Teens undergo the knife to boost flagging self-esteem

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Teens undergo the knife to boost flagging self-esteem

Submitted by Crystal on Sun, 01/25/2009 - 06:49.

New York: When 18-year-old Kristen of River Edge, New Jersey, began to develop curves at 15, she was disappointed that breasts didn’t follow. “They never grew,” said Kristen. “I didn’t feel like a woman.”
And, in fact, at 15, Kristen wasn’t yet a woman. But to someone raised in a culture of celebrity obsession and makeover TV shows—not to mention the fact that when Kristen was 16, her mother and older sister had received breast implants—she believed a shapely bust line was her due. So, last May, as a high school graduation gift from her parents, Kristen underwent breast augmentation surgery with saline implants, approved by the Food and Drug Administration for people 18 and older.
“I just wanted to look normal, and now I do,” said Kristen, whose family asked that their last name not be used. To the rigours of teenage grooming—waxing, plucking, body training and skin care regimens that were once the province of adults—add cosmetic surgery, which is fast becoming a mainstream option among teenagers. But with this popularity, some experts are concerned that the underlying motivation for many of the young people seeking surgery—namely, self-esteem—is being disregarded in the drive to look, as Kristen puts it, “normal.”
The latest figures from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery show that the number of cosmetic surgical procedures performed on youths 18 or younger more than tripled over a 10-year period, to 205,119 in 2007 from 59,890 in 1997. This includes even more controversial procedures: liposuctions rose to 9,295 from 2,504, and breast augmentations increased nearly six-fold, to 7,882 from 1,326. (The latter two procedures have been associated with the deaths of two 18-yearolds: Amy Fledderman who died of fat embolism syndrome after undergoing liposuction, and Stephanie Kuleba who died from complications because of anaesthesia used during a breast augmentation.)
At this point, the recession is apparently having little effect on teenage cosmetic surgery. While figures aren’t available for 2008, reports from doctors suggest that parents are keeping their commitments for procedures that are covered by insurance only if considered reconstructive, and that can be costly if they aren’t covered. The most frequent procedure, otoplasty, or ear reshaping, costs an average of $3,000, while rhinoplasty costs $4,500, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
“If parents have bought into the concept, if they’re supportive of a procedure for their child, they seem to be going through with it despite the economy,” said Dr Alan Gold, a plastic surgeon in New York.

NYT NEWS SERVICE