The word plastic origins from Greek plastikos, which means “to mold” or “to give form”. Plastic surgery is a special type of procedure which comprises a person’s appearance and physical functional abilities. Most teens go for plastic surgery because of certain reasons.
Teenage Plastic Surgery Essay
Some claims it is the impact of the society where ‘ugly’ people will be discriminate. While some are due to the low self-esteem and the result of body imaging. Nevertheless, public will commonly ask is it worth the risk for teenagers to take plastic surgery in such young age? , Is plastic surgery safe? And how can teenagers make a right choice of taking plastic surgeries? Therefore, this research paper will be giving a view at the history of plastic surgery, reasons why teenagers undergo plastic surgery, the advantages and risk of taking plastic surgery and finally conclude how can a teenage make a correct decision of taking plastic surgery.
Also Read: Teenage Cosmetic Surgery Debate - Must Know
Types of plastic surgery
Since years, plastic surgeons have been working hard to improve patients’ self esteem and appearance through two main types of plastic surgery.
Reconstructive surgery
Reconstructive surgery is a procedure which is done to correct or improve defects on parts of body either on appearance or function, including physical defects such as cleft lips and palates, traumatic surgeries like burns, and skin and tissue damages caused by disease or injury (Health Encyclopedia 2008).
Cosmetic surgery
Cosmetic surgery is also known as aesthetic surgery, a surgery that can alter unattractive facial features or parts of body which a person is not satisfied with. Non surgical cosmetic surgeries like the usage of special laser to remove scars are very common among people. . Surgical cosmetic procedures such as breast implantation, rhinoplasty, and liposuction are also acceptable by the society nowadays (Hirsch 2006).
History of plastic surgery
According to Backstein (2005), the first documented reconstructive surgery was done in 600 B.C in ancient India. Where physicians in India started to explore skills on nose repairing which is now known as rhinoplasty, results from the nose amputation as one of the Indian penal system. However, the force driving most of the plastic surgeries developments is war, when the First World War begins during the late 1800s and early 1900s (Schnur 2007).
During that time, plastic surgeries are used as treatments for injurious facial wounds such as shattered jaws, blown-off nose and lips and also gaping skull wounds causes by modern weapons. The development of plastic surgery started to shoot when the United States got involve in the war in the year 1917.
After the war ends, new and innovative reconstructive surgeries are desperately needed as the discharge soldiers with awful facial deformity are not able to acquire a job, find a wife or just walk down the streets like normal persons.
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Statistics of plastic surgery
According to ASPS (2007), a total of 11.8 million cosmetic procedures were done in 2007, experiencing an increase as much as 7 % from the year 2006. Non surgical cosmetic surgery or minimally-invasive cosmetic procedures covers nearly 10 millions of the total procedure done whereas surgical cosmetic covers 1.8 million cases. In 11.8 million cases, 0.2 million of these cases are done on teenagers around 13 to 19 years old.
The top five surgical cosmetic surgery which teenagers have done is Rhinoplasty (38,886 procedures), breast reduction in male teenagers (16,400 procedures), breast augmentation (10,500 procedures on teenagers of age 18 to 19), otoplasty (8,062 procedures) and liposuction (4,950 procedures).
Whereas Laser hair removal (67,523 procedures), laser treatment for leg veins (22,831 procedures), laser skin resurfacing (13,890 procedures), microdermabrasion (11,260 procedures) and Botox (11,023 procedures) are the top five non surgical cosmetic surgery done on teenagers (ASPS 2007). Total 224,658 cosmetic procedures were done on teenagers in the year 2007, which is slightly more than the year 2003 which have 223000 cosmetic procedures (Zuckerman 2005).
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Reasons why teenagers undergo plastic surgery
Low self esteem or self-consciousness
Teens think that plastic surgery can help them improve their self-confidence (Zuckerman 2005).Teenagers, normally think of plastic surgery when they found out themselves are not as good as the others.
According to Melanie (2008), A girl named Wohl felt self conscious of her body, comparing it to her friends who were filling out their bathing suits on the beach and Dr Greenburg says that there are girls and women who are overwhelmed by the fact that they do not have breasts like their friends do.
