stop surgery and discharge” before treatment begins because they have not quit smoking as strictly as required. The company’s main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers.

The biggest risk of smoking before surgery is that it can cause coughing disorders and increase the risk of secondary infections and other conditions after surgery. If you do not quit smoking, the following will happen postoperatively:

1. You can’t cough if you want to

Intraoperative intubation requires anesthesia, which can irritate the airways and increase sputum, so most patients feel “phlegmy” after surgery. The first thing you need to do is to get a good idea of what you want to do.

I want to cough if I have phlegm, but coughing can aggravate wound pain and I am afraid to exert myself. Doctors often encounter situations where smoking patients have a painful post-operative cough that is full of sweat, and the phlegm sound is right in the throat, but it is too sticky and too much, and they finally give up coughing because of the unbearable pain and lack of strength. It takes many repetitions to cough up a mouthful. The non-smoking patients, on the other hand, cough up phlegm much easier and cough up the sticky phlegm with a few efforts.

2. Can’t cough if I want to

The “coughing” here does not mean that there is no “strength” to cough, but that no matter how hard one tries, one cannot cough up the mucus in the respiratory tract, which does not help the body “detoxify”. “The actual fact is that you can’t get a lot of money from the internet.

Our respiratory tract produces mucus that captures and removes impurities and toxins that are inhaled into the lungs; it also has tiny tissues called “cilia” that oscillate regularly in one direction, acting as hard-working porters to remove impurities. Without these helpers, the respiratory tract would be vulnerable to infection.

The biggest danger to the respiratory tract from smoking is damage to the cilia. Smoking stimulates the lungs to produce more mucus, yet the toxic substances in tobacco can paralyze or even shorten the cilia, preventing them from moving efficiently to expel the mucus that carries impurities. In the long run, lung mucus increases, toxic substances are deposited, and the risk of frequent respiratory tract infections or chronic bronchitis is increased by frequent coughing but no phlegm is expelled.

Fortunately, once you stop smoking, toxic inhalation is reduced; the lungs also have some healing capacity, and some of the cilia gradually awaken from their paralyzed state, recuperate, and resume exercise, and are able to improve some lung function.

3. The cough will not cough

Coughing itself is a protective action that helps the airways expel foreign bodies when the airways are irritated or when there is a foreign body. Some medical literature reports that smoking leads to decreased sensitivity of the cough reflex, which means it is more difficult to cough than the average person. If you don’t cough when you should, your self-protection is greatly diminished.

In summary, smoking increases the risk of complications such as pneumonia and lung infections, and sputum that is not easily coughed up can also lead to atelectasis, all of which will likely be significantly more painful and lead to longer and more expensive hospital stays. Quitting smoking before surgery will reduce the damage caused by tobacco and allow the respiratory tract to recuperate. To get safe and effective treatment, it is important that you quit smoking early.