Cosmetic Surgery for the Youth: A Last Resort
Dr. Frederick Lukash, a New York cosmetic surgeon, is having trouble finding a publisher for his book called The Kindest Cut - Teenage Plastic Surgery: Reshaping the Body and Soul. It's basically what the title says it is. However, the reason the book is having so much trouble finding a publisher is that the subject of teens and cosmetic surgery is still too controversial. Lukash claims this kind of surgery is "quality of life surgery." And maybe he should know; he has specialized in treating adolescents for over 20 years.
We've already delved into teens and cosmetic surgery a couple times here, but one interesting thing Lukash says is that, with teens, it isn't so much about standing out, like the many adults who decide on cosmetic surgery. It's about fitting in.
He uses the example of a 14-year-old girl who had drooping breasts like a 60-year-old woman. She wouldn't participate in PE, go into the shower, or go to camp. But what she did do was start acting out and develop an eating disorder. Many cosmetic surgeons will not perform surgeries on girls as young as 14. They most likely still have a ways to go before they fully develop and an overwhelming majority are not emotionally mature. But tell that to a 14-year-old girl who feels ostracized by peers, can't stand the sight of her own body, and looks at other 14-year-olds "blossoming" as they should and wonders why she isn't. Lukash performed a breast lift on her, and her eating disorder vanished.
Opposition
To add to those who have reservations, some, like psychologist Ann Kearney-Cooke, don't believe that cosmetic surgery should be used as a fix to low self-esteem. She says, "Instead of rushing to the plastic surgeon, let's help these kids develop skill so they can be effective at handling these situations...." Lukash counters by saying he doesn't perform procedures on every single unhappy child that walks into his office. He admits it's not a quick fix to all their problems. He also has consultations with parents and therapists, and often tells the patient they are too young or should talk to a psychologist.
One thing Kearny-Cooke says is that, though kids have always had pressure to fit in, the "focus has switched to appearance and image making." For those of us who were kids in MTV's heyday, we respectfully disagree. It didn't just happen, and appearance and image making have been a part of growing up for decades now.
Many of those who were kids in the early to mid-'80s were picked on mercilessly for their appearance. The difference now is that cosmetic surgery is much more accessible in ways that it wasn't at that time. Had cosmetic surgery had the exposure that it does these days, otoplasty, male breast reduction, and breast augmentation may have become known vocabulary in the American lexicon long before now.
If you have a child who is suffering because of their physical appearance, speak with doctors and therapists to see what can or should be done. If you are interested in finding out more about how cosmetic surgery may help them, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.
Labels: body image, teenagers
Can The Kids Still Dance?
First they came for the tattooing. Then they came for the body-piercing. Now, Queensland, Australia's authorities are pressing for a ban on giving teens' access to cosmetic surgery. While the bans on tattoos and body-piercing have been around for a while, there is no law against letting teens get cosmetic surgery. Included in this ban are breast enhancement, tummy tuck and Botox injections.
Premier Anna Bligh believes that there are some good reasons, both medically and psychologically, why young girls seek out these procedures, but worries about kids looking to them for pure, unadulterated vanity. Getting corrective surgery is one thing, but there is apparently no good reason why any Young Turk should be able to alter their appearance through cosmetic enhancement.
Freedom of Choice
While it isn't much of a stretch to say that many young women believe their appearance is of the utmost importance, and having access to cosmetic surgery gives them a wider range of options of ways to stand out, authorities believe these girls are too immature to make this kind of a decision. Getting breast enhancing surgery to impress the boys is a bad idea when you're 15. The thing is, most cosmetic surgeons would agree with this.
While the law in the States lets some people as young as 14 get cosmetic surgery, this is done for corrective reasons. It's the kids going off to college where the line is blurred between corrective and elective surgery. This is the time when society often allows these burgeoning adults more freedom to make their own decisions. Yet, impressing the boys when you're 18 or 19 is much different than impressing them when you're still asking your parents for a ride to the mall.
Vanity plays a role in any teenager's life, both male and female. In our hyper-sexualized, 24/7 media cycle, looks seem to be de rigueur on how to get ahead or get what you want. And kids want it all without the wait. No matter how often they're told by their parents to wait a few years to see if they still want something, the children are going to see this as an assault on their personal life. Sometimes the child might wait and change their mind. However, there are some parents who both get sick of the whining and the anger, and simply give in. "You want a boob job? Let me just grab my checkbook."
Maybe the question should really be who are the parents who want their children to get a tummy tuck at such a young age? Is it just up to the kids? Or is it up to the government to make these decisions for both child and parent?
If you are interested in cosmetic surgery, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area. Labels: body image, Botox, breast augmentation, cosmetic surgery, teenagers
Breast Augmentation Numbers: The U.K. Edition
According to several cosmetic surgery clinics in Britain, breast enhancement surgery numbers doubled among teenagers last year to almost 600 procedures from the year before. One clinic reportedly performed 31 breast augmentation surgeries two years ago on women 18 and 19 years old. Last year this number jumped to 169. The Hospital Group, which has over a dozen clinics, says their numbers doubled to over 200 procedures last year.
