Smoker refused operation on broken ankle

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Somking does affect the healing process b/c it deacreases circulation but millions of smokers have surgery all over the world with minimal problems. I am curious about his heath, like is he also diabetic and over weight? Is his poor circulation why he had trouble healing before? There has to be more to this that what he is saying.
 
Rino said:
A smoker is facing years of pain after an NHS hospital refused to set his broken ankle unless he gives up cigarettes.
John Nuttall, 57, needs the operation to fix the ankle he broke in three places two years ago and which was not healed by a plaster cast.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/14/nsmoker114.xml



Oh brother!!
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How can the hospital refuse treatment unless he quits smoking?

My hubby wrecked his 4 wheeler and broke his collarbone and fractured 2 vertebrae in his back. You really know you're in WV when the nurse comes in and says "You need a new spit cup honey" I about fell out of my chair! I smoke and I know she wouldn't have asked me if I needed an ashtray!
 
2sisters said:
Somking does affect the healing process b/c it deacreases circulation but millions of smokers have surgery all over the world with minimal problems. I am curious about his heath, like is he also diabetic and over weight? Is his poor circulation why he had trouble healing before? There has to be more to this that what he is saying.
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Even if it has an effect on the healing it is awful that they would not treat him for that reason - so what it heals slow?!?!
 
Why this made news I don't know. I'm sure it goes on everyday somewhere. If he only stopped smoking temporarily it would help!

Two good reasons to stop smoking before major surgery with anesthesia:
EFFECT OF SMOKING
Smoking does two things in terms of the cardiovascular system that anesthesiologists area concerned about. First, smoking increases the amount of carbon monoxide attached to hemoglobin in the blood. This has the effect of decreasing oxygen supply. Carbon monoxide also makes the heart pump more poorly, also decreasing the amount of oxygen that is delivered to the body. Second, nicotine increases the amount of oxygen that the body needs. So, oxygen supply is being compromised at the same time that more oxygen is being utilized.
Smoking obviously also affects the lungs. Among other thigns, smoking causes an increase in the amount of mucus secreted while at the same time decreasing the ability of the lungs to clear these secretions. In addition, smoking causes the small airways in the lungs to be narrowed and more prone to collapse. The end result of these effects are an increased susceptibility to infection, chronic cough and increased chance of pulmonary complications. Lastly, smokers also have increased sensitivity to stimuli and increased bronchial reactivity, increasing the chance for bronchospasm and other life threatening pulmonary processes.
This is not just theory. There have been multiple studies confirming that smoking increases the incidence of pulmonary complications after an anesthetic as much as six times. Smoking has been shown to be an independent risk factor for complications ranging from complications of lung function to wound healing to cardiovascular events such as heart attack.

http://www.anesthesiologyinfo.com/articles/12012003.php
 
Excellent post Taximom! It is good to have the facts.

Susan
 
I knew watching Dr 90210 would pay off someday.

:blushing:
 
A spokesman for the hospital trust said: "Smoking has a very big influence on the outcome of this type of surgery and the healing process would be hindered significantly."
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so how is the healing process working if the doctors dont do a damn thing???
 
Rino said:
A smoker is facing years of pain after an NHS hospital refused to set his broken ankle unless he gives up cigarettes.
John Nuttall, 57, needs the operation to fix the ankle he broke in three places two years ago and which was not healed by a plaster cast.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/14/nsmoker114.xml



Oh brother!!
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Maybe he won't face years of pain... might be that it's cut short because he dies early 'cause of the smoking. :crazy:

Just put the cigarettes down, whiner... it's better for you all around anyway.
 
He's 57 yrs old. The break happened 2 years ago. I don't see how much more damage could be done by not operating immediately!

If I were the doctor I wouldn't want him dying on the table of something that was probably preventable. If I did operate I'd make him sign a legal document saying I wasn't responsible if he died from anything related to his smoking habit.

I think you can lie about not smoking, but if I recall they can do blood tests to see if that's true or not.
 
The most of us would quit smoking if we could. And, the most of us have tried repeatedly to quit. I know it sounds easy, but it's not. But to be denied medical care over it is wrong. Just flat out wrong. It's just another jab at smokers, that's all it is.

Wait until the current fad gets done with smokers, and starts on those that are overweight. And it will. Being overweight causes complications in surgery and healing process too. The wrath that is placed on the head of a smoker right now will eventually expand it's reach.
 
IrishMist said:
The most of us would quit smoking if we could. And, the most of us have tried repeatedly to quit. I know it sounds easy, but it's not. But to be denied medical care over it is wrong. Just flat out wrong. It's just another jab at smokers, that's all it is.

Wait until the current fad gets done with smokers, and starts on those that are overweight. And it will. Being overweight causes complications in surgery and healing process too. The wrath that is placed on the head of a smoker right now will eventually expand it's reach.
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it is not that far off my dear. http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53485
 
Aww, Irish, I know how tough it is to quit. I quit many years ago and the only thing that really helped was that my company told us if we smoked we had to go outside. I was about a mile away from the "smoking spot"...so I was able to quit rather easily because I never had that much time to leave my office. Of course I had employees that DID, argh, but that's another story. lol I had tried several times before but that finally did it for me. Hypnosis didn't work for me. Wah.

