http://news.yahoo.com/video/health-...o=24902719


Saw this on my homepage and thought i'd share. What do you think of kids getting plastic surgery? Is it justifiable when a deformity is involved? Even then, are there some that should be fixed and some that shouldn't? Only after a certain age?

Personally, for this particular little girl...I don't know. I thought she was cute before, but could see where the one ear could be seen as needing to be fixed, the one that curled in. I thought they looked kind of weird after the surgery, but that may be because it was so fresh still. I don't think it will keep her from getting made fun of, now they'll all tease for having had plastic surgery.

I think only if it's a damaging deformity/medically necessary...not just because they get made fun of or don't like the way something looks. Not at that age, anyway. Once they are an adult, if they still want the surgery done, then fine. JMO.

I think that's a really sticky situation. I understand her parents wanting to fix her ear and her wanting it to be fixed so that she can be like everyone else but I'm not sure I agree with their decision. Everyone has unique and special aspects and her parents could have viewed it that way instead of seeing it as something that needed fixed. I thought she was really cute! As far as being bullied, you (as a parent) can never ensure that this won't happen. Kids get teased for so many things and I think it's better to teach your kids how to stick up for themselves instead of teaching them that they should change themselves to please others. I'm not really sure they are sending the right message to their kid.

I dunno, maybe my view would change if I were a parent myself :/

My other issue with this is, where is the line? When does it become wrong to change a child's body to become more "normal"? Lipo for obese kids? Rhinoplasty for big noses? Breast implants for slow developing girls? And then the other question. . . how young is too young? At what point is it seen as ok for parents to make these decisions? I think this is another one of those slippery slopes that we should steer clear of!

When I was in 9th grade a boy in my school got his ears pinned back, they were huge though and he received a lot of cruel comments and jokes about them, he was a lot happier afterwards....it is a fine line though and should be trodden with care

Also I liked the point the news woman made about how we are eager to pay thousands to get teeth fixed..there isn't much difference.

I'll admit I didn't read the article BUT my little sister...who will be 18 in a few months...was born with Bilateral microtia. Basically, she was born without the outer part of her ear but still has everything on the inside. She has had to wear hearing aids her whole life, it has been very difficult for her to learn (when she was 2 she still couldn't speak and my parents were in the middle of a pretty ugly divorce so they were both working their asses off being single parents and trying to get custody. Her form of communication was grunting and pointing and if she got upset, she would scream till her face turned red and would bite herself till she bled) and school was not any easier with bullying. She is the typical teenager now but has this distorted view of herself that she is a "freak" and now feels she has to overcompensate with everything else...have the perfect hips, waist, chest, be the most beautiful and buy all the top brand clothes...just to fit in. Its sad b/c now she is so conceited its hard to even talk to her. She REFUSES to cut her hair b/c short hair means people seeing her ears. She had surgery once before and the doctor only made the matter worse. Her new "ear" is about to fall off and is growing hair...when she finished the surgery, she had two weeks off of school for recovery and then had to wear this this strap across her head and under her chin that held this "cup" in place that had a small hole in the middle for air to circulate through. This was a necessary procedure since it was keeping her behind in school and the school decided to put her in the special ed classes...even though she was just not able to HEAR...she could lip read if the teachers spoke clearly and spoke up (she had a hearing aid). My stepmom has had a ton of health issues that has put them in debt and then my brother tried to kill himself and was diagnosed as chemically depressed a few years ago so his medical needs became forefront but my sister is still waiting and hearing her talk about her ears is heartbreaking. She is definitely scarred from this and whether its true or not, my stepmom has my sister believing she was born this way b/c of FAS...fetal alcohol syndrome. Side affects include slower development emotionally, intellectually and can cause physical deformities to name a few and is caused by alcohol/drug abuse during pregnancy.

So when there is a medical reason behind it, yes, I think a child SHOULD get surgery...not to appease their peers but to make them feel better about themselves and improve whatever is wrong. But hey, this is a subject VERY close to home for me so I may not be looking at it objectively.

When a medical reason is involved, yes. Other reasons, I think judging yes or no would be done on a case by case basis for me.

Posted By Orion on 14 Apr 2011 09:34 PM
When a medical reason is involved, yes. Other reasons, I think judging yes or no would be done on a case by case basis for me.

