Tag Archives: teenagers

Plastic Surgery for Teens

We Are Quoted, , ,
Valerie Ulene, The Los Angeles Times: Jan 12, 2009.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons estimates that more than 330,000 adolescents — most of them female — underwent cosmetic procedures in 2007. The most popular surgical procedures were nose jobs, breast augmentation, ear reshaping and liposuction.

Of course American teens want to undergo these procedures: They face tremendous pressure to be attractive, and they’re constantly bombarded with images of beautiful men and women who are held up as the norm.

“We’ve made a decision about what beauty looks like in this country, and everybody — teens in particular — wants to fit the mold,” says Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center for Women and Families, a nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of women and children.

But, in general, cosmetic surgery may not be appropriate for adolescents. After all, altering the way you look before you’re even done developing physically seems almost ridiculous.

Many plastic surgeons argue that cosmetic procedures aren’t just about improving appearances; they make the case that surgery can improve teenagers’ self-esteem too. […]

“Although patients who have undergone a cosmetic procedure often do feel better about that particular body part, there’s really no data to suggest that it improves their overall body image or self-esteem,” Zuckerman says. […]

Teens need to be mature enough to understand what the surgery can and cannot do for them. A nose job may eliminate a bump and liposuction might slim their hips, but these procedures won’t eliminate problems in their lives.

Read the original article here.

 

More Teens See Implants As a Right

We Are Quoted, ,
Jodi Mailander Farrell, Knight Ridder Newspapers: December 07, 2004.

Melissa Gonzalez knew her family intended to give her enough money to buy a new car when she turned 18. But she had her heart set on something else: Bigger breasts. […]

Gonzalez is not alone. In just one year, the number of girls 18 and younger getting breast implants jumped nearly threefold — from 3,872 in 2002 to 11,326 in 2003, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reports. […]

Dr. Jose M. Soler-Baillo, a South Miami plastic surgeon who performed Gonzalez’s augmentation, says getting implants has become a ”coming-of-age type of thing” for many young women, “especially here in Miami.” […]

Critics say the timing couldn’t be worse for adolescent girls, who are often unhappy with their looks. They say teenagers are too young and shortsighted to comprehend the long-term affects of surgery, particularly the risks, which include the possibility of rupture or permanent scarring, the need for periodic operations to replace or remove the implants and the potential problems with breast-feeding and mammography. Also, little is known about the implants’ long-term safety; no studies have been done on females this young.

”It might feel to a 17-year-old like it’s the end of the world to wait a few years, but their bodies are still changing,” says Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center for Women & Families. ‘Those breasts are likely to get larger, especially when they go off to school and gain the `freshman 15,’ the pounds girls often put on between ages 18 and 21. Their whole body begins to look more voluptuous.” […]

There is no law forbidding implants in patients younger than 18, but the FDA advises against it. In the past 15 years, implants have been the subject of furious controversy over their safety. The FDA has banned silicone-gel implants because of unanswered questions about their safety, but it permits the use of saline-filled implants, which have a silicone shell. Both types are the subject of ongoing FDA studies.

Zuckerman, the mother of two teenagers, says girls should wait until they are 21 to consider breast surgery. […]

Read the original article here.