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Smoking Cessation, Tobbaco & Marijuana Use
by Kaye Bailey

In scheduled surgeries patients are generally asked to stop smoking six weeks prior to surgery. The reason for this is to improve healing after surgery and decrease post-operative complications such as pneumonia, stricture formation and ulcers.

According to Ann Moller, a researcher at Bispebjerg University Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, the differences in post-surgical complications were "substantial," says Moller. Those who followed the smoking cessation program prior to surgery had significantly fewer problems

Eighteen percent of those who quit smoking had post-surgical complications, while 52 percent of smokers had problems, mostly related to wound healing. Thirty-one percent of smokers suffered wound-healing complications. Even more frightening, 15 percent of the smokers required second surgeries while only 4 percent of non-smokers needed a second surgery.

And non-smokers were discharged from the hospital an average of two days earlier than the smokers.

Smoking and Marijuana Use After Surgery

Sounds like a silly question, but believe it or not, some patients elect to return to the use of tobacco or marijuana after having weight loss surgery. I won't lecture here about the health implications of using these products, we know what those are.

Cigarette use will not feel effectively different after weight loss surgery. However studies indicate an early return to smoking cigarettes after surgery (any surgery) will inhibit healing and may result in cardiopulmonary complications. According to Ann Moller, a researcher at Bispebjerg University Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, wound-related complications occurred in 31% of smokers versus just 5% of the non-smokers. She added cardiovascular complications were also reduced dramatically in the non-smoking group.

In addition, the usual long-term risks of cigarette smoking are not diminished with weight loss surgery.

Oral Tobacco or chewing tobacco is likely to affect the body differently after weight loss surgery, particularly gastric bypass where stomach acids are significantly reduced. Ingestion of residual liquid from chewing tobacco is likely to result in an upset stomach or nausea. It could also lead to diarrhea as the liquid dumps flows to the middle intestine quickly through the stoma.

Marijuana use has it's own set of moral and health implications. Experts believe that chronic use of marijuana could lead to the development of emphysema. It is believed that though marijuana is generally used less than cigarettes it can still lead to lung problems because it is smoked unfiltered and people hold the smoke in their lungs longer.

Weight loss surgery patients who used marijuana prior to surgery and use it after surgery often report the same feelings, including the "munchies" that are often associated with marijuana use. The munchies, of course, disrupt active weight loss or worse, lead to weight regain.

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