Long-term study documents facial aging of surgeons

An ongoing study to scientifically document facial aging among plastic surgeons in real time was presented at the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Annual Meeting in New York.

“Typically, facial aging has been understood by what we do to improve the look of the face,” presenter and study researcher Val S. Lambros, MD, of Newport Beach, Calif., said in a press release. “For example, when all we were doing was pulling on the face using the facelift, it was thought that the face largely aged by descent. Now that we have tools to fill the face, we think of the face as deflating as it ages. But what really happens?

“To find out, I began a longitudinal study in 2005, looking at the faces of plastic surgeons as they age.”

Lambros photographs the faces of plastic surgeons at annual meetings with a 3-D camera, and evaluates the physicians’ age-related changes yearly. He reviewed his findings at 5 to 7 years, which included the effects of weight gain on facial shape and neck aging, and facial descent or deflation as it relates to facial aging.

“This is the beginning of a study that may last a generation,” Lambros said “At the end, we should have a better and more scientific understanding of how the face actually ages.”

“This is the first comprehensive attempt to scientifically document facial aging,” presentation moderator James M. Stuzin, MD, of Miami, said in the release.

For more information:

Lambros VS – Longitudinal Study of Facial Aging. Presented at: American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery 2013 Annual Meeting; April 11-16, New York.