Most often, when we hear about plastic surgery, it is in the context of a middle-aged person who wants to take a few years off of their appearance. However, a new study from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center found that it is increasingly common for seniors to go under the knife, as they are not at a higher risk for complications from their surgery than their younger counterparts.

The doctors at Vanderbilt took a look at nearly 130,000 patients who had cosmetic surgery over a five year period. During this time, there were about 7,000 people over the age of 65 who had a procedure done, with the average age of the elderly being 69. The average age of every person who had the work done in this time period was just under 40. For the younger age group, the rate of postoperative complications was a very low – 1.84 percent – compared to 1.94 percent for the senior demographic.

“An increasing number of elderly patients are undergoing cosmetic surgeries every year,” Dr. Max Yezhelyev wrote in the report. “Our study demonstrated that patients over 65 can safely undergo cosmetic procedures with a complications rate similar to younger patients when surgery is performed by a board-certified plastic surgeon.”

This finding held true for most procedures that were studied, from facelifts to liposuction. The only area that showed a statistically significant difference in rate of complication – abdominoplasty – between the two age groups, 3.9 percent for the younger group versus 5.4 percent for the older group.

No matter what age you are, you can have work done to look and feel your best! If you are interested, be sure to schedule an appointment with the best board certified plastic surgeons in Miami at Christopher Craft Cosmetic Surgery.