I Am 73 Years Old and in Good Health - Am I Too Old for a Facelift?

There is no ideal age for a Facelift and there is no age that is too old. Last week a I did a Facelift on a healthy 72 year old that had better skin than most 60 year olds I see. If you are healthy and have reasonably good skin you may be a great Facelift candidate. If you have heart disease or other medical issues or have very sun damaged, weak skin you may not be the ideal patient for a Facelift.  Hope this helps....

Chronological age is becoming less and less of a factor with regard to selection criteria for a facelift.  If you pass a stress-echo cardiogram, have a clear medical history, no problems such as hypertension, history of embolism or TIA, you should pass your medical clearance exam with the cardiologist.  Get these medical clearances, even if your surgeon does not require them.  Make sure the surgery center uses precautionary methods like sequential compression stockings and a bed warmer.

Every patient is different and health status is more important than chronological age.  I request that all my patients see their primary care physician for clearance prior to a surgical procedure requiring anesthesia.  We do our best to optimize every patient's physical condition prior to surgery.  It is also necessary to carefully assess the expectations for the desired procedure and make sure your expectations meet those of the plastic surgeon.  With careful planning, older patients can safely have plastic surgery and achieve their goals.

I have done many facelifts in patients your age with no problems and excellent results.  As long as you are in good health, you should be able to proceed. 

Hello! Thank you for your question! Age alone is not a contraindication
to a surgical procedure. There are a few medical
comorbidities that contribute to a higher risk during any surgical
procedure including infections, wound complications, delayed wound
healing, bleeding, anesthetic risks, etc. Factors such as diabetes,
hypertension, coronary artery disease, heart problems, lung problems,
etc are more common in the elderly. However, if you are healthy, or
these conditions are well-controlled, you would certainly still be a
candidate for a surgical procedure. If your complaints or desires are
great enough to consider the surgical option, I would seek a
consultation with a plastic surgeon to discuss your complaints and go
over the options as well as risks and benefits of the procedure.You
should obtain medical clearance from your primary care physician that
you
are at an acceptable risk for undergoing a surgical procedure. For
elective or aesthetic procedures, your surgeon may want to get you to a
reasonable health status prior to consideration for a procedure.
Discuss all of
your medical comorbidities and medication with your surgeon prior and
discuss these risks. Also, discuss this with your anesthesiologist as
proper monitoring and medications will be watched closely. This
procedure should still be very safe for you and hope for an
uncomplicated course with an excellent result! Hope that this helps!
Best wishes!

A facelift procedure rejuvenates the face by lifting soft tissues of the face that have descended with facial ageing as a consequence of descent of soft tissues, laxity in soft tissues of face and skin, volume loss. By your 70s there will be most if not all of the changes above which will be effectively rejuvenated with a Facelift. There are several further considerations.Safety is of paramount importance. If you are fit and healthy with few medical conditions then having a facelift is both safe, associated with a fast recovery and good results. If you have medical conditions it is important that you have necessary medical assessment to ensure the medical conditions are controlled and you are fit for surgery.Assessment for my patients includes blood tests, heart tracing (ecg of ekg), chest x-ray amongst other tests.Medications that you are taking may affect bruising, swelling and healing in general. It is key to discuss these with your surgeon.General fitness is important and with regular exercise this improves your recovery and healing.Additional procedures used in conjunction with facelift surgery will enhance the effectiveness of the surgery. Fat transfer to restore volume loss and skin resurfacing to restore sun damaged skin are two common procedures that will enhance the facelift procedure.Surgical technique for facelift surgery in older patients requires meticulous surgery as the tissues lose some of the strength and elasticity with age, resulting in finer and more delicate facial tissues.Overall there is not a specific age that is good or too old for facelift surgery, more significant is your general health and level of fitness. From my experience, taking the steps above into account, patients in their 70s and 80s can have a good rejuvenation from facelift surgery.

It isn't a matter of your  age, but your overall health. That is, physiologic age is more important than chronological age. Whether you can have a face lift or not will depend on your general health, which will need to be assessed by a doctor. If you  are not healthy enough to undergo a full face lift, she may be a candidate for a "mini facelift" such as the LiteLift™, which is a simpler facelift procedure and does not require  general anesthesia.

When evaluating patients for facelift surgery we’re far more concerned about biologic age than chronologic age.  There are many patients who are biologically much younger then their stated age.  These patients have taken good care of themselves by eating right and exercising regularly.  Not only are they more healthy, but they seem to be younger at heart.  They lead very active lives and have busy schedules.  For these reasons, an age of 73 is not necessarily a contraindication to proceeding with surgery.
It’s obviously important for anyone older then fifty to have a comprehensive medical evaluation before proceeding.  This should include a physical examination, EKG and laboratory studies.  Clearance from their primary care physician is a requirement.  Facelift surgery in this group is associated with high satisfaction rates.

There is no absolute age ceiling for having a face lift as long as your general health is good.  Often time at that age more is required than just a face lift.  You may also need a brow lift, fat grafting,etc.

I agree with Rod Rohrich. You are never too old for a facelift. WIth that said, obtaining a preoperative clearance  by your primary doctor is essential. 

The most important factor is your overall state of health - and how you would respond to anesthesia.  If your heart and lungs are in good shape, and you don't have any other major medical issues, then it would be quite reasonable to consider having a facelift at age 73.


All the best,