Why women with breast implants shouldn’t smoke

Published Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Plastic surgeons have warned that women with breast implants should take care not to smoke – they face the risk of losing a part of their breasts – nipples.

Top plastic surgeon Dr Anthony Youn warned on CNN’s health blog The Chart, that smoking before or after a breast lift surgery can cause a woman’s nipples to turn black and fall off. “Smokers who undergo breast lifts are at great risk of losing their nipples,” he wrote.

According to him, “The nicotine in cigarettes and the carbon monoxide contained in cigarette smoke can diminish blood flow to various parts of the body. These toxins act as a virtual tourniquet. If the blood flow to a particular body part becomes greatly reduced or halted, that body part dies.”

He goes on to say that in his memoirs, he tells the story of a smoker whose nipples turned purple while undergoing a breast lift surgery.

"Purple is the precursor to black. Black is the precursor to falling off.”

He ends his blog post by saying “smokers, you have been warned.”

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