63,623 cosmetic surgical procedures were performed on people ages 13-19 in 2013 (American Society of Plastic Surgeons). Plastic surgeons are known to be some of the most controversial doctors of them all. Having the knowledge of changing one’s body to suit their interests is an amazing quality. When it comes to teenagers, plastics is becoming a popular surgery for the age group of 13-18 years old. This is an important topic to focus in on because generally, the human body doesn’t quit developing until around the age of 18-21, depending on the person. For teenagers, getting plastic surgery at a young age can cause one to possibly run into problems around the age of 20 or 21. Since their bodies are just finishing the growth process, plastic surgery can influence this negatively. Some negative affects might be pain during the growth process or limiting the growth process. I think people in their teenage years should not be allowed to endure any plastic surgery since their bodies are still developing and haven’t been able to fully mature, especially because generally, the human body doesn’t quit developing until around the age of 18-21, depending on the person. 

Changing your body to satisfy other people’s perceptions of you in high school is unacceptable. From personal experience, I had to get my nose fixed after I had broken it in a lacrosse game. This was a year ago, and I didn’t personally know the hidden effects. It wasn’t full plastic surgery when I got it, but I did have to go see a plastic surgeon to get it put back into place. I personally had no choice when getting my nose done since it was crooked. As my mom said, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. I was the only one that truly noticed it, and it made me self-conscious. I understand why girls want to have plastic surgery done. For me, there were no personal hidden effects, just that the fact that it took almost 2 months to heal and not hurt anymore. I was told I had to watch out for my nose in the future because it would be more susceptible to breaking again.  However, for girls that elect to have plastic surgery, the personal impact is greater. There is a difference between elective surgery and necessary surgery. My surgery was necessary, as my nose was physically broken. This isn’t see to be too controversial because it was necessary. As for girls who go in for voluntary surgery, this is when it becomes controversial. 

Plastic Surgery has increased in teenagers in recent years. In 2012, more than 236,000 cosmetic surgeries were performed on young adults below the age of 19 (Wed MD). This is an issue because more and more girls think it is alright to have such a large surgery before they even know the potential outcome of their body. The purpose of getting plastic surgery all comes from the same idea: self-consciousness. This is even true for adults that get plastic surgery. People that aren’t happy with their bodies may think their breasts are too large or too small; and then fix these issues with plastic surgery.  The idea of body image for young girls starts at a young age. You need the love and support of your parents to think highly of yourself. Girls’ body image concerns may be further influenced by sociocultural factors such as dolls, television characters, and characters in children's books and movies (Zuckerman and Abraham). Now in this age and era, girls are making choices to get plastic surgery based off what the “ideal woman” should be. 

Most girls get plastic surgery also because they are self-conscious of parts of their bodies. Studies show that body image is continually developing in response to internal and external cues, and the physical changes of puberty occur at a time when teens are especially sensitive to how others look and what others think (Zuckerman and Abraham). Teenagers believe that it is acceptable to have plastic surgery at young ages just because of their self-consciousness. High school is full of this. About 64,000 teens get some sort of plastic surgery procedure each year-mostly around the time that school starts up again in the fall (Pesce).  

The difference between surgical and non-surgical plastic surgery procedures is what it does for you and how long it lasts. Dr. Peter Adamson discusses this issue and states that Botox lasts for around 3 months as a nonsurgical procedure, while something like a facelift lasts 12-15 months as a surgical procedure. It all depends on the strength of what you use as well. Botox is not as strong as facelifts are, so they don’t last as long. Nonsurgical procedures also don’t take as long to heal from. Surgical Procedures can take up to 3 months to heal, while some nonsurgical procedures can be done and a day later you can you right back to where you left off. 

The top 5 surgeries teenagers get are breast implants, breast reductions, liposuction, nose jobs, and lip injections. These procedures are costly, as well as painful. Nose jobs can cost up to $10,000, breast implants can cost from $8,000 to $10,000 and breast reduction can cost from $10,000 to $12,000 (Pesce). Liposuction can range anywhere from $2,000 to $3,500.  Lip injections can range from $500 to $2,000. For how much these teenagers and their parents are paying, they should know the hidden effects. Breast development and body weight growth can continue even after the age of 18 (Zuckerman and Abraham). These young adults or kids could be harming their bodies without fully knowing. 

One of the top 5 most common plastic surgeries for teenagers is breast reduction. Most teenagers get breast reductions due to back problems. According to plastic surgeons, it is best to get this surgery once one’s breasts have stopped growing for the best results (Gardner). Although most girls don’t want to wait to get this surgery, its best for their still-developing body. Modern Family star Ariel Winter, who is 17 years old just reduced her breast size from a 32F to a 34D. Winter said that it was a huge weight off her mind (Pesce). Although ones’ breasts might now be done growing, getting the surgery isn’t a horrible idea. The only issue would be if they keep growing after the surgery, which leads people to potentially needing another surgery. 

Alternatively, a common surgery for young girls is breast enlargement. Some who are very self-conscious want this for their body no matter the circumstances. Since their body isn’t done growing, getting implants could mess up this process. Saline implants are approved for people over the age of 18 and silicone gel implants for those 22 and over. The difference between the two is that the saline implants allow room for growth if needed. People under the age of 18 can still get breast augmentations, but under certain circumstances with different implants. Women could get the silicone kind at the age of 18 if they are in dire need, but I think that women should wait until around the age of 21 to get implants so they know that their body is fully finished developing. Also, the FDA has recently released that both saline and silicone breast implants can cause a rare form of cancer. This rare form of cancer has killed at least nine people (NBC News). This cancer is called anaplastic large cell lymphoma, or commonly known as ALCL. This is just now coming into light because the FDA didn’t link this cancer to implants. Hopefully this cancer will bring awareness to not just teenagers, but all women who are thinking about getting these implants. 

