28th December 2015
Rhinoplasty surgery for teens
Rhinoplasty surgery and nose jobs for teens
A nose job is one the most common cosmetic procedures amongst teens.
The media shows that cosmetic surgery is getting more and more popular among teenagers in the recent years. Yet, this isn’t representative. In fact, data shows a reduction in cosmetic surgeries for teenagers.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) publishes data that shows that the number of cosmetic surgeries done for the teens decreased. The has actually come down over the years, in contrast to the media reports suggesting otherwise.
ASPS reported that teenagers had:
- 220,077 procedures in 2002 representing 3.2% of the total
- 178,041 procedures in 2006 representing 1.6% of the total
- 131,877 procedures in 2011 representing 1.4% of the total
- 130,502 procedures in 2012 representing 1.3% of the total.
The reasons teenagers seek rhinoplasty don’t differ to the reasons adults do. They want to improve their appearance to increase their self-esteem.
Different to adults, teens feel more pressure to fit in with others, rather than stand out. Finding whether a teen would like to have plastic surgery for themselves or to meet anyone else’s expectations is important. Further, it is important that the teen understands the risks and limitations of rhinoplasty. There is increasing emphasis on looks in this age group as social media and selfies relate appearance to popularity.
Dr. Gabrielle Caswell, President of The Cosmetic Physicians Society of Australasia said,
“Children should not receive cosmetic or surgical procedures of any kind unless there are compelling medical or psychological reasons to do so.”
Most rhinoplasty surgeons agree that they should perform only essential surgeries on teenagers. They also agree they should conduct rhinoplasty consultations in the presence of a parent. Even if the teen is above the legal age of consent, many surgeons recommend parental supervision. Teenagers must take time to consider the procedure.
Sometimes, a rhinoplasty surgeon may detect that a teenager has psychological problems associated with their desire for rhinoplasty. In these cases, they should recommend a psychologist to consult with the teen. The answer may not be surgery.
Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/beauty/nose-job/rhinoplasty-teens
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4411597/
