“The patches stick on to your skin and you absorb the nicotine through your skin, into your bloodstream.” This method called transdermal, releases nicotine into your SYSTEM.

Nicotine patches are considered safe, but they are still a drug and therefore could have negative side effects on your health. Some of the most common side effects associated with nicotine patches include skin irritation, dizziness, insomnia, itching, headaches, anxiety, and nausea. Transdermal nicotine patches can also make you feel like your heart is racing.

The risks from nicotine, particularly related to increased cancer odds, mean that nicotine patches should not be considered harmless or benign.

What really causes the downfall in surgery recovery is not the cigarette itself but nicotine as well, therefore nicotine patches are no better than cigarettes.

On the other hand, the association between cigarette smoking and delayed wound healing is well recognized in clinical practice.

• White Blood cell paralyzer

Cigarettes are said to paralyze white blood cells, meaning that smoking inhibits the movement of macrophages (cells of the immune system that engulf microbes that can cause infections) into the scar, therefore if they can’t move they can’t do their work.

• Less Oxygen in the scar

The nicotine in cigarettes impairs oxygenation of the tissues, which can interfere with scar healing. This happens because nicotine causes the blood vessels to constrict. The constriction makes the blood vessels smaller in diameter, and they bring less oxygen.

• More Carbon Monoxide in Your Bloodstream

Smoking increases the amount of carbon monoxide in the bloodstream, which is another way of decreasing oxygen flow in the arteries. This results in less oxygen to the scar and means it will take longer to heal.

INFECTIONS

Without less oxygen in the scar area and less macrophage movement toward the scar, the immune system cells can’t fight against microbes and it’s easier to get infections.

• Smoking Uses Up Vitamin C  

Vitamin C is essential for scars to heal. When there is trauma or surgery the body’s need for vitamin C increases; Vitamin C assists in the formation of new collagen, acts as an antioxidant and boosts immune system functions contributing to resistance against infections.

One study found that complications in the healing of scars from breast surgery occurred in 4 out of every 10 smokers, compared to 1.2 out of 10 non-smokers.

With all of the above said, the consequences of smoking or using nicotine patches are highly injurious, therefore the guarantee of Dr. Carmona’s work will diminish and won’t be valid anymore.

Here at our clinic Shape & Beauty we ask patients as a requirement to quit smoking 3 weeks before surgery.