Liposuction is another top surgery for teenagers to get. Liposuction is a procedure in which localized deposits of fat are removed to recontour one or more areas (Zuckerman and Abraham). Liposuction is also a bigger procedure than many people think. For smaller procedures, the patient is under anesthesia. For bigger procedures, the patient is put under heavier anesthesia and should stay the night at the hospital to monitor them. Post-surgery effects liposuction includes bruising, damage to the skin, and sometimes infection. Not as many teens get liposuction, but those who do get it mostly for the reason of being self-conscious (Our Bodies Ourselves).

Another common procedure is fixing or reshaping of the nose. As I said earlier, I got my nose fixed solely for the purpose that I thought I had to. Girls who get a nose job mostly do it because its crooked or they think it’s “too big.” One of my friends from home got a nose job as her graduation present. She thought her nose was too big compared to her face, and was always very self-conscious about it. She would contour it with makeup to try and make it look smaller to her liking. I never thought it was too big, and neither did any of my friends. Once a woman has a mindset of something, she may stick with it. She got her nose fixed and has never been happier. She now is where she wants to be. But the recovery process was a lot for her. Having stents pulled out of your nose is one of the most uncomfortable things she has ever experienced. I never had to go through this because my surgery wasn’t as severe as hers. Although stories like this are very popular for teenagers, nose jobs, breast reductions and enlargements are the 3 most popular plastic surgery procedures for teenage girls. 

Lip injections are last of the top 5 most common plastic surgeries for teenagers. This trend started about 5 years ago when models and actresses started sharing this procedure with social media. Kylie Jenner played a huge roll in this. Last year the “Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge” was very controversial, as people would suction their lips to get them to look plump like Kylie’s. Most of the teenagers that get this are considered to be more wealthy and famous. Many older women do get this as well, and the percentages of adults to teenagers for this procedure is much higher. 

Celebrity influence plays a huge roll in why people choose plastic surgery today. With all their Photoshop, professional make up and designer clothes, there’s no telling why we wouldn’t want to follow in their footsteps. We all want to try to conform to their standard of living, and this even means changing how we look. Plastic surgery has been known to transform people to what they want to look like. I have heard stories about how people go into the plastic surgeons’ office and tell them “I want my nose to look like Jennifer Aniston’s.” Celebrities play a huge roll in how we live. A man named Rodrigo Alves is searching to become the first human Ken doll. Alves has been getting tons and tons of plastic surgery procedures to become what he believes is the “perfect body.” The Ken doll might not be a celebrity, but Barbie and Ken sure do influence how people look at themselves. Barbie and Ken were known to have the perfect body for a long time. This influence has lead women, and men to have poor body image. 

Poor body image plays a huge roll in why teenagers turn to plastic surgery. Teenagers think that plastic surgery will improve their body image, but does it? There is a known study that found that body image improved after cosmetic surgery, but satisfaction between boys and girls who didn’t undergo plastic surgery was also on the rise (Our Body Ourselves).  American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery said that teenagers and young adults could be the new face of Plastic Surgery for 2015 (AAFPRS). After seeing these studies and this fact by the AAFRS, many mixed emotions come to mind. Self-consciousness is something that can be battled by teenagers. Teenagers should not turn to plastic surgery to help their self-consciousness issues. After knowing these studies, that have even proved to be true, I think teenagers should just wait until they are old enough to make the rash decision that could potentially cost their body. 

Waiting is hard, everyone knows that. But you would think that people would wait with certain circumstances. Teenagers should wait to get plastic surgery because of the effects it can have, also to see if it is still something they would want in the future. Since the body isn’t done developing until the age of 21, nobody knows what their body is meant to look like until they reach this age. If you wait, you can see what you want to change then. I’m not trying to harp on teenagers for wanting to have plastic surgery, I’m just trying to show them the facts behind it all. When I got my surgery, I didn’t know all these hidden effects. But, being more aware, I might have changed my decision. Waiting never hurts anyone, especially when your life could potentially be at risk. 

Awareness can be raised on this topic by exposure. Currently, there are no major studies that show the true effects of plastic surgery on teenagers (Our Bodies Ourselves). If we can expose these factors to teenagers, maybe they will second guess their decision of getting plastic surgery. Yes, this might lose some money for the plastic surgery industry, but at least young girls and boys will be safe. Industries could even hang posters in their offices to show the hidden effects of plastic surgery on young girls.

Another way to battle this issue and raise awareness would to make doctors operate at a certain age. Currently, most doctors offer an objective judgement on whether they think a teenager is ready for plastic surgery (Our Bodies Ourselves). If a teenager believes they are ready, the doctor might not think they are. There is a minimum age limit for breast implants, but this seems to be the only age restriction. If more are put in place, we can stop the ideas of getting such large surgeries at such a young age. 

Although plastic surgery at a young age isn’t a big issue in society, is it in the medical world. This issue needs to be on the rise because it is becoming a bigger and bigger issue since 2013 when it started. I think people in their teenage years should not be allowed to endure any plastic surgery since their bodies are still developing and haven’t been able to fully mature, especially because generally, the human body doesn’t quit developing until around the age of 18-21, depending on the person. This issue is on the rise because more and more teenagers are turning to plastic surgery because of the corrupt culture that we currently live in today.
