Who told them this. If it was you why? Is it a condition of your policy?
I guess if the insurers are looking for loopholes, full disclosure from the patient is not always the best policy. I’ll probably be put onto the schedule by March or sooner.
I consider it a lesson learned. I think many Nurse Assistants (who write up most the observations and advisories) have forgotten what it’s like from the patient’s point of view. I understand the need to compartmentalize and stick to ‘policy’, but some appear to stop being concerned with acting like human beings. I cannot be ‘fully mad’ at them about the cancellation until after I get my procedures done. Fine, I can play that game, now that I know the rules.
It sounds like they are screening the blood of patients for nicotine. You said “and if nicotine levels were significantly lower” so maybe they’ve done a blood test already and found a high level of nicotine?
I know they’re very wary of smokers who have peripheral blood vessel disease and they want smokers to refrain from smoking two weeks before surgery but this sounds strange.
Sometimes there are lab errors. Whenever you get an unexpected test result you *must* ask for another test to rule out lab error.
The issue is continued nicotine use after the surgery. One could quit a week before and not smoke but it takes two weeks for cotinine to clear the system.
Patches won’t help because they contain nicotine and nicotine restricts the vasculature necessary to supply blood to the healing areas post surgery.
Middle aged men have a tendency to have vascular issues any way and surgeries in such areas while smoking made lead to avascular necrosis as the needed vasculature won’t form and the present vessels will be constricted so that healing won’t take place.
I’m not on an anti-smoking soap box here...just an RN whose seen treatment failures related to heavy smoking. It was good he told his docs....even if his surgery is delayed he’ll have a much better outcome staying off the nicotine for a while.