Leawood, Kan. — Facelift patients rate themselves as appearing an average of 12 years younger, according to a study conducted by a plastic surgeon here, Medical News Today reports.
The vast majority of patients are highly satisfied with their results and claim to have improved self-esteem and better quality of life, according to the report.
Eric Swanson, M.D., a private practitioner in Leawood, analyzed the outcomes of 82 women and 11 men, with an average age of 57, who had undergone a facelift between 2002 and 2007. Most underwent other procedures, such as forehead lift or eyelid surgery, at the same time as their facelift.
The patients were interviewed an average of seven months post-surgery. Ninety-seven percent of the patients said the results met their expectations — and 40 percent said their results were better than expected. Patients’ responses indicated that the “average subjective reduction in apparent age” — that is, how much younger they thought they looked — was about 12 years, with a range of zero to nearly 28 years.
Nearly 90 percent said they had experienced positive reactions from other people regarding their new appearance; only 7 percent reported negative reactions. More than 80 percent of patients reported improved self-esteem, while 70 percent reported improved quality of life.
On the negative side, about one-third of patients reported some type of complication, mostly temporary (dry eyes, for example). Two percent were unhappy with their scars.
The study appears in the February issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