This.   I was bullied in HS for simply not being willing to be like everyone else.  I dont know if I'd get plastic surgery for my kids, it all depends.  Now if its something like cleft palate there's no thinking ya know?

Posted By Sharkbait on 14 Apr 2011 06:38 PM
Also I liked the point the news woman made about how we are eager to pay thousands to get teeth fixed..there isn't much difference.

this is how I see it. I want to protect my children and i can see why her mom did it. In this case i see it being fine but it doesnt mean that i'd agree with a child getting a nose job, etc.  Its really a case by case kind of thing. This article talked about it very well and i think many moms will agree with them, adults are the worst bullies. 

I don't think a 15 yr old needs a boob job, but I do think a cosmetic procedures can be positive change for a person. I had terrible stretch marks all over my stomach, legs, and butt from being very over weight as a child. I wanted to be a lifeguard like the rest of my friends, but I wouldn't be in a swim suit with the stretch marks. My parents choose elective laser stretch mark removal; it was so freeing and one of the best gifts I was ever given.

Definitely a case by case thing.
Ear pinning has been done for decades and I think for good reasons. Of course when they are little everybody's like "oh, it looks so CUTE" but honestly, who wants to look "cute" like that above age 3? I wouldn't. To me procedures like this are completely different from say a boob job which in my book is definitely wrong for anyone younger than at least 18.
I don't know, to me this case feels as little like "plastic surgery" as earrings feel like a "piercing", although obviously both technically are, know what I mean?

That little girl was waay to young. Even with this "deformity", doctors informed the parent that when she gets older the ear would turn out as normal. She jumped the gun waaayy to early considering she is only 7 YEARS OLD! Holy cow! She has plenty of years to grow into those ears and they're not even that bad. They're actually pretty cute, IMO. Yes, kid's won't see it that way because they're kids. Kids will poke fun at anyone for anything. Now that the ears are fixed, the kids will probably find something else. The freckles, how tall (or short) she is. When I was younger I got teased constantly about how short I was and that I had a big head.

Personally, I think it is crazy for parents allowing their children to have plastic surgery so young. They haven't fully developed yet. There is no telling what they will grow up or "grow into". Personally, doctors should know better not to give children plastic surgery until puberty has full reached but for some it is just money in their pockets.

Orthodontics is a different. I don't see hwo orthodontics is comestic, in my opinon. People who have crooked teeth need to have them fixed for other reasons than superfical ones. If the teeth are messed up enough, it could interefere with proper hygeine which could worsen dental health in the future.

Orthodontics is a different. I don't see hwo orthodontics is comestic, in my opinon. People who have crooked teeth need to have them fixed for other reasons than superfical ones. If the teeth are messed up enough, it could interefere with proper hygeine which could worsen dental health in the future.

This. DS is going to have to have braces before the end of the year. I am definitely not shelling out the 2K just so he can have perfect teeth. He actually has to have the braces because some of his adult teeth have not dropped due to not having enough space between his teeth.

IMO 7 is to old to have this surgery. It wasn't a life/death situation and it could have waited. Like WeeOne stated, the other kids will most likely find something else to pick on her about. While I feel for the little girl, I would not put my kids through surgery because they were bullied.

As for things like boob jobs, nose jobs or lipo... absolutely not. Once they are adults they can do what they want. But not as children or teenagers.

MO 7 is to old to have this surgery.

Young. She's to young to have this surgery.

I had a medically necessary nose job as a teenager. I was in an abusive relationship, my nose got broke, and it caused problems. For my health, my parents elected to get the nose job. It did change the shape of my nose but not drastically. With all the problems I had if it had been my child I would do it as well. So if it is medically necessary than yes get it done.

Now a 16 yo getting a boob job because she has smaller breasts or something along those lines is ridiculous.

I had a medically necessary nose job as a teenager

In my eyes if its medically necessary its different. That is completely understandable.

Medicaly necessary is totally different from cosmetic. And orthodontics I dont consider cosmetics, as a PP explained, oral hygeine could be worsened and then you have probably have to spend even more to fix it. I got 4 of my wisdom teeth romoved [over 18 though] and I did it because if the teeth had grown in they would have crowded the rest of my teeth and caused me a lot of pain, so it was get the teeth removed, or wait, deal with a lot of pain, get the teeth removed, and get braces. No brainer.