So, most of them don’t play gymnastics or go on dates just because they cannot wear certain clothing, and these things happens almost every day. This two examples shows that teenagers use to compare themselves to their friends of the same age or even celebrities who had a wonderful appearance, this comparison results in low self esteem in teenagers and may lead them to a pessimistic life.
Peer Pressures
According to Hirsh (2006), teens view plastic surgery as a way to fit in and look acceptable to friends and peers. Friends play an important role in teenagers’ life; teenagers spent most of their time with friends and schoolmates. As a result, teens may have a thought that they want what their friends have so that they feel comfortable to go along with them.
For an example, If most of the friends of a teenager have undergo plastic surgery and feel satisfy with it, then he/she will normally follow the trend, without understanding the risk that they may be taking. Other than that, even schoolmates could be the biggest reason why teenagers turn up for plastic surgery, especially in image driven college.
Parent Encouragement
Nowadays, it is very common that parents giving plastic surgeries as their child’s 18th birthday or graduation gifts. Although the cost of plastic surgery are high, but parents are willing to pay just to make their child look better. “Parents now, not only scare that their kids will be left behind academically but also aesthetically.
Parents make their child get plastic surgery,” this is the opinion of Dr. Shim Hyung Bo, a plastic surgeon in Korea (Ko 2002). Most parents, who had undergone plastic surgery, will also encourage their children to do so as they are satisfy with the results. Dermatology times show that some parents desperately want liposuction or facial surgery for their teens.
Advantages of Plastic Surgery
Improve self esteem
Studies found that body-image satisfaction improve after plastic surgery (Zukerman 2005). Teenage who has inheritance defects, such as having birth marks or big hips, might feel pessimistic with their abnormal appearance receiving disgust look from friends or even other people.
Plastic surgery is a way for them to build up their self-confidence, as cruel comments towards them will reduce. Healey (1999) says that breast implants boosted self-confidence of a women name Kent.
Self esteem is built in people who face difficulties in their life, due to the natural appearance, they had difficulties when it comes to social with people and they get teased. Plastic surgery can help them get rid of bad names and cruel comments from people.
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Correct Physical Defects
For teenagers who have natural birth defects such as cleft lips and palates and having breast that is too big, they might not be leading a normal life like we do. Not only with natural birth defects, teenagers who experience serious accident or burns which may ruin their facial and body appearance will also have the same problem. They usually face problems such as difficulty of eating or even moving around.
At this moment, plastic surgery will be appropriate for these people to help them lead a normal life like us. Mann (2001) also provide evidence, Sixteen year old Kimberly’s triple D breasts may have gotten the boy’s attention, but this gave her many health problems as she will feel pain even when she walks, and having neck pain when she jogs.
A breast reduction changes her life, now she can exercise freely without experiencing any difficulties. This evidence shows that plastic surgery cannot be treated as making something fake over the body as it helps people to overcome certain difficulties in daily life.
Disadvantages and Risk of Plastic Surgery
Physical
Most studies show that there are risks behind every plastic surgery from minor effects such as permanent scarring to serious effect which some will even lead to death. There are concerns about plastic surgery on teenagers as their body is still maturing. Infections are major problem faced by teenagers, especially in the first three months after having their plastic surgery.
At this moment, they may feel painful and also suffers from itchiness. Other than that, there are cases that show serious effects of plastic surgery. Marinelli (2001) says that she lost her daughter to liposuction, where her daughter, Lisa Marie went for a liposuction and end up having damage in her vein and the doctor tied her bandage too tightly cutting off her circulation. This shows that plastic surgery will cause negative effects if it is not done properly and have enough safety procedures. The seriousness of the procedures can be seen as this should be one of the concerns people should make before making decisions of taking plastic surgeries.
Mental Stress
When things do not turn to its right face, mostly teenagers might experience personal regret. For teenagers who are not satisfied with the results, may end up with committing suicide or having another plastic surgery in order to correct it. There is a very good example, which was Michael Jackson who had almost ruined his face to plastic surgery.
Instead of having a pair of eyes and a nose that looks like his sister Janet Jackson, and also the lips that looks like Latoya Jackson who is also one of his sisters, he now having a funny combination on his face with a totally destroyed nose. He too went for lightening of his skin. On the other hand, teenagers might be facing the addiction of having plastic surgery. Teenagers also might have to overcome the trauma of having surgical procedures.
