Age Concerns in Plastic Surgery

One of the most frequently raised concerns that troubles plastic surgery patients is whether their age increases the risk of complications for their chosen plastic surgery procedure. This concern is completely understandable, especially since Beverly Hills plastic surgery patients tend to opt for procedures more often as they age.

Most patients seeking out plastic surgery as a solution would like to appear more youthful as they often feel that their looks don’t match the age they feel themselves to be on the inside. It is important to remember that cosmetic problems associated with aging such as loss of skin elasticity, wrinkles, changed facial contours as well as other adverse effects can be reversed and the appearance dramatically improved. This is certainly true for older patients too. When preparing for a plastic surgery procedure the patient’s health is carefully assessed to decide the best course of action. While health factors should be taken into consideration when calculating the risk of plastic surgery, these do not only include the age of the patient. In fact, recent studies show that the age of the prospective plastic surgery patient is only very minimally relevant to the imposed risks of plastic surgery procedures and other health indicators can be much more influential on the outcome of the plastic surgery procedure.

It is vital, regardless of age, to have a consultant with a fully board certified plastic surgeon who can identify any possible risks. Dr. Warren Lent is a fully qualified Beverly Hills plastic surgeon and has a wealth of experience to help guide patients through all plastic surgery procedures.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, a prestigious organization with over 7,000 US board-certified plastic surgeons among its members including Dr. Warren Lent, recently saw a presentation on the role of age in all plastic surgery procedures. The conference’s findings are of immense importance as the ASPS is widely considered to be the definitive authority in all issues concerning both reconstructive and aesthetic plastic surgery.

The conference’s key speaker, Dr. Yezhelyev MD, PhD, Department of Plastic Surgery, Vanderbilt University in Nashville said: “With increasing number of elderly patients seeking aesthetic surgery there is a need to better understand the complications of cosmetic procedures unique to this population. Our study demonstrated that patients over 65 years old can safely undergo cosmetic procedures with a complications rate similar to younger patients when surgery is performed by board certified plastic surgeon.”

The study was conducted by reviewing over five years of patient information and carefully calculating all the risk factors involved during the plastic surgery procedures. They found that there was no significant difference between the plastic surgery procedures conducted on the older patients (average age of 69) and younger patients (average age of 39). While complications occurred in 1.84% of the younger patients’ plastic surgery procedures, this number was 1.94% with older patients, statistically an insignificant difference between the two groups. The study showed that even patients in their eighties had a very low rate of post-surgical complications with only 2.2% of all plastic surgery procedures resulting in post-surgical complications.

Another interesting point of the study was that the even higher occurrence of other health risks among older patients, such as higher BMI and diabetes, had little influence on the success rate of plastic surgery procedures. What this means is that even though older patients are more likely to suffer from diabetes or have problem managing their weight, their plastic surgery procedures were just as successful as those of younger plastic surgery patients. Indeed the only plastic surgery procedure in which there was a significant enough difference between the older and younger patients’ surgery results was abdominoplasty, where 5.4% of older patients developed post-surgery complications as opposed to the 3.9% of younger patients. Even these numbers are fairly low and show that plastic surgery procedures can be successfully performed on patients of almost all ages.

So does that mean that all plastic surgery procedures are safe for everyone? It is important to remember and fully understand the risks of any plastic surgery procedure as still apply. However, the key for a successful procedure lies in choosing the right plastic surgeon. All the statistics and number of the study come from plastic surgery procedures performed by US board certified plastic surgeons. This means that all the patients who were included in the study had the absolute best care possible. Though their age did not influence the risks of plastic surgery, the outcome of the procedures would have been very different with a less skilled, less experienced surgeon. The results of plastic surgery are certainly important but the safety and wellbeing of the patient is always the single most crucial concern for the plastic surgeon. Plastic surgery patients come in all ages but all patients deserve the best of care, attention and the assurance of a well of experience and unparalleled skill. US board certified plastic surgeons are the best trained medical professionals in their field who will always aim to provide the most aesthetically pleasing results whilst keeping in mind the patient’s safety and overall wellbeing.

Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon Dr. Warren Lent is a member of both the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery. As a result all Beverly Hills plastic surgery patients can be sure that they are receiving the best possible care.