A Facelift Will Take 7 Years Off Your Appearance, But do it Safely

Monday, 14 May 2012 00:36

A Facelift Will Take 7 Years Off Your Appearance, But do it Safely

After recently been contacted by The Sydney Morning Herald for a comment regarding expectations from facial surgery and the importance of safety for patients, I thought it would be timely to just touch on these subjects.

A recent study has shown that patients can expect approximately seven years improvement from facial rejuvenative surgery. This has always been the impression that we have felt as plastic surgeons though it is now substantiated by this independent study showing that independent evaluators anticipate that after facial rejuvenation surgery, patients look approximately seven years younger. Interestingly they also found that patients looked approximately two years younger following a rhinoplasty.

Here is a link to the report - http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/22/us-plastic-surgery-takes-years-off-idUSTRE81L1ZA20120222

So you can now say that yes you look younger as well as feel younger. As I say to my patients we should be able to take a photograph in 7 years and you will look better on that day than the pre-op photographs – a great concept!! My comments in The Sydney Morning Herald Life and Style section, also touched on the importance of office based surgery and patients safety. http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/does-plastic-surgery-make-you-look-younger-20120510-1ye5n.html

As a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, a member of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons, patients’ safety is paramount. There are certainly some procedures that can be performed in the office, though larger surgical procedures need to be performed in the safety of a fully accredited hospital. There is a move to legislate that more control is placed over which procedures can be performed in the office and I certainly endorse this. Some practitioners may place patients’ safety as a secondary importance when they choose to operate in their office as opposed to a hospital, and I do not think this shows the standard of care that needs to be given to patients. All respect needs to be given to the safety of any patient undergoing a surgical procedure, be it cosmetic or non-cosmetic, if youare considering a procedure be sure to ask the surgeon about accreditation and safety before any procedure is performed in the office. Hospital based surgery has a role for larger procedures, where a backup is needed and the appropriate staff and equipment ensure safety and maximise the likelihood of the best result.

If you are concerned and there is not an option available to be treated in hospital, then you are with the wrong surgeon for you, certainly it is the patients’ choice to decide how and where their surgery will be performed.

Yours sincerely

Dr Jeremy Hunt