September 11, 2026 | Plastic Surgery News
Patients 66 and older grew 24 percent in 2025, the largest gain of any age group, to 203,105 procedures. Over the same year, patients aged 18 to 25 fell 9 percent and the 26 to 35 group fell 5 percent.
The oldest patients are arriving faster than any other group, and the youngest are leaving.
| Procedure, patients 66+ | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Arm lift | 5,201 | +52% |
| Tummy tuck | 13,858 | +42% |
| Breast augmentation | 24,946 | +34% |
| Breast lift | 14,534 | +31% |
| Breast reduction | 6,710 | +26% |
| Eyelid surgery | 37,862 | +22% |
| Facelift | 33,004 | +17% |
Why this group stopped hesitating
“I’m actually not surprised that patients sixty-six and older grew by the most percentage compared to any other age bracket, growing twenty-four percent. I think patients are becoming a lot more willing to undergo facial procedures, including facelifts, because the results now are actually natural and do not change their overall appearance.”
“So they still have a self identity after these procedures and they’re recognizable; they’re just looking ten to fifteen years younger. And as they see more of these before and afters, they become more confident and less stressed about undergoing these procedures, which of course makes a significant change in their self esteem.”
Recognizable is the operative word. The fear that kept this generation away was looking like someone else.
What they are actually asking for
“I think a lot of these patients are undergoing breast augmentation, or rather breast implant exchanges. Let’s say they’ve had the procedure in the past and time has come to do a revision surgery or an exchange. A lot of patients in this age bracket are also wanting to downsize from their previous breast augmentation procedures, as they want smaller breasts to go better with their age.”
That reframes the 34 percent rise in breast augmentation among this group. A substantial share is not a first augmentation at all. It is an exchange, and often a downsize.
“A lot of these patients, although they are in this bracket, feel much younger, are active socially, have a significant other, and want to look as young as they feel. So I’m not surprised that we’ve seen an increase in arm lifts and thigh lifts in this population as well.”
Arm lift is the single largest mover in this age group at 52 percent.
How I decide who is a candidate
The question I get asked most about older patients is whether there is an age at which I say no.
“There’s not an ultimate age where I would say no. It really depends on how the patient presents themselves, what their desires are, whether these are results that we can deliver, and most importantly, that they have medical clearance, that they’re healthy, that any medical conditions they have are well controlled, that they’re fit for a recovery, and that they have the support necessary to get through it.”
Note the last item. Support through recovery is a real clinical variable, and it is the one patients most often forget to plan for.
What they want it to look like
“I think this is an overall tendency for the patients in this age bracket, toward a more natural, less exaggerated look, giving more importance to facial aesthetics and breast aesthetics rather than the rest of the body.”
“Although everybody’s different, and I have performed BBLs in this patient population, and a lot of times it’s combined with a thigh lift and a buttock lift.”
Restoration rather than reinvention
“I think it’s true. It’s restoration. It’s getting back to a younger self, or repairing some of the damage done by weight loss. Some patients still come in because they just want to look better, or they feel they have not reached their potential.”
“And in regards to patients doing this to look more competitive at work, I really haven’t had that conversation very often, but I do see where it could come up.”
I would rather report that honestly than claim a workplace motivation I am not seeing in consultation.
Eyelid surgery is the most common operation in this age group, at 37,862 procedures.
Ready to talk?
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Source: American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 2025 Procedural Statistics Report, age tables. Patients 66 and older: 203,105 procedures, up 24 percent from 163,660, the largest gain of any age band. Commentary from Dr. Agullo’s dictation of 2026-09-07, Q&A Transcriptions/Older-Patients-Aesthetic-Trends-Commentary.md.
