How long should I stop smoking before breast augmentation?
⚠️ Contact your surgeon right away if you notice these warning signs after surgery
Increased redness, warmth, swelling, or discharge around your incisions, fever above 38 degrees C (100.4 F), or wound edges separating can all be signs of infection or poor healing. These risks are higher in smokers. Do not wait for your next scheduled appointment. Call your surgeon's office or go to urgent care or the emergency room if symptoms are severe or rapidly worsening.
Short answer
Stopping smoking before breast augmentation is strongly recommended because smokers have about twice the risk of wound complications compared to non-smokers. One surgical series required patients to stop at least 4 weeks before surgery and to remain smoke-free afterward. The research is clear: quitting, even temporarily, meaningfully lowers your risk of infection, poor wound healing, and other serious problems.
What the research shows
A large study using national U.S. surgical data found that women who smoked before implant-based breast surgery had twice the odds of wound complications, including wound breakdown and surgical site infection, compared to non-smokers. [7] This held true even after accounting for other health factors like age and other medical conditions.
Research on related breast procedures adds important context. Two separate large reviews of breast reduction surgery found that smoking raised the risk of wound infection by roughly 2 times and wound dehiscence (wound edges pulling apart) by more than 2 times. [5][6] Because these complications arise from the same underlying mechanism (smoking reduces blood flow and oxygen to healing tissue), surgeons treating breast augmentation patients apply the same caution.
How long to stop smoking
Direct evidence on the exact number of weeks to stop before breast augmentation specifically is limited. However, one 14-year surgical series that combined breast augmentation with abdominoplasty required patients to stop smoking at least 4 weeks before surgery and to stay smoke-free indefinitely afterward. [2] Notably, one patient in that series who continued smoking experienced a serious complication (capsule formation around the implant). [2]
A broader review found that when patients quit smoking ahead of aesthetic surgery (including breast augmentation), the health benefits were substantial, with hundreds of lives saved and hundreds of millions of dollars in societal savings estimated over five years. [1] This underscores that surgeons who require quitting are not being overly cautious: the stakes are real.
What this means for you
Most plastic surgeons will ask you to stop smoking for a minimum of 4 weeks before your procedure and to avoid smoking during your recovery. Be honest with your surgeon about your smoking habits: some practices use a urine or blood test to check for nicotine before surgery. [2] If you need help quitting, ask your primary care doctor about nicotine replacement therapy or prescription medications, as these are proven tools. Keep in mind that many patients who quit for surgery return to smoking afterward, which can still harm long-term healing. [1] The longer you stay smoke-free, the better your results are likely to be.
What to ask your surgeon
Before your consultation, consider asking: How many weeks do you require me to be smoke-free before surgery? Will you test for nicotine? What specific complications have you seen in patients who smoked? What resources can you recommend to help me quit? Having these conversations early gives you the best chance of a safe, smooth recovery.