Can I Vape Before Surgery?

Surgery is a stressful situation for anyone, and we all need something to relieve our stress, but for smokers, lighting up a cigarette is not an option. 

We all know that cigarettes contain a lot more chemicals than vape juice does, and the negative effects smoking can cause for surgery and recovery time. But does vaping before surgery have that same negative affect? 

Now of course we are all well aware that vaping in general is a much less harmful option to smoking cigarettes, however, the majority of vapers still use vape liquids containing nicotine. 

Can you vape before surgery?

Can I vape before surgery? Yes, but we would recommend no nicotine. Nicotine is the main component found in cigarettes and vape liquids that causes poor healing time, the risk of affecting surgery, and the increased risk of complications with anesthesia. 

Consuming nicotine, in any form, will also interfere with the way some medication works, and will cause you unnecessary discomfort during your increased healing time. 

So vaping isn’t much better than smoking when it comes to having surgery. It is still suggested that you quit before surgery, even 12-24 hours can increase your body’s ability to deliver oxygen to your organs and tissues.  

How does nicotine affect healing time? 

If you consume nicotine before your surgery, you will more than likely have a worse recovery, and a much more painful recovery. 

It can drastically lower the effects of some medications or interfere with the way they are meant to work, meaning some pain relief medications may be rendered ineffective. 

Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor that reduces nutritional blood flow to the skin, meaning your wounds won’t heal properly, and it is known to reduce the regeneration of tissue.

Nicotine will also increase the rate of postoperative infection, which i think we can all agree would be one of the worse things to develop after surgery. 

Please take note that this is especially important for any cosmetic, or orthopedic surgery, as nicotine is also known to reduce bone growth and can increase rejection of the prosthesis. 

Can i vape before surgery with 0mg nicotine? 

As established beforehand, nicotine is one of the main causes for complications regarding surgery, healing time, and the effects of anesthesia. 

So sure, vaping without the presence of nicotine is a far better option for those of you who need surgery. 

When vaping with 0mg nicotine, the effects of nicotine will be absent, which is great obviously, however, it is still advised you do quit smoking and vaping a few weeks before surgery.

Why? Because this is still something that can get in the way of oxygen being able to get to the tissues that need to heal properly. 

Vape liquids consist of four components; nicotine, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and any flavourings. Even if you have cut out the nicotine completely, it is still unknown exactly how propylene glycol affects our lungs. 

Of course, we still know that vaping is far less harmful than cigarettes, given the massive difference in the amount of chemicals they contain, but our lungs are not used to being exposed to such large amounts of propylene glycol. 

How does nicotine affect anesthesia? 

When the body is exposed to nicotine, it can change your body chemistry, meaning it’s harder to predict how your body will react to the anesthesia. 

This is also the case for other medications, meaning some forms of pain relief may not work to the best of their ability, and this is why it may cause you to be in more pain during your healing time.