Smoking
We are providing this information to you to serve as a guide through your pre- and post-op process. Your particular journey may involve many or none of these steps. At UNOVA Hip & Knee Center, we strive to personalize each patient experience, we understand that every patient we encounter is an individual with unique concerns. This content is not meant to be used to diagnose or treat any medical condition, those decisions should only be made after consultation with your treating surgeon and primary care physician.
The chemical nicotine has a potent effect on multiple systems in the body. It can affect your lungs, keeping much-needed oxygen from healing tissues, it can affect newly forming blood vessels causing them to collapse and again disrupting healing. This in addition to all the other lung and heart issues it has been linked to such as emphysema, asthma, lung cancer, and heart disease.
If you are a smoker you must STOP SMOKING FOR 6 WEEKS PRIOR TO YOUR SURGERY.
Believe it or not this short period of time will allow your lungs to reacclimate to more normal functional levels. Ignoring this will increase the likelihood of not only delayed wound healing that can increase your chances of infection, but also heart and lung complications that can increase your chances of pneumonia and possibly death.
You must have a nicotine level of < 0.1ng/ml to safely undertake joint replacement surgery. Your nicotine level will be tested 72 hours prior to your surgery a Nicotine Level > 0.1ng/ml, will lead to the rescheduling of your surgery until your level is below the threshold. THIS IS A HARD STOP!!
As always, your safety is our primary concern and your patience is greatly appreciated.