Why am I denied back surgery because I smoke?

Question

I have facett joint disease secondary to pseudo spondylethises surgeon will not operate on me unless I quit smoking for 3 months I am in extreme pain alot. Why am I denied medical treatment because I smoke there are always risks involved with any surgery

Answer 1

OK I actually thought on this one...first one all night!
Anyway I am a smoker too and it kinda pissed me off at first but then got to thinking and looked it up to verify....My dad had a neck fusion about 10 years ago and smoking was brought up and so it jogged my memory a bit.
the thing is fusions dont do as well for people who smoke

Answer 2

Smokers and even obese people are now being refused surgery in many places, not just the United States but also in Canada and the UK. Everyone knows smoking is bad for your health, so I'll save that part of this post (I'm sure you've heard all of that before). But what most people don't realize is that smokers and obese people drain the health care center resources. They tend to be sicker more often, stay sicker longer, have more complications, and require more expensive tests and treatment than non smokers and non obese individuals. In the case of smoking in particular, there are increased risks during any surgery in a smoker. These risks include: lung infections, blood clots, increased risk of heart attack, and an increased risk of a stroke. Unfortunately, the answer to your question boils down to two simple things: reputation and money. Health care resources are expensive, and society as a whole feels like if they are going to spend thousands of dollars to treat a person, that means the person is "worth it". And in the case of smokers, many people believe that they will die early of lung cancer, throat cancer, or similar diseases, so that they are not "worth it". Some people believe that a smoker who knows smoking is bad for them must not feel they are "worth it" so why should society in general care about them either. By the way, this does not reflect my views, I'm just telling you what is the case. As for reputation...it's all about the hospital's reputation and the surgeon's reputation. If something goes wrong, it can tarnish a perfectly good surgeon or hospital's reputation. Why tarnish it by taking a "high risk" surgery candidate such as a smoker on? Many hospitals and surgeons are not willing to do so. 1 in 5 smokers are being denied surgery these days, because of their habit, and the three month window is not unreasonable. If the surgery could save your life, kick the habit. If you don't think it's worth kicking the habit, then will the surgery really do you any good in the long run if you die of a serious illness caused by your smoking habit? Do I think it's right they deny patients surgery because of their lifestyle choices? No, not entirely. I think everyone is entitled to their own opinion and should be able to live their lives in a variety of ways. However, I do feel that any surgeon and any hospital has a right to refuse to treat anyone, in the same way that businesses have a right to refuse to do business with anyone they choose. Hospitals and surgeons do have one responsibility to ALL patients however, and that is if they are unwilling to treat them, they are required to point them in the direction of someone who will treat them.

Answer 3

In order to properly heal from any surgery you have to be smoke-free. The doctor's not trying to be a ****, he's just looking out for you! There are many more risks involved for smokers, so either quit smoking for 3 months or forget the surgery!!!

Answer 4

If it's a long surgery that you're facing, then the smoking would greatly increase the possibility that they wouldn't be able to keep you under anesthesia long enough or deeply enough without you incurring breathing problems. They have to be reasonably sure that you will be able to stay under long enough for them to complete the surgery, especially if it's a difficult surgery or critical. Anesthesia is hard on the body, and more than doubly so for a smoker.

Answer 5

Don't lie to doctors, it's not worth the risk. Smoking makes it unsafe to give you the drugs that put you out during the surgery. Trust your doctors, if you are in pain then quit smoking long enough to get your surgery at least.

Answer 6

smoking increases your risk of infection after surgery. I'm guessing it is a major surgery and the chance of infection may be high. smoking delays wound healing and increases your blood pressure. just quit now and do yourself a favour.

Answer 7

This may be your big opportunity to quit smoking. You can do it you know. Lots of people have quit smoking and continue to.

Answer 8

more so with a smoker, quit , have the surgery and get rid of the pain and live longer

Answer 9

because youre healing will be delayed and its riskier

Answer 10

beats me go somewhere else and make sure you put down non smoker