Because summer vacation can last from six weeks to three months, this is the popular time for teenagers to have plastic surgical procedures. Obviously, having these cosmetic procedures in the summer allow for more time to heal, without interfering with school, and giving teens a chance to do this without friends or classmates finding out. Plastic surgery in the summer allows for students get a brand new start when the fall semester starts. There are many reasons why a teenager would want to have plastic surgery in the first place. Some teens are bullied by some facial feature and decide to fix that problem. These procedures can include breast augmentations, nose jobs, lip fillers, and more. In the recent five years, teen requests for plastic surgery has risen 20 percent.

One 17-year-old girl who refuses to be identified, decided she wanted her breast implant surgical procedure kept private, so she opted for having it done during summer vacation. She wore a A cup side and wanted to wear a small C cup. The girl believed people wouldn’t be able to tell if it was a breast implant or the natural course of nature, and her secret would be safe.

A 16 year-old girl played sports, such as soccer, softball, and basketball from the time she was 8-years-old and ended up breaking her nose, becoming all bumpy and mangled up. She was bullied for the way her nose looked. She decided to get a nose job, over the summer, to straighten out her nose.

Jen was 15 when she had plastic surgery done on her nose. After being bullied about her large nose, she tried wearing padded bras to avert the attention her nose was getting. Finally, she decided to improve her life by getting a nose job.

Boys are also opting for plastic surgery. In the case of Jon, he was troubled by his large elephant-like ears and always being teased for them. At first, he decided to grow his hair long to cover his ears. At age 17, he and his mother opted for him getting plastic surgery, and now he couldn’t be happier.

Many plastic surgeons believe the rise in plastic surgery among teens today is because of their celebrity role models. Kylie Jenner, for example, underwent lip injections to puff out her lips when she was 17.

Hip hop sensation, Iggy Azalea displayed her new fuller lips and larger breasts on the cover of this month’s issue of Seventeen magazine. Doctors screen prospective patients to find out whether they really need plastic surgery or copy their favorite celebrity.

What types of procedures are most popular amongst teens?

To understand what types of procedures teens are requesting most often it is important to realize that the motivation for plastic surgery procedures amongst teenage patients is often different to that of more mature patients. Whilst older patients are often seeking out plastic surgeons to regain their youthful appearance or to enhance their looks in order to stand out from the crowd, teenagers are more likely to want plastic surgery to feel and look more like their peers, to achieve a more “normal” appearance. Feeling the sense of belonging to a group, being accepted and loved by one’s friends is especially important during our teenage years when we get our sense of self largely by comparing ourselves to others. As a result, plastic surgery procedures requested by teenagers are often aimed at making their look more symmetrical and balanced in their facial features as well as their bodies. One of the most popular plastic surgery procedures is rhinoplasty or nose-jobs in which the size, shape and functionality of the nose can be changed giving a more harmonious and balanced look to the patient’s facial features. Breast augmentation is also a firm favorite among teenagers as well as skin procedures such as microdermabrasion aimed at reducing severe acne scars and evening out skin tone. Another large group of plastic surgery procedures favored by younger patients is aimed at correcting functionality, allowing patients to go about their normal day to day activities and join in sports groups or other teams that would have been embarrassing or even painful prior to surgery. Breast asymmetry, deviated septum and even urinary incontinence can affect teenage patients and plastic surgery procedures such as breast augmentation/reduction, rhinoplasty or vaginoplasty can mean an enormous improvement in patients’ lives. Prominent, protruding ears is another area of major concern to teenagers, which can be treated with a procedure known as Otoplasty, but commonly referred to as ear pinning.

What to consider before a plastic surgery procedure?

As with any patient thinking about plastic surgery it is important to pinpoint what exactly is bothersome for teenage patients. The best way forward is to talk to a Beverly Hills board-certified plastic surgeon such as Dr. Warren Lent as they will have the knowledge and experience to talk about options for each individual patient. Though many people appear to be experts on plastic surgery no one knows plastic surgery procedures better than plastic surgeons themselves so it is important to consult with a doctor before deciding on a procedure. Whilst plastic surgery might be a solution to some concerns teenage patients might have, it is important to realize that teenagers are still expected to grow and change in their body shape and even facial features. Surgeons might advise to wait a few years with certain procedures in order to achieve the best and longest lasting results. In addition, some procedures incur considerable down-time following surgery and it simply might not be the best time for teenage patients to take several weeks off from their studies. Finally, if patients are under 18 years old parents or legal guardians will always need to give their consent for any plastic surgery procedure. Their support is also needed prior to the operation and during the recovery period so it makes sense for parents to be on board with the surgery plan.