I personally wouldnt allow my child to get cosmetic surgery, because the body is still developing and you never know it might correct itself. Yes kids can be cruel, but so can adults, and not everything can be fixed with surgery. Kids will make fun of you[general] for the most ridiculous things, in elementary school I was made fun of because of my name, and switched to going by my first name in middle school. It was to the point that I wanted to change my name when I was older, because it was different. Now I love my name, because its different. And lots of people tell me how pretty it is, lol.

Nose jobs, I can understand, if its needed, because DH is going to have to get surgery for a deviated septum that caused his to have sever nose bleeds when he was a child, he got a vein cauterized, but it was only a temporary fix. 16 year olds getting boob jobs is the dumbest thing I have ever heard though, this is one thing my sister and I get in huge fights over, because she wants to get one [shes 18 now though] and I keep telling her to wait, she wants to be a C, and since I am a C, this has made it worse for her, but I didnt even get that big until I turned 21, and she wants to get it done right away now because Im bigger than her. I dont want to offend anyone here if they have gotten boob jobs, but I dont get the whole 'it will make me feel better about myself' thing. Possibly because my sister has tried to explain this to me, and all it sounds like is 'they will get me more attention from guys'. But maybe that is just her. Im into psychology, and I just think anyone considering cosmetic surgery should talk to a therapist before they do something like that, because there are easier, less costly and less painful ways to boost your self-esteem. Ugh, sorry for the rant, I get carried away, lol.

Posted By EchoesForAnswers on 19 Apr 2011 12:51 AM

I dont want to offend anyone here if they have gotten boob jobs, but I dont get the whole 'it will make me feel better about myself' thing. Possibly because my sister has tried to explain this to me, and all it sounds like is 'they will get me more attention from guys'. But maybe that is just her. Im into psychology, and I just think anyone considering cosmetic surgery should talk to a therapist before they do something like that, because there are easier, less costly and less painful ways to boost your self-esteem.

Just going with the OT for a second:
Coming from someone who had been dreaming of breast augmentation since I was 18 or so but haven't had it done yet - I strongly believe that it would boos my self-esteem to actually have boobs. And not for the male attention (I am taken, and he's perfectly fine with the boobies). Of course I can't say yet how much it will actually do for my self-esteem (will let you know once I had surgery, ha) but I'm very sure that it would help make me more confident - which therapy did only do to a small extent.

Posted By SJ on 19 Apr 2011 07:30 AM

Just going with the OT for a second:
Coming from someone who had been dreaming of breast augmentation since I was 18 or so but haven't had it done yet - I strongly believe that it would boos my self-esteem to actually have boobs. And not for the male attention (I am taken, and he's perfectly fine with the boobies). Of course I can't say yet how much it will actually do for my self-esteem (will let you know once I had surgery, ha) but I'm very sure that it would help make me more confident - which therapy did only do to a small extent.

This!  After two kids and breastfeeding, I am a very deflated a/b cup (somewhere in between).  DH still loves them (of course he does, he's a man).  I am not happy with them though.  Will I get surgery? I don't know.  Still debating.  I feel if I do, it will be something I do for me, not anyone else.  

As someone who has had multiple reconstructive surgeries and 3 elective ones to correct problems with my hands that were considered cosmetic I can honestly say that I would most probably elect to have surgery for my child if they wanted it.
I was burned as a child and I was horribly teased for my lack of fingernails and the scars. I know that it was not required for my health that they replace those nails and work with the scar tissue but my parents talked to me and opted to have the procedures done. I will forever be grateful to them for letting me choose and standing behind me when all of the people had a negative reaction to a 13 year old getting an elective procedure. It honestly changed so many things about of my life I am not sure I would have been the person I am today without them.

<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 unctuationKerning /> false false false ontGrowAutofit /> MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Plastic surgery is a special type of surgery that can involve both a person's appearance and ability to function. Plastic surgeons strive to improve patients' appearance and self-image through both reconstructive and cosmetic procedures. it's very helpful when <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 unctuationKerning /> false false false ontGrowAutofit /> MicrosoftInternetExplorer4