Reasons
While it isn't completely off the mark to understand why some teenagers want to look like their favorite celebrities, the names mentioned are often the biggies of the industry. Jolie, Alba, Biel, and others are the most mentioned in combination with "I want to look like.…" However, we don't normally hear about teens in this country wanting to look like their favorite reality television star. Yet, these are the examples the British story brings up.
For example, 24-year-old Chantelle Houghton, the winner of Celebrity Big Brother 2006, not to be confused with America's version of the show, was the first "non-celebrity" to win the season in Britain. This was apparently huge news. The only thing Houghton was known for before she decided to give it up for reality television's fame was a bit of modeling. However, because of her victory on the show, she was able to stretch that fame for a while with all the typical scenarios that the paparazzi and media celeb watchers love (short marriage to co-star; autobiography that bombed; her alleged quote of "What's a gynecologist?"). The British media reports that since Houghton split with her husband, she has been seen around town with enlarged breasts and possibly lip injections, and vamping for the camera whenever she can.
To sum up: Reality television stars are now powerful people who help influence British teenagers.
Mixed Reaction
While many cosmetic surgeons will perform surgery on 18-year-old women, in both the U.K. and the U.S., there is a company in London called SurgiCare that turns them away until they're 20. Chief executive of SurgiCare, Mark Bury, says, "In some cases these women have not finished developing." He goes on to say that many of the cases in which young women want cosmetic surgery are a "knee-jerk reaction or the result of peer pressure." And, yes, these young women are looking to Chantelle Houghton for fashion guidance, so Mr. Bury may have a point.
Maybe it isn't wrong to want to have the same cheekbones, lips, or breasts as your favorite celebrity. But are reality television stars really celebrities, and if they are, are they the type of person we want our youth emulating?
Anyway, if you would like to know more about breast augmentation, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon in your area.
Labels: breast augmentation, celebrity, injectable fillers, teenagers
Burn the "Manzier" - Teen Males and Gynecomastia
The picture of men and their breast size hit the pop culture circuit on Seinfeld when Kramer and Frank Costanza decided to market bras for older men. The argument over what to call it ("The Bro" or "The Manzier"), as well as the scene of Kramer helping Mr. Costanza put the bra on, was just a tiny part of what made the show so great. However, there may have been lots of guys out there watching the episode who didn't think it was so funny.
Gynecomastia, a condition in which there is excessive development of the breast tissue, affects an estimated 40 to 60 percent of men. It is more commonly occurs in infants, but it usually goes away. However, it may come back when boys hit puberty and there is a small chance that it is there to stay. Gynecomastia is due to an imbalance in the estrogen-to-androgen hormone ratio, where estrogen has the higher balance of the two.
This condition can cause extreme embarrassment and psychological issues in teenagers who are affected. Because society puts a high premium on the way we look and kids are figuring this out at younger and younger ages, it isn't just teenage girls who pay attention to the way their breasts are developing. And puberty is just one of the causes for male breast enlargement in teens.
Other Potential Causes
- Steroid abuse
- Obesity
- Marijuana use
- Tumors
- Genetic disorders
- Castration
- Side effects of other medications
It can be argued that some of these, obesity (when caused by diet), steroid abuse, and using marijuana, are personal choices, but the other causes are out of the kids' hands - though it could also be argued that teens who abuse steroids and marijuana probably don't want gynecomastia, either. And one remedy for obesity is to lose weight, but this may not solve the problem 100% of the time.
Because feelings of shame, embarrassment, and humiliation are common with this condition, and because we live in a society that has its ideas of masculinity firmly embedded in its' psyche, teenage boys may hide themselves away. Sure, we can tell them over and over that beauty is only skin deep, and that worrying about the way they look isn't "what guys do," but this isn't realistic. One option, which some teenage boys have taken advantage of, is male breast reduction surgery.
Male Breast Reduction Surgery
According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, male breast reduction surgery was one of the five most popular cosmetic surgical procedures for men last year. Just over 20,000 men went through this procedure.
If the procedure involves the removal of glandular tissue, a cosmetic surgeon will use a scalpel. If the cosmetic surgeon is removing fatty tissue, liposuction may be required. Sometimes male breast reduction procedures require the removal of both glandular and fatty tissue. The excess skin is then removed to give the chest a more natural, or "masculine" appearance.
Many teenage boys will suffer in silence with gynecomastia, and maybe not all of them would choose male breast reduction surgery even if they knew about it. But the option to help guys with their self-esteem is out there.
If you have questions about male breast reduction surgery, and would like to know more about it, please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon.
