Nicotine Without Smoke? Achilles Repairs Will Pay the Price

September 15, 2026 1 min read Premium comments

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Achilles tendon repairre-rupturenicotine patchesvapingnon-tobacco nicotine

For orthopedic surgeons who have spent years warning patients that smoking and tendon healing make lousy partners, a new study adds an important wrinkle: apparently, the cigarette may not deserve all the blame.

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