Bodies Under Construction-How Young is Too Young?

Although reasons for cosmetic surgery range from getting a better look to improving job prospects, often the common factor among patients is more than skin deep. Teenagers who are thinking about having plastic surgery to change the way they look are often addressing issues of self-esteem. Between the ages of 13 and 19, there’s a lot of emphasis on peers and what others think of you. It’s also a time when things such as not being part of the popular crowd, changes in financial situation and divorce can negatively affect a teenager’s self esteem.

Cosmetic surgery may have a positive impact if your body image is consistently tied to a negative focus on a particular facial feature or body part. There are cases when a teenage patient wants reconstructive surgery to correct a significant discrepancy between her upper and lower jaws. When she came into the office for the initial consultation she constantly looks down at the floor. After the surgery, she was looking up and smiling.  But be careful because there are murky areas as well.  Liposuction is one of those areas. So is breast augmentation because you’re not really sure that the teenager has stopped growing yet. But there are exceptions, for example, if a patient has breast asymmetry, correcting the size of a breast , when women develop breasts that are different in terms of shape and size, can be appropriate for teenage girls because it causes a very significant psychological impact on them during their developmental years.

Doctors are very aware of the psychological drama affecting our lives and it has become a very important factor when evaluating a patient.  The key thing from a plastic surgeon's perspective is to assess physical, emotional and psychological maturity before treating a patient.

At Sleek Surgical and MedSpa we spend a great deal of time with the patients, regardless of their age, to determine that they have thought out their concern carefully and have reasonable goals and expectations.  In other words, cosmetic surgery can improve a patient’s body but it won’t necessarily improve their self-image or guarantee happiness.  We work very closely with our young patients and their parents to insure that they are making the right decision.

So, if you’re considering cosmetic surgery you need to ask yourself what you hope to achieve.

Teens need to be especially realistic with the fact that cosmetic surgery may be only one piece of many things that serve to improve aspects of themselves. There may be physical changes but the real change begins with who they are inside.