Cleveland — A new study suggests that an older person’s age should not be the sole determining factor in deciding whether plastic surgery is appropriate, HealthDay News reports.

Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic analyzed how 216 women — 148 patients younger than 65, 68 older — had fared during and after facelift surgery. Investigators found that complication rates were not statistically different between the two groups, suggesting that age is not an independent predictor of risk.

At the same time, researchers noted that proper screening of older patients is essential. In a clinic-issued press release, James Zins, M.D., chairman of plastic surgery, said, “It should not be generalized from the study that elderly patients can undergo a facelift operation with the same low complication rate as seen in the younger age group. Careful screening of the elderly patients, and excluding those with significant comorbidities, led to the low complication rate.”