Plastic surgeon says check blood pressure

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Men who want to give themselves the gift of a facelift for the holidays should first check their blood pressure, a New York plastic surgeon says.

Dr. Daniel Baker said men are twice as likely as women to develop a hematoma, or abnormal collection of clotted blood, after undergoing plastic surgery if they have elevated blood pressure.

Men's thicker skin, greater number blood vessels and faster growing beard account for the increased facelift risk, Baker said in the December issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

By controlling blood pressure before surgery, Baker said the male hematoma incidence was reduced from 8.7 percent to less than 4 percent.

Hematomas are not life threatening and are corrected easily if caught within 24 hours, he said.

Baker advised men and women considering plastic surgery "to make sure they have their blood pressure under control before undergoing any type of invasive cosmetic surgery."