For many women facing a mastectomy, the loss of the nipple can deepen an already traumatic experience. Now, surgeons at Rambam Health Care Campus (Rambam) have performed Israel’s first endoscopic nipple-sparing preventive mastectomy and immediate reconstruction—offering new hope with minimal scarring.
Dr. Yaniv Mayer and a photo of a dental implant model. Photography: Rambam HCC and Jonathan Borba at UnSpalsh.com, respectively.
Dr. Yaniv Mayer, an attending physician in the Department of Periodontology and Implant Dentistry at Rambam Health Care Campus, led a groundbreaking study revealing the adverse effects of heavy smoking on the outcomes of oral surgery. Recently published in the prestigious Journal of Periodontology, the study highlights a correlation between tobacco use and dental implant failure.
This is the first study of its kind to focus specifically on individuals who have smoked more than one pack per day for at least five years. The implants were placed by one of the department’s periodontics specialists and patients were monitored over the course of a year under tightly controlled clinical conditions.
The findings were striking: implant success rates in heavy smokers were approximately 10% lower than in non-smokers. Bone loss around the implants in smokers averaged 1.5 mm, more than double the 0.7 mm observed in non-smokers. These results highlight the negative effects of heavy smoking on healing, bone integrity, and implant stability.
“The message is clear—heavy smoking can compromise the success of dental implant treatments," emphasizes Dr. Mayer. "If patients quit smoking prior to undergoing dental procedures, they can significantly improve both short-term outcomes and long-term oral health.”
Based on an article that first appeared on the IsraelHaYom website