Cost
Cost of plastic surgery is not cheap Just a simple cheek implant will cost about $500 to $1500. Popular surgery such as rhinoplasty, liposuction and breast implants will most probably cost above $1200 (Healey 1999).
Teenagers may not afford the cost of having plastic surgery, which cause them taking part-time job, or even burdening their parents. Most plastic surgery cost are not covered by insurance, when anything goes wrong, there will be an additional cost for repairing it, especially facial procedures.
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How can teenagers make a right choice of taking plastic surgery?
Firstly, Teenager’s own desire for plastic surgical improvement must be clearly expressed, she/he must have a goal of realistic and also have sufficient maturity before she can head to plastic surgery.
Second, Parents should have a counseling session face to face with their children to know what their children really want. When the above task is completed, and yet teenagers still insist of having plastic surgery, contact a qualified plastic surgeon and have another counseling session by physiological test to qualified teenagers to have plastic surgery.
According to Mann 2001, there are certain characteristic of teenagers who are poor candidates for plastic surgery such as teenagers who are encourage by friends and families when they are not interested in plastic surgery.
Teenagers have the tendency to follow trends, they usually listen to what their peers says and just follow them without noticing any risks. They should undergo different section of counseling before making decision as this will affect their whole life.
Teen Cosmetic Surgery
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, in 2016 about 229,000 cosmetic procedures were performed on teens aging from thirteen to nineteen years old. Cosmetic surgery’s purpose is to enhance the appearance of a body part. Most teens start to struggle with self-acceptance and acceptance from peers about their appearance.
Some of those teens believe body modification would be the solution. Parents and specialists want to support the teen’s decision, but know it is not a good idea. Some procedures are lifetime commitments, high expenses, and cause unwanted marks. Ages under nineteen years should not be exposed to cosmetic surgery because they are not mature enough to make this decision and they will acquire problems in the future.
The most common procedures performed on teens are rhinoplasty, otoplasty, mammoplasty, and male breast reduction. Rhinoplasty is a nose reshaping surgery by making incisions to access the cartilage and bones. Otoplasty is ear surgery to change the shape and size of the ear.
Breast augmentation and breast reduction are examples of mammoplasty, which is breast surgery. The FDA has not approved breast augmentation in patients younger than eighteen. Kuldeep Singh, Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, reports, “Reconstructive breast augmentation is generally performed to correct asymmetry caused by congenital errors, trauma or disease, Poland’s Syndrome and tuberous breast deformity.” Poland’s Syndrome is a birth defect that causes underdevelopment or absence of the chest muscle. Hormone imbalance and obesity can cause gynecomastia, enlargement of a man’s breast, which can be fixed by male breast reduction.
Parents are allowed to give permission to allow the teen to have the procedure. Derrick Diaz, J.D., of Rutgers School of Law-Camden, B.A., and Rutgers University-New Brunswick, argues, “However, laws that give parents ultimate control over adolescent bodies fail to respect the developing autonomy and liberty interests of teens.”KuniJ.Simis, Frank C. Verhulst, and Hans M.Koot, all of Erasmus University, reports, “Studies show that adult plastic surgical patients undergoing either cosmetic or reconstructive operations tend to exaggerate their deformity (Hay, 1970; Napoleon, 1993), whereas studies on children and adolescents undergoing cleft lip andcraniofacialsurgery showed that they tend to underestimate their deformity as compared to their surgeons’ and their parents’ appearance ratings (Lefebvre & Barclay, 1982; Lefebvre & Munro, 1978).
However, a previous study on the same sample, comparing adolescents’, parents’, and surgeons’ views, suggested a realistic appearance-perception of adolescents undergoing plastic surgery for a broad range of deformities (Simis,Koot, Verhulst,Hovius, & The Adolescent Plastic Surgical Research Group, 2000). The only way a minor can have cosmetic surgery is by having permission from the specialists and the parent.
There are specialists that are not trust-worthy and not qualified to perform on a minor. The parent wants their teenager to be safe and satisfied with their appearance. “Katherine Cohen Cooper, has a J.D. from Harvard Law School in Cambridge and a B.A. from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, writes, “it is entirely legal for physicians to perform breast implant surgery on individuals under the age of eighteen as an off-label.” The FDA allows ages under eighteen to get silicone implants, but view it as an “off-label”. Teen cosmetic surgery seems out of the question, however surgeons still do it.
