Plastic Surgery: Safe at Any Age
There’s good news for patients over the age of 65 – a new study has found that they face no higher rates of complications than younger patients do.
As our lifespans extend, more people are looking for ways to refresh their looks and recapture the way they felt in their youth. And that means many past the age of 65 are turning to plastic surgery. But some have expressed concern that older patients may be more susceptible to complications after surgery.
The study shows different, however, with elderly patients facing a complication rate of 1.94 percent, while their younger counterparts face a complication rate of 1.84 percent.
“This change is deemed statistically insignificant,” says Dr. Kimball Crofts, a top UT plastic surgeon. “That means senior patients should feel confident when making the decision to undergo any procedure, whether it’s an arm lift or a facelift.”
In the study, the mean age of the younger patient was 39.2 and the mean age of the senior patient was 69.1 years. This study is an important one, because senior patients often face additional health concerns that younger patients do not. Older patients tend to have a higher body mass index, as well as a higher instance of diabetes.
This would lead one to believe that these indications might mean a patient could fare worse after surgery, but the statistical findings indicate senior patients can safely undergo cosmetic procedures.
Additionally, the study looked at octogenarians, those over the age of 80, and found no significant risk of post-surgical complications for this age, either.
Older patients have more facial procedures performed than younger patients. Just over 60 percent of procedures performed on senior patients were facial procedures, while only 12 percent of procedures performed on those under 65 were on the face. One interesting statistic from the study showed that the percent of men seeking surgical procedures was higher in the older population than the younger.
Of all of the procedures looked at, only abdominoplasty had a higher complication rate for senior patients, with a 5.4 percent compared to 3.9 percent for younger patients. The most common complications for senior patients were hematoma, infection and issues with wounds healing properly.
As the number of senior citizens living in the United States continues to rise, we will likely see more older patients seeking out plastic surgery. And this study shows that no matter the age, instances of complications are rare and cosmetic procedures are safe, whether you’re 35 or 75.