Smoking before and after

Smoking may have an impact on the result of your surgery. If you smoke, you have a higher risk of complications than people who don't smoke, or people who stopped smoking at least 6 weeks before the operation.

This is primarily due to carbon monoxide, which arises from smoking, affecting the blood supply to your skin and immune system. As a smoker, your skin will have a difficult time healing, and this gives an increased risk of infection in the surgical wound.

In addition, a smoker is at greater risk of getting lung problems and other infections. The risk of complications is greater, the more you smoke and the longer you have smoked.

You can affect the outcome of your surgery by quitting smoking. The Danish Health and Medicines Authority recommends that you stop smoking at least 6 weeks before your operation.

While you're in hospital, smoking is not allowed. During your hospitalisation, staff in the ward can help you with nicotine products. Therefore, please ask if you need it while you are hospitalised.

When you are discharged, it is recommended that you continue life as a non-smoker. Maybe an extra benefit of the surgery could be that you become smoke-free.

There are several options for getting help to stop smoking. For example, watch the film: Help to quit smoking, to get ideas on how to stop smoking.

One of the most important things you can do if you are going to stop smoking is to have a chat with your loved ones; this can be friends, family or colleagues. Tell them how important it is for you to stop smoking, and that you will need their support in order to successfully stop smoking.