How Old Is Too Old For Plastic Surgery?
At the age of 83, after being widowed for more than a decade, Marie Kolstad has just spent £5,000 on breast implant surgery.
Would you spend £5,000 on a boob job in your 80s? Or do you imagine you’ll retire quietly and enjoy sitting in your armchair watching Inspector Morse repeats? It seems that as we live longer and longer more septuagenarians and octogenarians are seeking cosmetic procedures and are less are happy to simply sit around feeling ‘old’.
Kolstad has a busy life looking after her four children, 13 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren in California, USA. She says the op wasn’t about trying to attract a partner, rather she wanted to like herself when she looked in the mirror: “I never gave a thought to meeting someone different,” she said. “It was more about looking in the mirror and liking who I am.
“This seemed like a simple way to go and I didn’t think it was a big deal. I want my children to be proud of what I look like.”
Here in the UK the British are more active than any generation before them, and they also say they want their bodies to match their energy level. Cosmetic surgery can help them maintain an active lifestyle and whilst wrinkle reduction is the most common procedure in the older age bracket, surgeons are seeing more and more older women looking to have liposuction and breast augmentation. As one surgeon put it: “”They don’t want larger breasts, they just don’t want them hanging by their knees. We can make them perky, but not like a 20-year-old.”
So what are the risks?
There are special precautions doctors must take with older patients. Most people in this age bracket have medical problems that people in their 30s and 40s don’t, including high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. This has to be taken into consideration before any type of surgical procedure is performed.
Cosmetic surgery should only be undertaken if the patient is at minimum risk. Seniors who are healthy and active can be excellent surgical candidates, but there are numerous red flags to look for in their medical records. There may be greater likelihood that patients in older age groups may have systemic illnesses or conditions that put them at greater risk from surgery, such as diabetes or hypertension.
Older people are also more likely to be on medications that can interfere with surgery. Someone who has undergone a stroke, for instance, might be taking aspirin or anticoagulants that could have an effect on the surgery. They might also be susceptible to blood clots in the legs.
Controversial
Plastic surgery in the over 80′s is still a controversial area. Some surgeons say procedures such as liposuction should only be performed on this age group in extreme circumstances, while other doctors see no reason not to perform an op in the patient is fit and healthy – no matter what their age.
If you’re over 60 and thinking of a cosmetic procedure such as a facelift or breast augmentation then the best idea is to have a consultation with an expert. You can find an expert in your local area by filling in the simple form on the right.