There should be laws to prevent specialists from performing cosmetic surgery on teenagers. Many people are against cosmetic surgery because it is dangerous in general, in light of the reason of the number of complications that might happen during the surgical procedure.
Teen cosmetic surgery should not be allowed because teens are not prepared to make this choice and there will be problems later for the teen. There are many factors that influences the teen decision, such as, social media, peers, and parents. Some teens do not consider future consequences of their actions and teens that undergo this surgery could develop health problems when they are older.
Alicia Ouellette, Associate Dean & Professor of Law, Albany Law School, acknowledges, “In fact, research in developmental science reveals immaturities in adolescent cognition-impetuousness, risk-taking, and susceptibility to peer pressure” that are directly relevant to decisions about body modification.”
The majority of teens are influenced by social media with comments and other social media profiles. Socialmedia changes how the teen feels about his or her self. Both females and males are dissatisfied with their body, but females are more likely to go through with the surgery. The teen would rather change their appearance to please their peers instead of his or her self.
Cynthia Elliott, MD, the board owner ofSkinspirationsand specializes in enhancement for the face and body, points out, “A new poll by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) revealed that one in three cosmetic surgeons saw an increase in procedures due to patients being exposed to more social media and becoming more self-aware of looks. In fact, 13% of the members surveyed identified increased photo sharing and patients’ dissatisfaction with their own image on social media sites as a rising trend in practice.” Some cosmetic surgeons use social media to promote their practices.
There are celebrities that did cosmetic surgery at a young age. Sources believe teens’ decisions are affected by body dysmorphic disorder. Body dysmorphic disorder is a mental disorder that affects body perception by picking out assumed and real imperfections of their appearance.
The decision for having cosmetic surgery should be evaluated and questioned.Teen cosmetic surgery comes with many problems and complications. Some cosmetic procedures are a lifetime commitment. ChristinaDavis-Kankanamge, MD is a Pediatric Adolescent Gynecology Fellow at the University of Missouri and clinical instructor at Truman Medical Center, and notes, “While implants can be removed, patients should understand that implant lifespan is 10 years, meaning additional surgery may be required.” Breast implants would have to be changed every ten years, also the prices to replace are more than $2,000.
Marks like scars and bruises could be results from the surgery. The teen would still be self-conscious about their appearance. General surgery risks deal with risks of harm typically involved with all surgeries, and may include: infection, too much bleeding, a poor reaction to anesthesia, accidental injury, pain, visible scars, pooling of blood (hematoma), poor healing, fluid accumulation (seroma), numbness or skin sensation changes, skin discoloration, deep vein thrombosis, heart and lung complications, or even death” (Diaz 240).
The show Botched is about patients who had cosmetic surgery but were not satisfied with the results and doctors solve the issues. Most of the patients had surgery when they were in high school and were not operated properly. I notice the issues of the patients were concerning with breast implants and the natural breast that are now fully grown.
By having theses surgeries too early, the patient can develop new issues.The main reasons teens choose to have cosmetic surgery are peer pressure, increase self-esteem, and uncomfortable sensations. Dr. Thomas Buonassisi, a Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon, explains, “Cosmetic surgery is not a solution for bullying, but if the teen is otherwise well adjusted and meets the other criteria for being a good candidate for surgery, surgery might be appropriate. My patients who have had very large noses toned down describe an increases sense of self confidence.” Bullying is a big factor for teens to consider cosmetic surgery.
Dr. Buonassisi believes the teen should be allowed to have surgery if they have physical requirements, but not the mental requirements. “ASAPS statistics show that the number oflipoplastyprocedures has decreased from 2,504 in 1997 to 2,253 in 2012, whereas there were 3,576 breast augmentation procedures performed on women 18 and under, 1.1% percent of the total number of breast augmentation procedures.
The reasons for surgery were: 52% Cosmetic Bilateral Breast Augmentation; 15% Severe Asymmetry; 12% Poland’s Syndrome (congenital absent breast); 10% Tubular Breast Deformity; 9% Congenita lMicromastia(severe underdevelopment); 2% Other”(Singh).
