Go under knife to spruce up your personality

Facial rejuvenation surgery may not only make you look younger, it may spruce up your entire personality and boost self-confidence, says a study.

The changes to your looks may improve how you are perceived with regard to likeability, social skills, attractiveness and femininity, the study said.

The researchers at the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, measured the changes in personality perception that happen with facial rejuvenation surgery.

"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," said lead researcher Michael J. Reilly.

"The face is not defined by youth alone," he added.

The study included preoperative and postoperative photographs of 30 white female patients who had facial plastic surgery from 2009 through 2013.

The procedures included face-lift, upper and lower eyelid surgery, eyebrow-lift, neck-lift and/or chin implant.

Individual raters scored the photographs for six personality traits (aggressiveness, extroversion, likeability, trustworthiness, risk seeking and social skills), as well as attractiveness and femininity.

The same patient's preoperative and postoperative photographs were not included in any single group to avoid any recall bias.

There was statistically significant improvement between preoperative and postoperative scores for likeability, social skills, attractiveness and femininity when all the facial plastic surgery procedures were evaluated together.

Improvement in scores for the other traits was not statistically significant, according to the results.

The relationship between facial features and personality traits has been studied in other science fields, but it is lacking in the surgical literature, according to the study background.

The study was published online by JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.