Risks!

Many teenagers are willing to turn their cheek to the harmful side-effects of cosmetic plastic surgery and believe only what they see, cosmetic plastic surgery "miracles." Plastic surgery has increased risks for teens because their bodies are still growing and developing. Surgeons are not always certain how an operation will affect them later in life. The cosmetic changes teens do might distort them as they age.

-There are many risks that are common in most, if not all, procedures. These include blood clots, brain damage, heart attack, Malignant Hyperthermia, nerve damage, stroke, temporary paralysis, the collection of blood beneath close incisions (which could lead to an infection), and, occasionally, fatality.
-With Liposuction, the primary risks include infection, damage to skin, nerves, or vital organs, fat or blood clots (that can migrate to the lungs, leading to death), and excessive fluid loss that can lead to shock or death.

Although the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (the ASPS) does have some requirements, there are not enough to prevent teenagers from seeking out plastic surgeries that could be very harmful, and possibly fatal.

For instance, an eighteen year old girl in Florida had a breast augmentation in an outpatient clinic in Boca Raton, Florida. Although she was well aware of these risks, her body had a rare, but fatal, reaction to the anesthesia and went into Malignant Hyperthermia. She passed away shortly after her body went into shock. These risks are all very real, very serious and should be taken into very careful consideration by the ASPS in order to regulate stricter laws and requirements for teenage clients seeking plastic surgery.

Although most teenagers are aware of the risks, some still choose to go through with the plastic surgery before even considering other alternatives that could actually improve the root of the problem, a low self-confidence, rather than simply covering it up by improving a teen clients’ physical attribute.

Now that you are aware of some of the most common risks, here are some things to think about:
-How does this information affect your perception of cosmetic plastic surgery in teenagers? Do you still support it? Should there be stricter regulations?
-If you are a teenagers reading this, would you ever consider undergoing plastic surgery?
-Some parents actually want their children to undergo cosmetic procedures so that their self-confidence will not be damaged... If you are a parent reading this, would you want your child to face these potential threats in order to have a better self-esteem?

Citations:
Bionic Women: How Cosmetic Surgery is Changing the Modern Female. - Laura B. Thiedman
"Plastic Surgery" - TeensHealth from Nemours. Edited by Larissa Hirsch, M.D.
"Teenage cosmetic surgery is on the rise and it's not pretty" - Anna Posner
"Teenagers and Cosmetic Surgery: Focus on Breast Augmentation and Liposuction" - Diana Zuckerman, Ph.D and Anisha Abraham, M.D., M.P.H.

WHY?

As the number of cosmetic procedures in young adults continues to grow, psychotherapists dig for the answers as to why so many teens turn to cosmetic plastic surgery. The main reason at hand seems to be more than looking beautiful – it’s a search for happiness and self-confidence through knives, suction tubes, and silicone.

The most common reasons behind undergoing such procedures are:

•The pursuit of happiness: By the 1800’s, it was already a common belief that the plastic surgeon could cure unhappiness through cosmetic surgery.

•The negative effects of too much or too little parental praise: Too much parental praise will make children feel like they can not live up to their parents expectations. Dr. Rita Freedman once wrote that “parental praise is a crucial part of the socialization process, it can build self-esteem, but it can also backfire.” Not enough praise, can make children feel insecure at a young age and that insecurity will carry on into their later life.

•Parents’ acceptance of plastic surgery: Surgeons have seen a trend in which parents who are in favor of plastic surgery encourage their kids to consider cosmetic plastic surgery because they want the “best for their children.”

•The media: Teenagers’ favorite celebrities and idols are basically walking advertisements for cosmetic plastic surgery.

•Society’s perception of certain physical attributes: Society’s positive and negative perception of certain physical attributes such as hairy or bald, fat or thin, large nose or small nose, male or female, etc. plays a large role in teenage clients' decision to undergo cosmetic surgery. Modern society’s perception of each socially defined category is constantly changing! What is popular this year, may not be next.

As I was doing some reasearch on the issue of children observing their parents - especially their mothers, I came a cross a startling statistic, "[a recent] study shows that the majority of ten year old girls are already afraid of becoming too fat." I'm sure that most parents don't realize the effects their actions can and will have on their kids in the future...

Some things to think about:
If you are a parent reading this, how would you feel about your teenager undergoing cosmetic plastic surgery? Would you push his or her decision towards it?
If you are a teenager reading this, in what ways are you influenced?

Citations:
Bionic Women: How Cosmetic Surgery is Changing the Modern Female - Thiedman, Laura B.
Making the Body Beautiful: A Cultural History of Aesthetic Surgery. - Sander Gilman

Introduction: A brief history and some outrageous statistics!

Please try to keep an open mind while reading my first post and please don’t dismiss this as a topic that does not matter! It is actually a very important issue that has been an option to “improve” teenagers' self-esteem – an option taken by over 219,000 young adults between the ages of 13-19 in the year 2008 alone. Cosmetic plastic surgery is not just "hot", as Paris Hilton would say, for celebrities and Hollywood starlets to do anymore, it has also become a very popular trend seen in the teenagers and young adults who consider these men and women to be their idols.
The issue of cosmetic plastic surgery in teenagers really caught my eye while I was reading the statistics provided by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. The increase of procedures in teenagers over the years is outrageous! For instance, The total number of cosmetic procedures performed on teenagers in 1997 was 60,000 in comparison to the total 225,000 in 2003. The Rhinoplasty procedures, commonly referred to as nose jobs, in teenagers eighteen years and younger have been increasing by 12% each year since 1994. In 1994 the total number of rhinoplasty procedures was 4,311 compared to 42,513 total nose jobs in 2003. In 2000, more than 6,200 teenagers 18 and younger underwent liposuction - which Dr. Antell, a top plastic surgeon in New York City stated, "it would be a rare case where you do liposuction on a teenager because a lot of teens grow out of their baby fat." Although the statistics themselves are very troublesome, I was even more curious of the reasons 219,000 teenagers could possibly have to undergo cosmetic surgery...

I know this is not much to go on, but no worries, the posts are just getting started! I would really appreciate it if you would all comment on my post to voice your opinions on the topic and any suggestions you have for my future posts, thanks! :)

Citations: 2007 Cosmetic Surgery Age Distribution - American Society of Plastic Surgeons
2008 Cosmetic Surgery Age Distribution - American Society of Plastic Surgeons
"Doctors Approach Cosmetic Surgery with Kid Gloves" - No Author
"Is Plastic Surgery a Teen Thing?" - Denise Mann

For my next post, we will be discussing the underlying reasons that teenagers are undergoing cosmetic plastic surgery!