Mammoplasty should be done on a teen to help get rid of painful symptoms or health problems, rather than for the appearance.” Sharma, Kavita, Kavita S. Sharma, Philip Lim, Racheal Baines, and T. M.Brotherston, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, points out, “The development ofmacromastiain adolescents can be distressing in a very crucial part of a girl’s life. During puberty, a teenager experiences rapid and major changes in appearance and might be displeased with elements of her new.
It is also associated with mechanical symptoms likemastalgia, ulceration, and maceration of the breast folds, postural problems, back and neck pain, shoulder notching, and traction injury to the fourth and fifth intercostal nerves.” Between 1997 and 2009, 36 patients underwent unilateral orbilateral breast reductionmammaplastyin our institution…Sixty-seven percent of the patients agreed that they experienced resolution of physical symptoms, which lasted for at least 1-year postoperatively. None of the patients reported significant regrowth, recurrence of symptoms, or revision surgery at the time of the survey, which had a mean of 7 years following surgery.
Forty-six percent of the patients stated a resolution of their psychological problems, which continued at least a year following surgery. Seventy-five percent of the patients agreed that they experienced an improvement in their personal relationships, and 92 % agreed that the surgery overall positively impacted their life (Sharma et al 662-663). This study shows cosmetic surgery performed on patients who were under eighteen years old. Many people agree females should feel comfortable in their body. Breast reduction has solved several patients’ physical and mental problems.
Breast reduction is the most appropriate procedure to have on a teen, but it is still fatal.Some plastic surgeons believe that their work is safe for minors. Dr. Paul M. Parker, member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, and the New Jersey Society of Plastic Surgeons, believes “Advances in cosmetic surgery have allowed procedures to be performed more safely with more natural appearing results.”
The medicine and techniques improve all the time, but the improvements in cosmetic surgery is for adults. Teenagers are not fully developed to undergo major surgery, even if the surgeon and equipment are advanced.Cosmetic surgeons need to consider stages of the cognitive development of an adolescent.
Many psychologists are against teen cosmetic surgery because they believe adolescents are in a stage where they do stuff to please others. “Body image dissatisfaction in adolescent patients may be expected to show relations to psychological problems, such as depression and self-esteem, comparable to those ofagematesin the general population” (Simis,KuniJ et al).
By treating these psychological disorders, the teen would avoid getting surgery that they would regret.There should be a requirement of examinations and questions for a teen to do in order to know if he or she needs cosmetic surgery. There should be psychological tests to examine if the teen has body dysmorphic disorder. The teen needs realistic goals and expectations.
The procedure should be done with a highly professional surgeon, with legal permission, in an authorized facility, and done when the patient does not school. The weight of the teen should not be an influence in the surgery. A psychologist or therapist would be used to improve the adolescent’s self-esteem by making them feel good about his or her self, instead of doing a hasty decision for body modification. Lisette Hilton quotes Michelle Welch, M.D a dermatologist, and Gia Washington, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist, “It could help to ask patients to write out their reasons for requesting the aesthetic intervention and explain their expectations for the results, Dr. Washington says.
Dr. Welch says she uses the consultation to not only assess patients and educate, but also to emphasize what’s positive about patients’ features and overall beauty.”Teen cosmetic surgery numbers grow each year. There is always a new trendy surgical procedure that patients want done. Parents of these teens should not let their son or daughter consider this surgery. Teens, that have self-esteem issues, should get support from their parent, but not by surgically changing their appearance.
During a teenager’s life, there are decisions they make that they will regret later on. Parents should tell their teen to be patient and wait till they are old enough to make the decision. A person’s appearance can change throughout the years, so deciding to have cosmetic surgery at a young age would be a mistake.
Doctors that are doubtful of performing on a teen should not consider it because they meet the physical criteria. The specialists must be confident about performing on their patient. There are certain laws for different cosmetic procedures, but there are also ways to cheat the system.
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Teenage Girls and Plastic Surgery Essay
Should teenage girls under the age of eighteen be allowed to undergo plastic surgery? According to recent statistics, rhinoplasty was performed on nearly 35,000 patients between the ages of thirteen and nineteen in 2009.
