Smoking abstinence in patients scheduled for elective surgery

Smokers have an increased risk of perioperative and postoperative complications, including a higher incidence of airway and respiratory, cardiovascular events, and impaired wound healing. This brief review will remind anesthesiologist and surgeons that their preoperative smoking intervention for smoking cessation can be effective in decreasing the incidence of complications. Preoperative smoking intervention, even if it is both brief and intensive, may help to decrease this risk. The surgical event is the important 'teachable moment' that could translate, with proper smoking intervention, into permanent smoking cessation.