Fortis Malar Hospital - Chennai

How Smoking Impacts Your Organs?

As you inhale cigarette smoke, about 7000 carcinogens stir the crevices of your body. In India, about 3,00,000 people die every year due to smoking-related issues.

Here's a list of 5 such organs, which are the most affected by cigarette smoke.

1. Your lungs - Your lungs are probably the first organs to bear the wrath of cigarette smoke. Majority of the lung cancer cases are due to smoking. Other diseases include bronchitis and emphysema. This smoke paralyzes the cilia lining the inner walls so much so that it overproduces mucous. When the mucous builds, respiration suffers. Asthma and cancer follow.

2. Your Skin - Your skin also gets affected up to a huge extent if you smoke. You could have deep circles under your eyes, wrinkles on your skin, and stretch marks, if you continue smoking over time. Also, there lies the risk of major health issues like skin warts, psoriasis, skin cancer, and wounds, which may take longer to heal.

3. Your Penis - Studies revealed that you can take longer for an erection and find it difficult to maintain it if you are a heavy smoker. Studies have also revealed that men who quit smoking had longer and firmer erections.

4. Your Liver - Smoking increases the chances of you suffering from liver cancer dramatically. According to studies, half of the liver cancer cases are due to smoking. Obesity can also take place if you're a heavy smoker.

5. Your Eyes - Smoking affects your eyes to the extent of making you blind. Partial vision loss, glaucoma, cataracts, dry eye syndrome, and diabetic retinopathy are some of the other diseases you are susceptible to if you smoke.

Despite the negative effects, quitting smoking can save you from all of these potential health hazards.

Here are some ways to help you quit smoking.

1. Nicotine Replacement Therapy - There are a few nicotine replacement tools in the form of nicotine nasal sprays and nicotine inhaler, which you can use to quit smoking.

2. Chew on something - You should try to chew on some candy, or a gum, or anything crunchy and satisfying once you start getting restless for a cigarette or any other form of nicotine. That usually helps.

3. Relaxation techniques - If you are resisting tobacco strongly, it can be very stressful indeed. Take a break from whatever you are doing and go out for a walk, practice muscle relaxation, yoga or deep breathing to keep the craving out of the way.

4. Get involved in some physical work - Getting involved in some work will surely go a long way in reducing your craving. You can also try out physical exercises like squats, running, or jogging. Otherwise, you can also indulge in some needlework, or anything, which involves concentration or physical work.

Roadside accidents are common and they lead to many health problems in which some may require amputation for removal of one of the limbs to save the life of a person.

Amputation is a life-saving procedure by which a part of the body that has suffered irreversible damage is surgically removed. Amputation is only carried out as a last resort when the infection/ decay spread to the other parts of the body.

Why is this procedure needed?

The most common cause of amputation is blockage of blood circulation. Without blood, the tissues do not get oxygen and begin to decay, and an amputation is carried out to stop the damage from spreading to other tissues. As stated above, an amputation is carried out only as a last resort. The surgeon checks the infected part for the following to make sure that an amputation is required:

• Sensation
• Circulation
• Checking for a pulse close to the region where the cut is to be performed
• Comparing skin temperatures with the affected limb

The surgeon tries to bypass arterial blood from the nearest artery to the affected region to rejuvenate the cells. Some reasons of amputation are:

• Severe injury (extreme burns/ vehicular accidents)
• Cancerous tumor in the bone or muscle
• Serious infection, which has stopped responding to antibiotics
• Thickening of nerve tissue called neuroma
• Frostbite

Risks and complications of amputation

Risk of complication is lower in planned amputations than in emergency amputations. In the case of a planned amputation, the surgeon will shape individual muscles for future prosthetic limbs, smooth out rough bones and bone fragments and take care of all the loose ends of the procedure. In emergency amputations, however, the limb is amputated very fast and bleeding is stopped as soon as possible. The following complications may arise as a result of amputation procedures:

• Heart complications
• Venous blood clots
• Slow wound healing or infection of the wound
• Pneumonia
• Stump or "phantom limb" pain
• Psychological problems. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a General Surgeon.

How to prepare for an appendectomy
Appendectomy is the medical term for the surgery that is performed to remove the inflamed appendix (a condition that is known as appendicitis). This surgical treatment is mostly performed on an emergency basis.

But before you move on to know how to prepare for the surgery, it's important why it is important to get a surgery for appendicitis done?

What exactly is appendicitis?
Appendicitis is a medical condition in which the appendix (that is the worm-shaped projection which arises out of the beginning of the colon) gets inflamed.

