Cosmetic procedures as safe for elderly as younger people, study reports

October 12, 2014
American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS)

Older cosmetic procedure patients experience complications at roughly the same rate as younger people, according to a study presented at Plastic Surgery The Meeting, the annual scientific meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) held Oct. 10-14, 2014, in Chicago.

"With increasing number of elderly patients seeking aesthetic surgery there is a need to better understand the complications of cosmetic procedures unique to this population," said study author Dr. Max Yezhelyev of the Vanderbilt University Department of Plastic Surgery in Nashville, Tenn. "Our study demonstrated that patients over 65 years old can safely undergo cosmetic procedures with a complications rate similar to younger patients when surgery is performed by board certified plastic surgeon."

As the U.S. population ages, numerous men and women age 65 and older are opting for cosmetic enhancement procedures. An extensive review of information from May 2008 to May 2013 found that postoperative complications among the elderly occurred at a rate of 1.94%, while younger patients experienced a complication rate of 1.84%. For this study, the mean age of senior patients was 69.1 years while the mean age of younger patients was 39.2 years.

The similar complication rate occurred despite the greater presence of health-related indicators among the elderly in comparison to younger patients. Older people were found to have a higher Body Mass Index (25.4% compared to 24.2%) and a higher incidence of diabetes (5.7% to 1.6%). However, elder patients smoked at a rate of only 3.4% compared to the younger patient rate of 8.5%.

The study also indicated that the post-surgical complication rates of patients 80 years or older was 2.2%, compared to the 1.94% complication rate of all patients 65 and older.

Also worth noting is that elderly patients had more facial procedures performed (62.9% to 12%) than their younger counterparts. The only cosmetic procedure that indicated a higher complication rate among older patients was tummy tuck or abdominoplasty (5.4% to 3.9%). The most common postoperative complications in older patients were hematoma, infection and problems with wound healing.