What are the harm full affect of smoking relative to healing after facelifts?

Smoking & Facelift: Smoking is probably the most significant risk factor in facelift surgery. It leads to decreased microcirculation which subsequently and significantly increases the rate of skin flap necrosis (death of skin, usually at the edge of the incision). Most plastic surgeons will ask their patients to quit 1 month prior and 2 weeks after surgery. Some surgeons just wont operate on smokers. Hope this helps.

Don't smoke: The effect of nicotine and smoking is potentially very harmful to the skin flaps created in a facelift procedure. I will not personally perform this procedure unless the patient agrees to quit smoking, and nicotine use, for three weeks before and after surgery.

Skin necrosis: Besides difficulty with coughing and starting a bleeder when you are waking up, smoking makes capillaries shut down and stop the blood supply to your lifted skin. The skin dies and becomes black. As it heals over weeks, you'll end up having a scar.

Poor healing: Smoking leads to a higher incidence of skin necrosis or poor healing after facelift. This can lead to devastating scarring and nearly all surgeons will refuse to do a facelift on a smoker unless they quit. Also, quitting smoking is better for your lungs and overall health!

Wound healing: Smoking causes constriction of the capillaries and reduce the blood supply and oxygen to the wounds. This can result in necrosis of the skin. The loss of skin leads to poor healing and bad scarring.

Facelift : Typically smokers can loose skin behind the ears after a facelift but it can become extensive as well involving the cheeks and the neck. So, stop smoking for at least a month and take vit c it helps in healing.

Scarring: The carbon monoxide and relative oxygen depletion of smoking can greatly decrease blood flow to the edges of the skin flap creating loss of tissue and scarring. It is critical to stop smoking at least 6 weeks before and after. This also helps the anesthesia from a safety standpoint. www.asc-psd.

Smoking and facelift: Smoking increases the risks of complications in facelift surgery. There is a higher risk of hematoma formation and flap necrosis with unsightly scarring because of smoking's effect on blood vessels.