1. London Shoulder Specialists Smoking and Shoulder Surgery Shoulder surgery, like any surgery, can present a number of risks. These risks can be increased due to numerous factors, with smoking being one of the main contributing factors. A number of studies have been carried out to determine the risks smoking presents to shoulder surgery patients. The latest retrospective study into smoking and shoulder surgery has revealed its complication risks differ between procedures. Here, we’ll look at what this latest study found and how smoking impacts the risks of different types of shoulder surgeries. Understanding the latest study The study took data from the National Surgery Quality Improvement Program database, compiled by the American College of Surgeons. In total, there were 134,822 cases included in the study.The patients involved had undergone eight different shoulder and knee surgeries and were analysed using multivariate and univariate analyses. The shoulder procedures included in the study were arthroscopy with debridement, arthroscopy with subacromial decompression, arthroscopy with distal clavicle excision and subacromial arthroscopy with rotator cuff repair. The study highlighted several complications in a 30-day period including pulmonary, wound, cardiac and clotting. Out of the procedures analysed, smoking was found to be an independent risk factor for two specific procedures. Continue Reading...