The major cause of appendicitis is that the tissues of the appendix become infected with bacterial action that results in the formation of pus in the lumen (opening) of the appendix. Factors that can trigger bacterial infection are a hard stool, attack by a foreign body, and accumulation of thick mucus in the appendix tissues among others.

Appendicitis results in aching and acute pain in the abdominal region of the affected person. In many people, it is accompanied by complications like vomiting, nausea, fever, loss of appetite, constipation, abdominal swelling etc. In more severe cases, it is accompanied by diarrhoea.

Appendicitis usually requires an emergency surgery. However, there are some things you need to do before going for the surgery.

Preparations to undertake before surgery
In most cases, appendectomy is an emergency surgery so there are hardly any preparations that a patient can make. The most common preparatory measure that your surgeon may prescribe includes not eating anything up till a few hours before the surgery. Apart from that, certain medications may be prescribed to eliminate or at best reduce the symptoms of nausea and vomiting. There are no other preparations as such that you can undertake before appendectomy.

Recovery period
The recovery time is subjective as it depends on the type of procedure used for the surgery, the type of anaesthesia and the various complications associated with your condition. In general cases, the patients can recover within 12 hours of the surgery. However, it takes approximately 4-6 weeks for a person to resume a normal lifestyle after an appendectomy. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a General Surgeon.

The thought of undergoing a major surgery worries most people as they stress about the possible surgical complications, outcomes of the procedure or just get scared with the idea of getting an incision. But, following a few simple steps before the surgery may enable you to not only lessen your fears but also accelerate the recovery process.

Here are some of the most effective tips to prepare yourself in a way that ensures a stress-free surgical procedure.

1. Acquire knowledge about the surgery beforehand: Keep yourself thoroughly informed about the surgical procedures you will undergo. Ask your surgeon about the time required for complete recovery, your stay at the hospital, hygiene standards of the hospital etc. Also, talk about the surgical complications that you may experience and the measures to be taken from your side to deal with them.
2. Inform the doctor about your prevalent health issues: Talk to your doctor if you are suffering from any medical conditions currently like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, arthritis etc. Also inform him if you are under any kind of medications or allergic to any particular drug.
3. Enquire about the types of anaesthesia available: Knowing about your anaesthesia choices always help you prepare better for an operation. While some surgery requires specific types of anaesthesia for other you can decide whether you want a local, regional or general anaesthesia. Local anaesthesia is used for affecting a small area while the regional one is used for numbing a larger part and general, your entire body.
4. Be prepared to deal with the post-surgery pain: You might experience post-surgery pain depending on the type of procedure followed. Ask your doctor for suggestions on the type of medicines you should do to curb this pain. Generally, most doctors recommend drugs, hot or cold therapy, massage etc.
5. Look for a caregiver in advance: You will require some support and care after the surgery while you recover. Seek the help of your family and friends in this regard and ensure that someone can stay with you for at least a day after you return from the hospital.
6. Follow the pre and post surgery instructions given by the doctor: Follow all the instructions given by the doctor regarding the kind of diet to be followed, restriction from consuming certain things like alcohol or any other lifestyle changes required to keep you healthy before and after the surgery. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a General Surgeon.

A widely used surgical procedure, laparoscopy involves the insertion of certain surgical instruments, small tubes and video cameras in your abdomen through small incisions and cuts. This procedure is used to diagnose a number of ailments such as ovarian cysts, endometriosis, and pelvic inflammatory diseases to name a few. Even though laparoscopy is a very popular form of surgery, there are quite a few myths associated with it, which are:

1. Myth: The images taken through a laparoscope are of poor quality

This is not true. In fact, the visuals obtained through a laparoscope are clearer and much more accurate when compared to those obtained via an open surgery. The visuals of a video laparoscopy provide a detailed magnification of even those parts of the area that are inaccessible by the human eye.

2. Myth: If you've undergone multiple abdominal surgeries in the past, you can't opt for a laparoscopy

The truth is that you can go for a laparoscopy even if you've gone through multiple surgeries previously, irrespective of the location or size of the previous incisions. This is done through the use of a special instrument, called a microlaparscope that enables safe entry into the abdomen of the patient.

3. Myth: If you have large fibroids and ovarian cysts, you can't have them removed through a laparoscopy

False. Even though the incisions made by a laparoscopy are really small, they still allow the safe removal of large abdominal structures by the use of certain devices. For example, a cylindrical tool known as morcellator can be inserted through a laparoscopic incision and be used to remove large fibroids and ovarian cysts.

4. Myth: If you're overweight or underweight, you can't undergo a laparoscopy

No matter if you're obese or too thin, you can still undergo a laparoscopy as the tools used for this surgical procedure are available in different lengths and sizes, and can be adjusted as per the body type of the patient before the incision is made. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a General Surgeon.