Questions to ask in cosmetic or reconstructive procedure?

Philippine Cosmetic Plastic Surgery

11. Is there a right age for any Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Procedure?

Aging is an inevitable fact of life. The aging process is affected by multiple factors such as sun exposure, smoking, alcoholism, genetics, familial predisposition, work, stress etc... The age at which patient may initially seek cosmetic enhancement procedure, will depend on the time of onset of any noticeable physical changes that may have significant psychological effect.  Aging usually start to manifest as early as 2nd to 3rd decade of life, particularly at the eyelid area. These bodily changes may also be aggravated by any physiologic and pathologic events such as massive weight lost, multiple pregnancy, and premature aging disorder like cutis laxa, abdominal hernia, previous surgeries and others.

The average age of patients receiving cosmetic procedure is 40 years old. But there are certain cosmetic procedures that are commonly requested by the younger age group, like breast augmentation, breast reduction, tummy tuck/abdominoplasty, chin augmentation, cheek augmentation, rhinoplasty, alar trimming, double eye lid surgery, dimple creation, butt augmentation, genioplasty/chin reduction and liposuction. And there are also cosmetic procedures that are commonly requested by the older population, and these are face lift, neck lift, brow lift, forehead lift, thread lift, breast lift/mastopexy, blepharoplasty, butt lift, thigh lift, arm lift/brachioplasty, tummy tuck/abdominoplasty and Botox.

There is no such thing as right or ideal age to undergo a specific cosmetic procedure. This will depend on the specific concern that patients may have and the indication of each procedure. However, each patient must be treated uniquely and management must be individualized, since there is no standard cosmetic procedure that may be applicable to all concerns that patient may have. And surgeons must be knowledgeable of the various indications and contraindications of each cosmetic procedure he/she may offer.