With cosmetic surgery being evident through celebrity images and reality television shows, the increase in teenage cosmetic surgery is hardly surprising. Here is an overview.

Teenage Cosmetic Surgery

Cosmetic surgery is extremely popular these days. Many people choose to have cosmetic surgery to enhance their appearance, or create a younger look. Most of these patients are older, and have become discontented with the way they look; cosmetic surgery gives them an option to change their physical structure. However, more and more young people are looking towards cosmetic procedures to alter their looks. Teenage cosmetic surgery is becoming more common, but it's definitely a controversial field.

There are two general types of cosmetic surgery that are performed: reconstructive and cosmetic. Most surgeons will gladly perform reconstructive procedures on teenagers - for instance, to correct a cleft palate (harelip), repair a scar, or fix a broken nose. These surgeries, while they do have some cosmetic benefits, are not done purely for vanity's sake and so are medically important. But today, some teenage cosmetic surgery patients are hoping for more superficial procedures.

Most cosmetic surgeons will not perform rhinoplasty (a nose job) or breast augmentation on teenagers under the age of 18. This is because the human body is still growing before that age, and what a teenager may see as a problem at age 15, for example, may resolve itself before adulthood. Young girls who think that they have breasts that are too small may develop further, and when their faces mature, they may "grow into" their nose. Liposuction is also generally frowned upon; a better way for a teenager to shape their body is through diet and exercise.

There are some cosmetic procedures that are done as teenage cosmetic surgery. If a young boy has gynocomastia (male breast tissue) caused by puberty, a cosmetic surgeon may remove this tissue for the teenage boy before full adulthood. Other procedures may be done during the teen years as well, and most of them are done after the doctor has made a determination of the patient's maturity. These include otoplasty (pinning back the ears) and dermabrasion (for acne). Non surgical procedures that are completed by cosmetic surgeons and cosmeticians include laser hair removal and injections to reduce scarring.

While teenage cosmetic surgery is not the norm, there are still many young men and women who want procedures done during this time of life. 335,000 teenagers had cosmetic surgery in 2003, up from 306,000 in the year 2000. Depending on what procedure is to be completed, and the patient's emotional maturity, doctors make decisions on whether or not the surgery will be well tolerated.