The social acceptability of the plastic surgery is changing. Younger people are requesting various procedures like liposuction and breast augmentation. Recently, a 13 year old Long Island girl had a nose job because she was bullied by her classmates. This presents the question, at what age is a person too young for plastic surgery and liposuction?
When considering plastic surgery, people have to have the maturity to take proper care of themselves after the procedure. Some surgeries require more aftercare than others and it is up to the surgeon to assess if the patient has the right level of maturity and that varies for each individual.
For more invasive procedures, that alters features like the nose and breasts a patient should wait until they are finished with growth. A young person continues to grow until at least 15 for females and 17 for males, and any surgeries that change growing features should be delayed until then.
Certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Semira Bayati, interviewed in the OC Register, stated that he has performed liposuction on girls at 15 and boys at 17. He also stated that these young people were thin, but had a genetic predisposition to retain fat certain areas.
It is generally up to parents and a plastic surgeon to decide if their teenager is emotionally mature enough to have plastic surgery or liposuction. When a procedure may prevent long-term psychological damage then a younger person may be a perfect candidate.
