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Observers perceived women who underwent face-lifts as healthy, successful

Observers who viewed pre-operative and post-operative photos of women who underwent face-lift surgery perceived post-operative women to be younger, healthier and more successful.

The current web-based survey was completed by 483 casual observers unaware of the intentions of the study. They viewed 13 unique female patient faces in the first half of 2016.

The pre-operative estimated mean age was 59.6 (SD = 9.0) years, whereas the actual mean age of the patients was 58.4 years (SD = 6.9), which the researchers noted was not significantly different (t₂₆₆₂ = −0.47; 95%CI, −6.07 to 3.72).

Multivariate analysis results from post-operative observation indicated that patients were believed to be significantly younger (coefficient, −3.69; 95%CI −4.15 to −3.23), more attractive (coefficient, 8.21; 95%CI, 7.41-9.02) and more successful (coefficient, 5.82; 95%CI, 5.05-6.59). Patients also appeared to have overall better health in the post-operative setting (coefficient, 8.72; 95%CI, 7.88-9.56), according to the results.

When the researchers quantified changes in ordinal rank, results indicated a −21 change for perceived age, 21 for attractiveness, 16 for success and 21 for overall health. — by Rob Volansky

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.