Ideally, patients who wish to undergo body contouring procedures and are smokers should stop for several months prior to surgery to make sure they have truly kicked the habit. Smoking tends to be a stress reliever to many patients, and the stress associated with surgery can often trigger a relapse in smoking; so, ideally, I like to see my patients off cigarettes for 6 months to prove they can resist the urge.  Unfortunately, the long term negative effects of smoking on tissues may not improve for years, but the immediate effects of nicotine (nicotine constricts small blood vessels in the healing tissues causing increased risks of wound breakdown and infection) are greatly reduced after 2 to 3 weeks.  In general, patients are advised that they will be at greater risk for a number of complications if they have smoked in the past few years (regardless if they have quit), and those risks increase considerably if they smoke in the time period of 2 to 3 weeks before surgery and 2 weeks after surgery.

Tummy Tuck