Rise in Nipntucks for the 65+ Set
According to Robert Johnson of The Wall Street Journal for Fox News, the 65 and over crowd is signing up for cosmetic surgery in record numbers. Perhaps the pop culture saying that 60 is the new 50 is fueling this new uptick. The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reports that elective cosmetic procedures among patients age 65 and older, for both surgical and nonsurgical nipntucks, has risen 29 percent in the past five years, to almost 700,000.
While seniors are living healthier and more active lives, cosmetic surgery is usually safe. However, the risk of general anesthesia is slightly higher for older patients. I require that my patients have a thorough physical from their personal physician, approving them for surgery. It is also my practice to limit the scope of surgery to one procedure at a time. I find that my older patients have fewer complications, heal faster and are up and around more quickly without combining multiple surgeries. As a general rule, this is my recommendation for most of my patients. Reality shows have popularized “extreme makeovers†making dramatic television to grab ratings, but multiple surgeries represent a greater risk for complications.