The dangers of plastic surgery for teens

Teenage patients can be excellent candidates for plastic surgery procedures. Usually they suffer less from underlying medical conditions and often recuperate much faster than adults. However, it is important to keep in mind that any surgery, including all plastic surgery procedures comes with its own set of risks and possible complications. In addition, just as with more mature patients, plastic surgery can have a profound impact on the teenage patient’s life but it is important to have realistic expectations of what plastic surgery can achieve. Beverly Hills board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Warrant Lent will prepare you for the procedure so that you can enjoy the best possible results – even at a younger age.

Most patients seeking out plastic surgery as a solution would like to appear more youthful as they often feel that their looks don’t match the age they feel themselves to be on the inside. It is important to remember that cosmetic problems associated with aging such as loss of skin elasticity, wrinkles, changed facial contours as well as other adverse effects can be reversed and the appearance dramatically improved. This is certainly true for older patients too. When preparing for a plastic surgery procedure the patient’s health is carefully assessed to decide the best course of action. While health factors should be taken into consideration when calculating the risk of plastic surgery, these do not only include the age of the patient. In fact, recent studies show that the age of the prospective plastic surgery patient is only very minimally relevant to the imposed risks of plastic surgery procedures and other health indicators can be much more influential on the outcome of the plastic surgery procedure.

It is vital, regardless of age, to have a consultant with a fully board certified plastic surgeon who can identify any possible risks. Dr. Warren Lent is a fully qualified Beverly Hills plastic surgeon and has a wealth of experience to help guide patients through all plastic surgery procedures.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, a prestigious organization with over 7,000 US board-certified plastic surgeons among its members including Dr. Warren Lent, recently saw a presentation on the role of age in all plastic surgery procedures. The conference’s findings are of immense importance as the ASPS is widely considered to be the definitive authority in all issues concerning both reconstructive and aesthetic plastic surgery.

The conference’s key speaker, Dr. Yezhelyev MD, PhD, Department of Plastic Surgery, Vanderbilt University in Nashville said: “With increasing number of elderly patients seeking aesthetic surgery there is a need to better understand the complications of cosmetic procedures unique to this population. Our study demonstrated that patients over 65 years old can safely undergo cosmetic procedures with a complications rate similar to younger patients when surgery is performed by board certified plastic surgeon.”

The study was conducted by reviewing over five years of patient information and carefully calculating all the risk factors involved during the plastic surgery procedures. They found that there was no significant difference between the plastic surgery procedures conducted on the older patients (average age of 69) and younger patients (average age of 39). While complications occurred in 1.84% of the younger patients’ plastic surgery procedures, this number was 1.94% with older patients, statistically an insignificant difference between the two groups. The study showed that even patients in their eighties had a very low rate of post-surgical complications with only 2.2% of all plastic surgery procedures resulting in post-surgical complications.

Another interesting point of the study was that the even higher occurrence of other health risks among older patients, such as higher BMI and diabetes, had little influence on the success rate of plastic surgery procedures. What this means is that even though older patients are more likely to suffer from diabetes or have problem managing their weight, their plastic surgery procedures were just as successful as those of younger plastic surgery patients. Indeed the only plastic surgery procedure in which there was a significant enough difference between the older and younger patients’ surgery results was abdominoplasty, where 5.4% of older patients developed post-surgery complications as opposed to the 3.9% of younger patients. Even these numbers are fairly low and show that plastic surgery procedures can be successfully performed on patients of almost all ages.

So does that mean that all plastic surgery procedures are safe for everyone? It is important to remember and fully understand the risks of any plastic surgery procedure as still apply. However, the key for a successful procedure lies in choosing the right plastic surgeon. All the statistics and number of the study come from plastic surgery procedures performed by US board certified plastic surgeons. This means that all the patients who were included in the study had the absolute best care possible. Though their age did not influence the risks of plastic surgery, the outcome of the procedures would have been very different with a less skilled, less experienced surgeon. The results of plastic surgery are certainly important but the safety and wellbeing of the patient is always the single most crucial concern for the plastic surgeon. Plastic surgery patients come in all ages but all patients deserve the best of care, attention and the assurance of a well of experience and unparalleled skill. US board certified plastic surgeons are the best trained medical professionals in their field who will always aim to provide the most aesthetically pleasing results whilst keeping in mind the patient’s safety and overall wellbeing.

Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon Dr. Warren Lent is a member of both the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery. As a result all Beverly Hills plastic surgery patients can be sure that they are receiving the best possible care.