Elderly patients are hardly strangers to the surgical industry. The 65-plus patient population's cataract surgeries, colonoscopies and joint replacements are practically its bread and butter. But what about breast reconstructions, liposuction procedures and tummy tucks for 70-somethings and 80-somethings?

A recent article in the health section of the New York Times examines the trend of seniors undergoing surgery to improve their looks. It cites the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery's calculation that 84,685 Americans aged 65 or older underwent cosmetic surgery in 2010,with facelifts and blepharoplasties proving most popular.

That number has been on the rise in recent years, the society says, and is expected to continue rising as the baby boom generation reaches retirement age. But it's raised concerns among observers as to the safety of performing invasive elective procedures (sometimes requiring general anesthesia) on seniors, the article notes. Not many clinical studies have focused on such outcomes, though the few that have show no difference between elderly and younger patients, especially when the senior patients are in good physiological health.

"I was looking at myself in the mirror and didn't like what I was starting to see and did something about it," says one patient quoted in the article. "Why not look as good as you can when you can?"

David Bernard