By Rosie Wilson
Female patients of facial rejuvenation surgery were rated by strangers in categories such as looking more likeable, social and feminine, for the purpose of a recent study. The study was authored by Mr. Michael Reilly of the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington DC, and colleagues, and evaluated preoperative and postoperative photographs of 30 female patients.
The extensive list of personality traits the women were rated on is as follows: aggressiveness, extroversion, likeability, trustworthiness, risk-seeking and social skills.
The study, which was published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, cited its aims as a way to “introduce the concept of facial profiling to the surgical literature and to evaluate and quantify the changes in personality perception that occur with facial rejuvenation surgery.”
The authors went on to say that previous studies of a similar ilk had “focused primarily on the trait of youthfulness, which is only one element of a much larger picture.” This study is claimed to broaden the perspective, and examine “nuances” that had previously been left unexplored.
The evaluated patients all had facial cosmetic surgery between the years 2009 and 2013. The surgeries included: facelift, blepharoplasty (upper and lower), eyebrow lift, neck lift and chin implant. For consistency, the women were all from the same racial background.
The study concludes:
“The comprehensive evaluation and treatment of the patient who undergoes facial rejuvenation requires a broader understanding of the many changes in perception that are likely to occur with surgical intervention.
“The face is not defined by youth alone.”