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Smoking After Liposuction and Fat Grafting
Smoking can create serious problems post-operatively especially when you're talking about fat transfer. Nicotine (in addition to other harms) causes vasoconstriction of the blood vessels. This can cause the transferred fat to not be able create its own blood supply and die.
Newly grafted fat has no blood supply of its own at first; it depends on tiny new vessels growing into it over the first several weeks. If those vessels can't form or stay open because of nicotine's effect on circulation, the fat cells suffocate and are reabsorbed instead of surviving as permanent tissue. This isn't just about cigarettes on the day of surgery, patches, gum, and vaping carry the same risk and need to be avoided for a real stretch of time before and after your procedure. If you're struggling to quit, tell me at your consultation so we can plan around it honestly.
Clinical Context
Nicotine narrows blood vessels and lowers oxygen delivery to healing tissue, which affects how well transferred fat survives. Because its effects on circulation and healing can persist well after the last cigarette, surgeons commonly ask patients to avoid all nicotine—including patches, gum, and vaping—for a period before and after surgery, not just the day before. This gives the grafted fat the best chance to develop a blood supply and survive long-term.
