The use of tobacco-based products, most notably cigarettes, is related directly to wound healing problems and poorer outcomes in plastic surgery. Current abstracts have highlighted the potential complications from nicotine, specifically following plastic surgery in patients who choose to smoke. Recently, products that use electricity to vaporize liquid nitrogen have been gaining popularity. New rules were recently proposed that would give the federal government authority over electronic cigarettes. However, the health-related issues surrounding e-cigarettes are still largely unknown or misunderstood. These issues also extend to their impact on surgical procedures, notably their effect on plastic surgical procedures that rely heavily on the vascularity of either the host wound bed or the replacement tissue.
New York, N.Y.
From the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Hofstra School of Medicine-Northwell Health Systems, Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital.
Received for publication February 15, 2016; accepted July 1, 2016.
Disclosure: The authors have no financial interest in any of the products or devices mentioned in this article.
A “Hot Topic Video” by Editor-in-Chief Rod J. Rohrich, M.D., accompanies this article. Go to PRSJournal.com and click on “Plastic Surgery Hot Topics” in the “Videos” tab to watch. On the iPad, tap on the Hot Topics icon.
Peter J. Taub, M.D., Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 5 East 98th Street, New York, N.Y. 10029, peter.taub@mountsinai.org
