Most teens who seek out facial or body plastic surgery treatments typically do not do it for the same reason an adult might. For teens it usually stems around school bullying for certain unwanted features where an adult might be seeking a more youthful look and feel in their later years. We use a great deal of discretion when treating a teenager to make sure the plastic surgery is ethically justified. There has been quite an influx in teen plastic surgery treatments simply because there is now an option to do something about that facial or body feature that seems to attract too much unwanted attention.
According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery here are some of the more common ones:
- Otoplasty: Ear surgery was the most popular surgical procedure in 2010 for teens. Ear surgery often is recommended for children as they near total ear development at age five or six. Correction of the ears prior to the child entering school helps eliminate potential psychological trauma from the teasing of classmates
- Rhinoplasty: Nose reshaping is the most requested aesthetic surgical procedure by teens. It can be performed when the nose has completed 90 percent of its growth, which can occur as early as age 13 or 14 in girls and 15 or 16 in boys.
- Breast reduction: Breast reduction is frequently performed on girls with overly large breasts that may cause back and shoulder pain, as well as restrict physical activity. Breast reduction usually is delayed until the breasts have reached full development.
- Correction of breast asymmetry: Surgery can be performed when one breast significantly differs from the other either in size or shape. Except in cases of asymmetry and post trauma reconstruction, federal regulations prohibit breast implants for those under 18.
- Treatment of Gynecomastia: In some teenage boys, excessive breast development (gynecomastia) can become a significant psychosocial problem. Excess tissue can be removed to achieve a more masculine body contour.
Plastic surgery is no longer something that is only discussed behind closed doors. Children and teenagers that are subject to bullying or just a sense of being uncomfortable because of a certain bodily feature no longer have to hide in fear. Many procedures can be done with very little incision efforts and some can even be done in office in just a short period of time depending on the procedure needed.
