Teenagers are having plastic surgery. The numbers vary a little, particularly with what you would qualify as “plastic surgery,” as some are not surgical procedures (like lasers, microdermabrasion, and peels).
Regardless it seems to be a trend. This blog is not to discuss the psychological aspects. Today is just about numbers. The two groups I will cite are the ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgeons, which you must be a board certified plastic surgeon to join) and ASAPS (the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery). Their numbers vary a little, but you will get the idea.
TEENS= Kids 18 years old and under.
According to ASAPS reviews (I fill this survey out yearly), the number of teen plastic surgery procedures went from 60,000 in 1997 to nearly 225,000 in 2003. ASPS quotes in 2009 there were 210,000 procedures. The numbers appear to correlate.
The most common nonsurgical things:
- chemical peels and microdermabrasion to treat acne
- laser hair removal,
The most common surgical procedures:
- nose jobs,
- male breast reduction
- ear surgery,
- breast reduction,
- breast enlargement,
- liposuction to remove excess body fat.
The exact numbers vary in the different studies, so I won’t quote them here. In general, the nonsurgical peels and microdermabrasion for acne are in the 70,000+ range, and rhinoplasty is in the 15,000 range. The rest of the surgeries go down in number from there.
In order to do surgery as a teen under 18, you can’t consent yourself. As a minor, your parent needs to be with you and consent for you until you are 18. 18 year olds can consent for themselves, though I would surmise most parents are involved. Most teens don’t tend to have piles of money lying around, and they need someone to care for them around the time of the procedure.
So what does this increasing teen plastic surgery trend mean? We must keep in mind plastic surgery procedures for ADULTS went up significantly from 1997. They estimate cosmetic procedures have grown by 147%. See my blog on the recent ASAPS statistics for 2009.
But teens getting many things done. Why? Is it that cosmetic procedures are run of the mill? ( I’m getting my haircut, going to soccer practice, and getting my nose done next week?) Is it the numbers haven’t changed much in the surgery arena, but more in the nonsurgical procedures such as peels and lasers? Is there an acne epidemic? Are we running out of gift ideas for graduation (who needs another Ipod?)? Are we seeing a generation of children who have poor body image? Are media distortions and airbrushing causing unrealistic expectation? Are nonplastic surgeons who call themselves surgeons operating on anyone they can without looking at the psyche behind it?
My thoughts on the trends in another blog….What are your thoughts?