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

Age in and of itself is not a contraindication to cosmetic surgery. Many patients also have high blood pressure which is not a contraindication either. The pacemaker is more tricky. 
1. Any surgery must be done in close communication with your cardiologist and anesthesiologist
2. there are certain limitation to depth of anesthesia when performing office based surgery on pacemaker patients
3. Usually a magnet is placed on the pacemaker to prevent it from depolarizing during bovie electrocautery
4. when the magnet is removed the pacemaker functions normally
5. You can see the pacemaker firing when monitors are attached to the patients

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

if there is a anatomic indication for a facelift and facelift is a reasonable intervention inedependent of age.  so if there is cheek descent, jowels, obtuse cervicomental angel a facelift is likely indicated,  what is more important than age is a patients medical conditions and their understanding of the procedure adn its risks and benefits.

As long as she gets medical clearance from her cardiologist, has her blood pressure controlled, and gets the pacemaker 'serviced' she should have an acceptable level of risk.  Age alone is not a huge issue as long as general health is OK

It isn't a matter of your mother's age, but her overall health—physiologic age is more important than chronological age. Whether she can have a face lift or not will depend on her general health, which will need to be assessed by a doctor. If she is 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.

Age by itself is not a risk factor for facelift surgery; however, she will need to get medical/cardiac clearance prior to surgery to make sure it is safe for her to undergo anesthesia.  I hope this helps.

Much depends on her actual individual medical considerations.  There are facelifts and there are facelifts.  With older individuals, my opinion that she is better off having less time under general anesthesia.  Her heart status is a concern.  WIth a pacemaker, high blood pressure, and a history of smoking in the past, there is good reason to be concerned about her ability to tolerate the stress of elective general anesthesia for a cosmetic surgery.  An ethical plastic surgeon and her personal internist can discuss her medical situation and are likely to be able to make an appropriate recommendation.   However, it is important to be realistic and understand that this may or may not be a reasonable choice.  An 80 year old with no history of smoking, no medical illnesses, and still engaged in an active lifestyle including daily exercise will have a different risk profile than a prior smoker with hypertension and a pacemaker.

As long as her overall health is good and is still fairly active...In my patients at this age, I do get Cardiac clearance to make sure that everything is stable and I feel better having patients at this age spend a night or two in a recovery care center where the nurses can keep an eye on her...And there has never been a problem...

It is not the chronological age which is important.  The more important is the biological age or that health of the patient.  If she has a pacemaker and is on blood pressure medications, it is very important that she have a throuough cardiac medical clearance prior to surgery.  If she is a good surgical candidate, then she should be okay with surgery.  

 

Good Luck.