How Marijuana Affects Anesthesia and Surgery
You should not smoke weed before surgery.
You should avoid it in the weeks and even months before your procedure.
Much like the benefits of quitting cigarettes before surgery, quitting marijuana also has benefits.
Verywell / Brianna Gilmartin
Abstaining from marijuana in the weeks before surgery can decrease the likelihood of complications.
Unfortunately, research on the topic of marijuana use and its effects during surgery is limited.
That’s because the federal government still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I substance.
That classification limits the ability to do adequate research on its use.
Types of Marijuana
Before surgery, you should avoid all types of marijuana.
That means you should not smoke it, eat edibles, or use synthetic marijuana.
On the contrary, it can increase the risk oflung cancerand other respiratory problems.
The chronic coughing, wheezing, and difficulty breathing that long-term cigarette smokers experience also occur in marijuana users.
Synthetic marijuana, in particular, is unregulated and poorly understood.
The contents are also highly variable.
For these reasons, it is impossible to predict how it might interact with anesthesia.
Airway Obstruction
One case study looked at a person who smoked marijuana four hours before surgery.
The patient experienced an airway obstruction during the procedurea severe complication that can lead to death.
Researchers believed airway hyperreactivity was the cause.
This may increase the risk of aspiration during anesthesia.
They need to understand the chance that your body will need more anesthetic than is typical.
Marijuana causes the blood vessels of the body to relax.
This process is calledvasodilation.
It can cause lower blood pressure and increased heart rate.
These changes, in turn, can complicate matters if a person’s blood pressure falls during surgery.
In addition, it can change the way the body responds to anesthesia.
After Surgery
Marijuana use can impact how you recover from surgery.
For example, studies have indicated that marijuana affectsventilator(breathing machine) usage and pain after surgery.
you might decrease the chances of being on the ventilator for a longer time by quitting smoking before surgery.
The more time that passes between your last day of smoking and surgery, the lower your risk.
Researchers presented the findings at their 2020 annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
These can begin one to two days after the last time someone takes the drug.
Summary
Marijuana use can increase the risks of surgery.
Stopping marijuana use before surgery is the best way to avoid these risks.
The sooner you quit before surgery, the greater the benefit.
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American Society of Anesthesiologists.Eight things to tell your physician anesthesiologist before surgery.
