Nicotine severely impairs your body's ability to heal surgical and traumatic wounds but also impairs bone healing. 

Wounds and bone heal by forming microscopic blood vessels (angiogenesis) and nicotine is a vasoconstrictor (essentially, shrinks blood vessels).  Therefore, if vasoconstriction occurs to these microscopic blood vessels they essentially disappear and are unable to deliver necessary nutrients to the healing tissue. 

• Nicotine increases the chance of your bone not healing and possibly needing further surgery.

• Nicotine increases risk of infection.

• Nicotine causes poor wound healing and delayed wound healing.

Quitting smoking or nicotine use is something that you can do to dramatically increase your chances of healing. Studies have shown patients who quit smoking have improved outcomes following orthopaedic surgery.

This includes all forms of nicotine (smoking, vaping, patches, chewing tobacco, etc.)

Quit Smoking

You can improve your chances for a successful outcome after surgery if you are a nonsmoker or have stopped smoking, according to researchers.

Find out about support programs to help you quit. There are many low-cost smoking cessation programs available. Here are some resources to help you quit smoking:

• American Lung Association

• Cone Health

• QuitlineNC.com