Study Says Face Lifts Shave 12 Years Off Your Age
A face lift can make you look 12 years younger! That’s the good news finding of a recent study published in the February 2011 issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the professional medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). The overwhelming number of face lift patients involved in the study said they were pleased with the results of their surgery and felt their face lift made them look 12 years younger.
The study by a Kansas plastic surgeon tracked the outcomes of 122 male and female patients who underwent face lifts during a 5-year period between 2002 and 2007. The average patient age was 57, and most patients elected to undergo additional cosmetic surgery procedures at the time of their face lift, primarily eyelid surgery and forehead lifts to remove deep creases or loose, sagging skin.
In interviews seven months after their surgery, 97% of the survey participants felt their face lift had met their expectations and 40% said the results surpassed expectations. Nearly all of the participants (90%) had received complements on their new look; and the vast majority (80%) felt their face lift had given their self-esteem a boost. Nearly three-quarters (70%) of the participants believed their quality of life had improved as a result of their face lift.
Various temporary, minor complications were experienced by about a third of the patients shortly after their surgery. Two percent of patients were concerned about residual scars, and 7% of patients said friends and family had reacted negatively to their surgery.
The length of recovery time varied with each individual. Most patients were able to resume many normal activities like driving about two weeks after surgery, although it was another week or two before they felt completely comfortable going out in public. By the end of the second or third month after surgery, patients had fully adjusted to their new look and reported feeling normal again.