Elderly men and women trying to turn back the clock should not be denied a face-lift based on age alone, according to researchers.

Their study found that adults in their late 70s or older can safely have the procedure, as long as they are in reasonably good health. In fact, the 33 elderly patients the researchers followed had a risk of complications that was on par with that of middle-aged patients.

It seems face-lifts are no longer only the stuff of mid-life crisis. Reporting in the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, the study authors note that a poll of U.S. plastic surgeons that found that between 1999 and 2001, the number of cosmetic procedures performed on patients in their 70s doubled. And the number performed on adults older than 80 jumped four-fold.

To assess the safety of cosmetic surgery in the elderly, Drs. Ferdinand F. Becker and Richard D. Castellano reviewed the cases of 33 patients age 75 or older who had a face-lift between 1998 and 2002. They were compared with 74 patients between the ages of 45 and 61 who underwent a face-lift during the same period. Becker, who is with the University of Florida College of Medicine at Gainesville, performed all the procedures.

Overall, the researchers found, there were no serious face-lift complications among patients in either age group. Five of the 33 elderly patients had more-minor complications, such as delayed wound healing or a buildup of fluid known as seroma. Seven of the 74 younger patients had similar complications.

The findings, according to Becker and Castellano, suggest that in the context of reasonably good health, “face-lifting can be just as safe in patients 75 and older as it is in middle-aged patients.”

The risk of complications remains, the researchers point out. However, they add, it seems appropriate to gauge that risk based on patients’ health rather than their age.

SOURCE: Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, September/October 2004.