Patients who stop smoking before surgery not only optimize their fitness for a successful operation and recovery, but here’s an added benefit: it could be their best chance to quit smoking for good.

According to a new comprehensive review of existing studies in the February issue of Anesthesiology, surgical patients who are nonsmokers, or who stop smoking prior to surgery, tend to fare better in the recovery period than smokers. This is in addition to the benefit seen during the actual surgery, when anesthesia is safer and more predictable in nonsmokers due to better functioning of the heart, blood vessels, lungs and nervous system.

Add to all of this another bonus: smokers who have quit around the time of surgery may have fewer problems with nicotine withdrawal after the operation than they would have if they had tried to quit at other times.

This may be due to medications and therapies commonly used during surgery and recovery, which may suppress nicotine withdrawal symptoms. Even if patients do have problems with nicotine withdrawal after surgery, they can safely receive help such as nicotine patches.

“For people who have thought about quitting smoking, the time of their surgery is a good opportunity to do so. Abstaining from cigarettes promotes faster healing and less risk of wound infection, plus the patient may be in an ideal position to avoid some of the problems with nicotine withdrawal and other discomforts associated with quitting,” said lead author David O. Warner, M.D., a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist. “This increases the chance for long-term success with smoking cessation.”

The article reviews the changes in the body caused by chronic exposure to cigarette smoke, as well as changes found in the initial stages of abstaining from cigarettes. Both types of physiologic changes can affect the patient’s response to various aspects of surgery and recovery. This is particularly important information for anesthesiologists, who oversee the medical care and evaluation of the patient before, during and after surgery.

Dr. Warner chairs the new Task Force on Smoking Cessation Programs of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), a national medical professional organization of more than 40,000 members. This Task Force will create a new program to help improve the health of smokers not only around the time of surgery, but for the rest of their lives –another example of how anesthesiologists are dedicated to the health and safety of their patients.

Patients who are preparing for surgery can check out ASA’s brochure, “Anesthesia and You,” at http://www.asahq.org/patientEducation/anesandyou.htm

Approximately 23 percent of the adults in the US smoke cigarettes, and millions of them undergo surgery each year.

Editor’s Note: For more information about ASA or anesthesiology, contact ASA at the above number. To request an interview with Dr. Warner, contact Lee Aase, Manager, Media Relations and Research Communications at Mayo Clinic, 507-284-5005.