Labels: gynecomastia, liposuction, male cosmetic surgery, teenagers
What's with the Nose, Anyway? - Teens and Rhinoplasty
Let's face it, the days of teens embracing their natural appearance, and flaunting it like some kind of postmodern rebellion, are not exactly common. And maybe they never will be. While most teenagers do not get cosmetic surgery, the numbers are trending upward. Certain segments of teen culture believe that the worse they look, the cooler they are, and the better they feel, but most teens just want to fit in. Reasons for Rhinoplasty Rhinoplasty is the number one cosmetic surgery performed on teenagers. The reasons for this tend to be either physical (chronic pain, trouble breathing) or emotional (self-esteem issues). Both of these are definitely important to an adolescent, but perhaps the parents are only concerned about physical aspects. This might be the case if the child has breathing problems, such as allergies or a deviated septum, related to the way the nose naturally developed. Or perhaps the nose was broken playing sports or horsing around and breathing problems started after that. Then there are the parents whose child has endured years of feeling ugly because of their nose. While the hormones in teens wreak havoc with their emotions, if they feel that their physical appearance makes them an outcast, then the parents caught in the maelstrom might feel the need to act. Feelings of depression and low self-esteem are obvious, but what about the kid who just can't take being called names anymore and starts to fight? In-between Cases
Take your average 14-year-old girl who likes to play field hockey. If she gets hit in the face, either with the ball or the stick, chances are her nose was part of the injury. If this girl breaks her nose, it will probably have the classic broken nose bump, or look crooked. Breathing problems might occur, but there is also the emotional side to it as well. This hypothetical teen might feel ugly because of the way she suddenly looks. What's more, this teenage girl wants to do something about it. A Moral Dilemma Is it right for cosmetic surgeons to perform rhinoplasty on teenagers? On the one hand, correcting or reshaping a nose to relieve breathing problems might be seen as noble. On the other hand, some might take issue with teens going in for what they see as some kind of vanity procedure - especially if the teen is being pulled into the doctor's office by their mom or dad (in this case, the teen was just fine with the way their nose looked, but the parents thought it could be improved). Because cosmetic surgery changes the way people look, radically changing somebody's face before they've even finished puberty is going to be an issue. Who's to say that by the time the teen is in their early twenties they will be happy with their new face, or that they wouldn't have been happy with their old one? The same rules should apply for teens as they do for adults. While the parent should have some input, since teens are still dependents, their child shouldn't be doing this just because they feel like it's the only way to get on the cheerleading team. Also, is the improvement going to be functional (easier breathing) or aesthetic - or both? Should the teen wait until the summer before going off to college (in order to create a new and improved them?), or is it more important to get it done now? These are questions families should discuss with the rhinoplasty surgeon. While the issue of rhinoplasty is probably easier to understand in connection with teens than some other procedures, such as breast augmentation, none of the issues are going to be black and white. Please contact an experienced cosmetic surgeon if you feel your teenager would benefit from nose surgery, or if you would like to discuss these related issues. Labels: rhinoplasty, teenagers
Teens and Cosmetic Surgery - Introduction
When most people think back to how they looked as teenagers, there is a strong possibility they will cringe. Past hairstyles and clothing choices are more than enough to make some want to burn every picture taken of them before age 18. While bad dye jobs and hairstyles are temporary, and clothing fads come and go, there are other aspects of growing up that are a bit more permanent. What about cases of acne, or being told your nose is too big, your neck too long, or your chin is weak? Having the kind of acne that leaves you hiding from your peers - and possibly your family - or wearing a stocking cap to cover your ears might seem like an overreaction to those who didn't seem to have any problems. However, if you ever feigned illness to keep from going to school, kept your head down, grew out your hair so no one could see your face, or acted out (because if you think you look ugly, you might as well act ugly, too, right?), then you probably also wished you could speed ahead into adulthood. Physical blemishes might fade, or you might grow into your body a bit more, leaving that gawky younger you in the dust. Is Media Perfection Valid? We're told being a teenager is a "special time" or these years build character. And yet, things don't seem to be getting any easier. Teens have probably always felt they needed to look as good as possible every single day, but the media seems to influence this more than it used to. As a result, more and more young people are turning to cosmetic surgery to help them through the psychological minefield of being a teenager. These changes seem the easy answer to society's insistence on looking as close to perfect as possible. In 2006, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons listed the top cosmetic surgery procedures performed on teenagers, 13 to 19 years old: It might seem surprising that these are the top five, but it gives us a snapshot of what teenagers are concerned about with regard to their appearance. There were over 90,000 cosmetic surgery procedures performed on teens in 2006. This doesn't take into account the minimally invasive procedures like Botox or using injectable fillers. Are Teens Too Young for Cosmetic Surgery? The issue of teenagers deciding on cosmetic surgery - and of the cosmetic surgeons performing it - is controversial. When do teens decide that cosmetic surgery is the answer, and why? Should cosmetic surgeons even perform these procedures on this age group, or should adolescents be off-limits? These are questions that will be explored off and on here in future blogs, focusing as much on the positive side of cosmetic surgery as the more questionable aspects. Until then, keep your chin up and remember that only you should decide what you want to look like. Labels: cosmetic surgery, media, teenagers
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