Marie Kolstad, an 83 year-old great-grandmother from Orange County, California, surprised her family last month when she underwent breast augmentation surgery, according to CBS Los Angeles. The $8,000, three-hour operation boosted her from a size 32A to a 36C, and she's loving the results.
Kolstad, a widow, thought that her family wouldn't approve of the breast lift and implants. That's why she didn't tell them about it until the day before the surgery, according to CBS. Kolstad has 4 children, 13 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.
The NY Times first reported her story. Kolstad told them that "Physically, I’m in good health, and I just feel like, why not take advantage of it?... My mother lived a long time, and I’m just taking it for granted that that will happen to me. And I want my children to be proud of what I look like.”
Cosmetic surgery among senior citizens is on the rise. From ABC News:
In 2010, there were 84,685 surgical procedures among those over 65, according to the American Society for the Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Of those, 26,635 were face-lifts; 24,783, cosmetic eyelid operations; 6,469, liposuctions; 5,874, breast reductions; 3,875, forehead lifts; 3,339, breast lifts and 2,414, breast augmentations.
Dr. Anthony Youn, a plastic surgeon from Michigan, told Good Morning America that health is more of a consideration than age is when contemplating cosmetic surgery. "The question is, really, how healthy are you as a 70 or more year-old? I would much rather as a plastic surgeon operate on somebody who is healthy [at] 70 or 75 versus someone who's a very unhealthy 40 or 45 year-old." He also added that in some ways, "70 is the new 50."