Young at heart and in the mirror too

Tauranga's elderly are turning to plastic surgery in growing numbers to retain their youth. Ellen Irvine spoke to an 80-year-old who recently went under the knife and asks why she did it.

Cecile hated looking at herself in the mirror.
At 80 years old, she'd had some nasty falls that had left her face looking bruised and puffy.
And while most women of her age would accept her declining looks as a natural part of the ageing process, Cecile refused to do so.
Having had a face-lift in her 40s, the Tauranga woman approached a cosmetic surgeon to see what could be done to improve her looks.
Last year Cecile (not her real name) had an eyelid-lift on her lower lids.
And she's not done yet - she wants to have another eyelid-lift on her upper lids, and is also eyeing up a neck-lift if her surgeon will allow it.
Cecile, who was widowed last year, had the surgery only for herself, and says she "couldn't care less" what people thought about it.
She's thrilled with the results and feels better about herself for it.
"It was very successful. I definitely am satisfied with it. [The surgeon] did the best he could with the woman he had. I would certainly recommend it to anybody."
She said she had had it done "because I didn't want to look the way I looked in the morning".
"If you had baggy eyes and a bruised face, you wouldn't feel good about yourself either."
Cecile's daughter did not support her decision to go under the knife.
"She said, 'Don't do it, Mum, we love you the way you are'.
"I said, 'I don't love me the way I am, so I'll see you later'. That sounds hard, but it wasn't hard. It was just the way I felt."
Cecile didn't tell anyone else about her surgery but it wasn't a secret.
Her friends thought she looked "super", but she didn't mind what other people thought. "I've reached the age where you couldn't care less."
Cecile is part of a growing number of senior citizens turning to the knife for the sake of their looks.
Cosmetic surgeons say the over-70s are opting to get procedures as diverse as face-lifts, breast-lifts, tummy tucks and nose jobs to improve their looks and self-esteem.
The trend comes as the baby-boomer generation redefines the ageing process.
While 60 used to be considered old, today's 70-somethings and even 80-somethings are fitter and healthier than previous generations considered possible.
And they want to look as young as they feel.
Tristan de Chalain, an Auckland plastic surgeon who also operates and consults in Tauranga, said the main reason for cosmetic surgery in that age group was self-esteem.
"They don't like what they see in the mirror. The girls just want to look better than they do. They are not ready to let go.
"The baby boomers are advancing in years, and they are taking the concept of when you are old along with them.
"When they were young, 60 was old. Now they are pushing that out to 75-80."
Mr de Chalain's oldest patient was an 80-year-old man who had had a face-lift.
"He was keen to get back into the dating scene. They are putting it out there.
"I did a breast-lift and reduction on a woman of 68 quite recently. The main reason was she had joined a ballroom dancing group, and she wanted to look her best for that."
Adam Bialostocki, cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgeon at Bay Plastic Surgery, said cosmetic surgery was not an overnight decision for older people.
"They say, 'Five years ago I looked younger and now I'm starting to show the lines in my neck, droopy breasts ... I'm starting to look like my grandmother did'.
"They don't feel old, and they want to look as young as they feel.
"There's a difference between physiologically old versus chronological age."
Some clients wanted to "freshen up" their looks to get back in the dating market, he said.
Angela Scott, Tauranga Age Concern chairwoman, said plenty of older people started a new relationship later in life after the death of a spouse. And she said many older people felt younger than they looked.
"It's true that for most people now, 70 is not old. This is the healthiest older generation that we have had. People are living longer and being involved in so many things. Just because they have reached retirement age, it doesn't mean people stop."
Mrs Scott is a fan of ageing gracefully, with or without the help of a surgeon.
"I personally don't think you need cosmetic surgery. I think the signs of ageing are not a bad thing at all - they are experience lines.
"At the end of the day it's your personal choice; as long as you feel good about yourself and are integrating yourself with the community and leading a satisfying life."
Surgeons told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend age was less important than patients' health and fitness in deciding if they were a suitable candidate for surgery. "If they want it and they are fit and healthy, why not, as long as their aims are reasonable or achievable?" Tauranga surgeon Brandon Hitchcock said.
And a happy Cecile, who is loving her new eyelids, encouraged other senior citizens contemplating cosmetic surgery to go for it.
"I don't see why you shouldn't do it if you want to and if you are able to. If you are fit enough I don't see any reason why not," she said.
Also see our editorial:
Editorial: Quest for beauty is not just the preserve of the young