The procedure accounted for nearly fifty percent of all cosmetic surgical procedures performed on this age group. If all cosmetic procedures like chemical peels, Microdermabrasion and Botox are included, the number shoots up to 336,000–up over fifty percent in one year.
Reconstructive procedures correct defects on the face or body.These include physical birth defects like cleft lips and palates and ear deformities, traumatic injuries like those from dog bites or burns, or the aftermath of disease treatments like rebuilding a woman’s breast after surgery for breast cancer. Cosmetic procedures alter a part of the body that the person is not satisfied with.
Common cosmetic procedures include making the breasts larger (augmentation mammoplasty) or smaller (reduction mammoplasty), reshaping the nose (rhinoplasty), and removing pockets of fat from specific spots on the body (liposuction).Some cosmetic procedures are not even surgical in the way that most people think of surgery — that is, cutting and stitching.
For example, the use of special lasers to remove unwanted hair and sanding skin to improve severe scarring are two such treatments. Some teens want plastic surgery so badly that they will travel all the way to New Zeeland to get it.
Breast augmentation costs about $5,500, with around $2,000 travel in New Zeeland. While in America a breast augmentation can cost up to $13,000. (Fertman-Ryan).There are many people who object to this topic and believe teenage girls should not be allowed to undergo plastic surgery if they are under the age of eighteen. There are many risks that come along with plastic surgery that can put teenage girls in danger.
Plastic surgery can cause permanent numbness, infections, blood clots, and even death. Doctors urge teens to avoid plastic surgery during this time of development. Recovery from plastic surgery is far more painful than what is seen in a one hour show, and the operations involve life and death risks–with no “body- back” guarantees.
Dimples, puckers and other irregularities can happen because of a doctor’s error, or an allergic reaction can happen within the body. These irregularities can be permanent and can be an unwanted flaw for life.
The anesthesia dangers include blood clots, heart attacks, brain damage, stroke, and even death. There is also risk of scars not healing, so teens could end up having a disfigurement due to the plastic surgery (Fertman-Ryan). Some teens have in mind an unattainable image that will leave them never satisfied. “Sometimes teens see something that isn’t there, some imperfection that isn’t real,” said Dr. Kenneth Arthur of the Cosmetic Surgery Center (Cassidy).
Teens are usually trying to solve a deeper issue, like low self esteem or not fitting in. Those problems usually cannot be solved by changing ones appearance (Fertman-Ryan). “The problem with a casual attitude toward cosmetic surgery is that it can lead to never feeling satisfied with one’s physical appearance,” said Fugen Neziroglu of the Bio-Behavioral Institute (Sinco-Kelleher). During the teenage years, girls are still growing and have not matured emotionally, physically, or mentally.Teenage brains are very impulsive and it is not a good time in life to make a permanent decision.
Breasts do not fully developed until around age seventeen. If teens get implants when they are young, they could end up with unexpectedly large breasts by the time they are a college freshman.
During the teenagers years girls are still depositing fat. Many changes seen with liposuction will be reversed with time (Jones). Teenagers should not have to feel that they need to look like the few girls in the media that are seen as perfect.
Reality shows like The Swan and Extreme Makeover make plastic surgery look as casual as getting hair extensions or whitening teeth. Teenagers need to know reality TV is seldom reality. Television and other media not only set the standards of beauty, they give teenagers ideas about how to attain those standards.
Plastic surgery gets a lot of attention in American pop culture and girls are constantly being influenced whether they know it or not (Fertman-Ryan). On the other hand advocates say that teenagers under the age of eighteen should be allowed to undergo plastic surgery.
A teen’s appearance is how they determine their social acceptability. They really feel it’s necessary to look a certain way or life will be hell for them (Fertman-Ryan). In our society self esteem is essential. Rather than force a girl to remain self conscious about that imperfect nose, that girl should have the option of plastic surgery.
Supporters say that teenage girls could enjoy a huge boost in their self-esteem by undergoing plastic surgery (Sinco-Kelleher). Often, girls who believe their appearance is flawed become socially withdrawn and deeply unhappy; plastic surgery can help those girls break out of their shells.
Plastic surgery can change how teens project themselves to others (Altman). Plastic surgery can open doors and create opportunities for many girls.
