Facial plastic surgery including neck lifts, face lifts and eyelid surgery can allow a person to look as many as nine years younger than they are, according to a new study in the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.
Researchers led by Nitin Chauhan, MD, of the University of Toronto, Canada, and colleagues attempted to quantify the change in perceived age associated with facial plastic surgeries. They hope this information will be helpful during patient counseling regarding the risks and benefits of facial plastic surgery.
Sixty patients who ranged in age from 45 to 72 were divided into three groups. The first group had face and neck lifts, a second had face and neck lifts along with upper and lower blepharoplasty and a third group had face and neck lifts, eyelid work and forehead lifts. Medical students volunteers estimated patients’ ages from photographs.
They estimated patient ages to be about 1.7 years younger than their chronological age before surgery, but 8.9 years younger than their chronological age after surgery, the study showed.
The change in perceived age varied based on the procedures performed. Among group one, the change in perceived age was 5.7 years. for the second group it was 7.5 years; and for the third group it was 8.4 years. Overall, the mean change in perceived age difference was 7.2 years, the study showed.
Source: Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery
