I Am 76 Years Old, Can I Get A Facelift?

I never consider chronological age as a deterrent to facial plastic surgery. Health is the #1 consideration; this becomes more important over the age of 65. I would need you to have medical clearance and would also evaluate you in my office to be sure you have no contraindications to surgery and are not using any medications that might interfere with a good outcome and/or healing.

Because you have severe wrinkling in addition to sagging, I would probably recommend chemical peels in addition to the face lift, and would get you onto an appropriate skin care regimen that you could use to maintain your results. A facelift should take approximately 10 years off your face. You will look rejuvenated, but not “done.” With proper skin care and a healthy life style, results should last about 10 years. You will continue to age during this time, but with the clock set back so far by your surgery, your satisfaction with your results should be quite long lasting. I hope this helps.

If you are otherwise healthy and have no medical reasons not to have surgery, then there should be no problem with surgery. Your next step would be discussing the various options and potential results and expectations with your surgeon of choice. 

A Facelift is a surgical procedure that improves signs of aging in the face and neck.  It helps correct sagging in face, tightens loose skin, and removes excess fatty tissue under the chin and jaw.  A facelift usually lasts anywhere from 5 - 10 years, depending on how well you take care of yourself.  Even though you continue to age, you will always look better than if you didn't go through the procedure.   Age is not as important when getting a Facelift as your health.  If you are able to safely undergo anesthesia, then why not feel better about how your face and neck appear?  Be sure to discuss your concerns with a board certifid facial plastic or plastic surgeon - if you have a lot of wrinkles, you may need laser resurfacing at the same time.

 

 

 
 

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. 

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 76 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.  If skin quality is poor you may also need laser resurfacing and possibly fat grafting to achieve the best result.

The age of a patient isn’t as important as to whether one can have a facelift as much as your overall mental and physical condition. Aging can be a factor in determining facial rejuvenation. I’ve done many facelifts on patients that are in their 70’s or older and they have done very well. It’s optimal to have facial rejuvenation (facelift), in general, in between the years of 50-60.

 

The best candidate for a facelift is a physically healthy person who is realistic in their expectations regarding the appearance of loose facial and neck skin. As long as you are healthy, a facelift can be performed at any age and can deliver remarkable results. Many healthy patients over 80 years of age enjoy the benefits of a facelift.

Best of Luck, Dr. Clevens

 Age is not as much a factor in determining candidacy as the health of the patient. People well into their 70s, 80s, and sometimes 90s are enjoying the benefits of their facelift procedure. As long as you are in good health and show visible signs of aging, you can very well be a good candidate for the surgery.