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!
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.
