Face-lift surgery may not boost your self-esteem

Face-lift surgery can make you look 10 years younger, but that won't effect much of a change in your self-esteem, a study says.

Andrew Jacono from Facial Plastic and laser Surgery, New York, and coauthors used a self-esteem scale to look at the outcome of face-lift surgery as perceived by the patient to understand the association between self-esteem and the results of aesthetic facial rejuvenation.

The study included 59 patients undergoing face-lift surgery from July through October 2013. Of the 59 patients, 50 completed the six-month post-operative questionnaire. 

All but two of the patients were women with an average age of 58.

The overall difference between the average preoperative and postoperative self-esteem scores was not statistically significant, the researchers said.

While patients felt they looked nearly nine years younger, that perceived change in youthful appearance did not correlate with changes in self-esteem, the authors noted.

With the number of face-lift procedures steadily increasing by nearly 30 percent since 1997, it is increasingly important to understand the psychosocial effects of this popular procedure., said the study published in the journal JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.