The benefit of plastic surgery at a young age is that it can increase self image, which results in increased self confidence. Plastic surgery can help girls evolve into social butterflies. They feel they can do things that they have never considered before (Fertman-Ryan).
Sometimes girls cannot shop at certain stores because their breasts are too large. Victoria’s Secret does not carry any size over a Double D.The first thing many girls do after a breast reduction is go and buy that bikini they have always wanted (Sinco-Kelleher). Plastic surgery is a good experience for most who decide to do it.
“I had a lot of areas done at once—stomach, hips, outer and inner thighs, but even with the pain it was worth it to me. After the swelling went down, I was like, ‘Oh my God! I see me waist! ’ After a month, I wore bikinis for the first time. I’d definitely do it all over again. ” In a way, she did. Julie Torrent from Wisconsin later had her arms and back done (Fertman-Ryan).
It’s no different than kids getting braces for crooked teeth,” says plastic surgeon Dr. Sam Rizk, who recently preformed plastic surgery on a fifteen year old girl who felt the need for a smaller nose. He adds that as long as he knows the motivation of the teen the surgery is acceptable (“When is it OK”).
Although those who object have proven there are many risks to plastic surgery, supporters say teens have access to enough information today that they can decide what’s in their best interests, and they know plastic surgery doesn’t always turn out perfect.If the research is done and the kids are one hundred percent sure, then it’s their decision (Altman).
Those who say that teenagers are not emotionally mature enough to have plastic surgery should know that emotional maturity is not directly linked to age. Doctors frequently see young teens who come in more mature and better prepared than many adults (Sinco-Kelleher). Parents and Doctors should be asking questions.
Is the teen mentally and physically mature enough? Has she considered the side effects? Is she able to handle the results if something goes wrong?For these reasons, cosmetic surgery should be available to everyone (Altman). The opposing side sates that even though teens can use plastic surgery to help self confidence issues part of growing up is learning to deal with the “ugly duckling stage” which almost all girls go through.
That’s when self-acceptance is learned. If teens have plastic surgery rather than go through that stage and learn to deal, they really won’t be prepared for the real world. Most imperfections that teenagers want to change they will soon outgrow (Fertman-Ryan).Although it is true emotional maturity plays a big role in the decision to get plastic surgery, physical maturity should be considered as well.
Many cosmetic procedures, such as breast augmentation have a restricted age limit of 18 because saline is only approved for women over that age. Many hormones during puberty can cause reactions with saline that could have bad side effects and possibly cause life threatening infections (Donovan).
Teenage plastic surgery is an issue that can have both positive and negative effects. There are many health risks that can even lead to death.Teenagers are likely to not get what they expected and might be left unsatisfied.
Plastic surgery can help self esteem and fix deformities. Plastic surgery can create more opportunities for girls when it comes to relationships, jobs, and clothing. Plastic surgery can be a life changing opportunity for girls that will forever change how they portray themselves to others. There are many risks involved and every potential patient should be told all of these risks.
Maturity level plays a big factor in whether or not a teen should be able to get plastic surgery or not.If a girl wants it for the wrong reasons it could leave her very unhappy with the results (American Society of Plastic Surgeons). The American Society of Plastic Surgery (ASPS) has no formal position on plastic surgery for teenagers. As with any surgery, parental consent is required for all plastic surgery procedures performed on teens younger than 18.
The ASPS advises parents to evaluate the teenager’s physical and emotional maturity and believes that individual cases merit careful evaluation under the guidance of a plastic surgeon certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery.
Doctors and Parents should have many serious discussions with the teenager wanting surgery. The Doctor should have the right to refuse the suargery to anyone that he/she thinks is not ready. If the Doctor feels the teenager is ready for the surgery then it is because she initiated the request, has realistic goals, and sufficient maturity.
Conclusion
Teenagers usually make decision to take plastic surgery before considering the risk of it. Most of them are just immature enough to think about certain factors which may cause them a life-long effect. According to this research report, the risk of plastic surgery is too big for teenagers who have just step into their life.
In conclusion, it does not worth the risk for a teen to have plastic surgery in the early age just to improve his/her appearance. As they have to consider the risk if the surgery goes wrong, that will be a life-long.
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