In the not-too-distant past, cosmetic plastic surgery was associated primarily with aging Hollywood actresses and socialites who wanted to look younger. In more recent years, however, cosmetic surgery of various sorts has gone mainstream as a common part of the popular culture. The identifying URL of one website, "yestheyrefake," expresses the degree of social acceptance that cosmetic plastic surgery has attained.
A striking current trend, however, is the increased desire of teenagers for cosmetic plastic surgery. In 2000, slightly more than 300,000 such operations were performed on teenagers in the United States (Izenberg). While still a modest seven percent of all plastic surgeries performed, this is a large number of operations on teenagers, and an indication of the degree to which plastic surgery has become part of teenage culture. Nor is this trend confined to the United States. Cosmetic surgery -- particularly on the eyes -- has become very popular in South Korea and elsewhere in Asia (Ko).
According to the website of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS), the most common operations on teenagers are:
* Orthognathic surgery, or alignment of the jaw,
* Mentoplasty, or chin augmentation,
* Otoplasty, or "pinning back" protruding ears or correcting other ear deformities,
* Dermabrasion, or "sanding off" severe acne scars, and
* Blenphroplasty, or eyelid surgery.
Other common procedures include minimization of facial scars, laser removal of birthmarks, and general reconstructive surgery. Not included in this particular list is rhinoplasty, or nose reshaping, the so-called nose job. This procedure is however mentioned in other sources (e.g., Izenberg). Certain procedures are specifically not recommended for teenagers, such as breast enhancement (natural breast growth sometimes occurs relatively late) and liposuction (Hudson).
What are we to make of this g...