Facelifts Make A Comeback With Boomers

Despite increasing consumer demand for less invasive procedures for facial rejuvenation, facelifts are making a comeback with female and male baby boomers. According to the latest statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), facelifts are up 14 percent for patients ages 40 and over, with nearly 116,200 procedures performed in 2007. Facelifts, the sixth most popular surgical cosmetic procedure, have also increased 14 percent for women and 16 percent for men since 2006.

"Facelifts have been on the decline since 2000," said ASPS President Richard D'Amico, MD. "With the advent of injectables like Botox and fillers such as Restylane and Juvederm, many baby boomers thought they would substitute for a facelift. However, our latest statistics show patients now know they get the best results when surgery and injectables are used together. Facelifts are critical to lift and reposition skin and underlying tissues, while injectables are vital for plumbing and restoring volume."

Sizeable increases in injectables for patients ages 40 and over included Botox (3.6 million procedures, up 13 percent); hyaluronic acid, i.e., Restylane, Hylaform, Hylaform Plus and Juvederm (912,000 procedures, up 33 percent); calcium hydroxylapatite, i.e., Radiesse (156, 600 procedures, up 129 percent); and polylactic acid, i.e., Sculptra (63,220 procedures, up 37 percent).

"If you have jowls the size of Kansas, you can't expect any injection on earth to move them back where they belong," said Dr. D'Amico. "The best approach is to have surgical repositioning and maintain it with fillers and injectables."

The national average cost for a facelift is $5,031 and more than $595.7 million was spent on the procedure in 2007, according to ASPS statistics. More than $3.3 billion was spent on cosmetic injectable wrinkle fillers and fighters in 2007.