Guidelines for Teen Surgery

Posted Thursday, September 13, 2007 to INDUSTRY > Law

Posted by The Original Anti-Aging & Cosmetic Surgery Magazine

New FDA guidelines prevent teens under the age of 18 from undergoing breast augmentation.

Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, these are the teeny-bopper pop princesses teenage girls want to emulate. Unlike the Madonna wanna-bees of the eighties, the Y2K idol worship goes beyond posters and copycat clothing. Today's teens want breasts, and bigger is definitely considered better. A current FDA ruling just might have teenage girls hanging onto their padded bras a bit longer. Until recently, teens under the age of 18 were permitted to undergo virtually any plastic surgery procedure provided their parents would sign a consent form. NOw, new guidelines prevent plastic surgeons from performing breast augmentation on any teens under the age of 18. Is this ruling fair? What do plastic surgeons think? What about teens and plastic surgery?

Dr Stephen Greenberg is a New York plastic surgeon who has seen a tremendous increase in the number of teen girls requesting plastic surgery procedures other than rhinoplasty. Although teens under 18 with parental consent are permitted to undergo plastic surgery procedures with the exception of breast augmentation, Dr Greenberg is not a big proponent of teenage plastic surgery Although he will perform it under certain circumstances, he has always encouraged teens to wait until aft~r 18 when the mind and body have matured. As Dr Greenberg explains, "most teens are typically not emotionally equipped to handle surgery itself and the change it brings. Those who do decide to proceed should have some type of counseling to ascertain their reasons for doing so."

Dr Greenberg puts it succinctly when he says "breast augmentation is a goal teenage girls seek. Today, bigger is better. An unnatural ideal body type has emerged in the form of tiny bodies with impossibly large breasts. If teen girls don't meet this standard, they often feel less than attractive." What are some red flags that let Dr Greenberg know that he has an improper teen candidate in his office? As he explains, "before I will operate on any teen, I speak with them at length and really try to "get inside their head." If I get the sense that a parent is trying to transform herself into something she cannot be physically, this is an immediate red flag. There is a big difference between the girl who is taunted by her classmates with the name "thunder thighs" and seeks liposuction to quell the ridicule as opposed to the ninety pound girl who sees fat that simply does not exist. The latter is more of an anorexic mentality.

Is this quest for plastic surgery simply an "uptown girl phenomenon?" "Surprisingly no," says Dr Greenberg. He adds, "teenage girls take cues from their mothers. Plastic surgery has become more common in every demographic and more affordable due to financing. It is not uncommon to see a tug of war in my office between a patient and her mother with the teenager trying to push for a particular procedure.

Although certainly not appropriate in every case, "plastic surgery can do a young person a world of good," says Dr Greenberg. He adds, "take a child with a large or humped nose or a young woman (or young man) with breasts so large that he or she either literally cannot or refuses to participate in sports or social activities; you can be sure that's one unhappy youngster. With surgical correction, the miserable young person often blossoms in new ways. It's not what the surgery does to the child: it's what the child chooses to do with the surgery. Cosmetic surgery in teens should be approached with caution, yet, at the same time, viewed as a potential opportunity for the teenager."

Common aesthetic plastic surgery procedures

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery notes that while the number of families with children under 18 grew from 32,950,828 in 1997 to 33,001,413 in 1998 the number of teenagers having surgery only increased by 0.2% in the same years. Overall teenagers represented 3.1% of procedures in 1998. Figures are still being compiled for 1999. The following procedures are among those most commonly performed for patients 18 years of age and younger.

Rhinoplasty: Nose reshaping is the most common aesthetic procedure requested by teens. It can be performed when the nose has completed 90% of its growth, which can occur as young as 13 or 14 in girls and 15 or 16 in boys.

Otoplasty: Cosmetic ear surgery can be performed in children as young as 5.

Breast reduction: Can help girls as young as 16 with overly large breasts who may experience back and shoulder pain as well as restriction of physical activity.

Correction of breast asymmetry: Surgery can help girls as young as 16 when one breast significantly differs form the other either in size or shape.

Treatment of gynecomastia: In some teenage boys, excessive breast development can become a significant psychosocial problem. Excess tissue can be removed in boys as young as 16.

Chin augmentation: Often addressed with rhinoplasty to achieve facial balance.

Lipoplasty (liposuction): Recommended for patients of normal weight with localized fat deposits resistant to diet and exercise, often a hereditary condition.

Source: The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS)

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