My Mother is 80 Years Old and Wants to Have a Facelift. Is She Too Elderly for Plastic Surgery?

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 in an 80 year old with a pacemaker may be more risk than most plastic surgeons want to take.  Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA

In my practice in New York, I've performed facelift on patients as old as 87. This is based more on their physical age rather than their chronological age. I also make it a point to avoid performing surgery for longer than 2 hours and do the procedure under local anesthesia with 'twilight' anesthesia with the Quick Recovery Facelift procedure I developed. She should be cleared by her medical doctor as well as be able to be off any blood thinners (in my experience, many patients with pacemakers also are on aspirin daily).  Based on her medical situation, you should also be clear with the surgeon about desired results and see if the face lift procedure can be adjusted to her situation with minimal stress to the body.