Do you really think this is just a case of medical professionals coming down on smokers? There are surgeries where they won't operate if you are overweight as well. I'm sure he this guy had to have surgery to save his life, they'd operate, but why take any risks with a life if you don't have to?

When I smoked, I quit smoking for the 9 months I was pregnant. I would do the same for any surgery if the doctor ordered it.

(I still want a cigarette now and then, mostly when I'm really stressed!)
 
Taximom said:
Aww, Irish, I know how tough it is to quit. I quit many years ago and the only thing that really helped was that my company told us if we smoked we had to go outside. I was about a mile away from the "smoking spot"...so I was able to quit rather easily because I never had that much time to leave my office. Of course I had employees that DID, argh, but that's another story. lol I had tried several times before but that finally did it for me. Hypnosis didn't work for me. Wah.

Do you really think this is just a case of medical professionals coming down on smokers? There are surgeries where they won't operate if you are overweight as well. I'm sure he this guy had to have surgery to save his life, they'd operate, but why take any risks with a life if you don't have to?

When I smoked, I quit smoking for the 9 months I was pregnant. I would do the same for any surgery if the doctor ordered it.

(I still want a cigarette now and then, mostly when I'm really stressed!)
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Yes, I really do think that. They've been doing surgery on smokers for all these years. They need to know if you smoke so the anisthesiologist (sp?) knows how to work around that. Any time I've had surgery, they've told me not to smoke that morning.

I had to quit seeing a doctor because he would not treat me for anything at all, he would only tell me to quit smoking. I had to make a request through the insurance company to make the switch, and wait for an opening with another doc, but it was worth it! It got to where I didn't think he'd give me stitches if I needed them!

IMO, it's the same old story. Give an inch and they take a mile. It's human nature to want to have power over others. Any excuse will do.

So right now folks will say, ah, so what? So the guy lives in pain. Big deal. If he quits, they'll fix his ankle. It's healthier for him anyway, we're doing him a favor.

But just wait until it's someone 30 pounds overweight. If they lose the weight, they get their ankle fixed. It's doing them a favor, right? It is healthier for them...
 
So my understanding is that it is better to have this man addicted to cigarettes (his choice)and morphine (doctors choice) (has been prescribed daily doses of morphine). Is operation going to hurt wrose then taking morphine the rest of his life. I dont know the answer to that, but would think that would be a ? for the doctor.

taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphine
(Morphine is highly addictive
The following conditions are contraindications for morphine:
acute respiratory depression
acute pancreatitis (this may be a result of morphine use as well) because morphine may cause spasm of the sphincter of Oddi and worsen the pain
renal failure (due to accumulation of the metabolite morphine-6-glucuronide)
chemical toxicity (potentially lethal in low tolerance subjects)
raised intracranial pressure, including head injury (exacerbation due pCO2 increases from respiratory depression)
 
Smokers are put last on the list for elective surgery- smokers are getting penalised all over the place.

Maybe if the cigarette companies stopped making the damn things, people would stop smoking - but the government makes too much money off them, enough to spend millions on anti smoking campaigns and on medical and still make a packet

Noone should lie about smoking if they are having surgery, the anaesthetiest asks you if you smoke for a reason not just for the fun of it.
Just like your gp might ask you what prescriptions and or drugs you might take- you may as well fess, they can't tell anyone anyway-
 
IrishMist said:
Yes, I really do think that. They've been doing surgery on smokers for all these years. They need to know if you smoke so the anisthesiologist (sp?) knows how to work around that. Any time I've had surgery, they've told me not to smoke that morning.

I had to quit seeing a doctor because he would not treat me for anything at all, he would only tell me to quit smoking. I had to make a request through the insurance company to make the switch, and wait for an opening with another doc, but it was worth it! It got to where I didn't think he'd give me stitches if I needed them!

IMO, it's the same old story. Give an inch and they take a mile. It's human nature to want to have power over others. Any excuse will do.

So right now folks will say, ah, so what? So the guy lives in pain. Big deal. If he quits, they'll fix his ankle. It's healthier for him anyway, we're doing him a favor.

But just wait until it's someone 30 pounds overweight. If they lose the weight, they get their ankle fixed. It's doing them a favor, right? It is healthier for them...
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Well, I hope he doesn't live in pain. I don't see what the big deal is with him not smoking for a week or a month if he's in so much pain!

Do you think he could use a patch short-term for surgery? Or would that have the same effect as actually smoking?

I don't know. It just seems if you are in that much pain, you would do whatever it takes to get rid of the pain, even if it meant not smoking or drinking for a few days.

I hope you realize I'm using strictly conversational tone-it might not sound like that! :blowkiss:
 
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