Movies, billboards, magazine covers and every other type of mass media has an ideal image of a woman: thin with flawless skin, pearly whites and large breasts. Teenage girls are subjected to this “perfect” image multiple times a day through the media and there is even more peer pressure at school to fit into this “perfect” image. More and more, high school senior girls are wanting breast implants as a graduation gift, although no research has been done to crunch the numbers. Teenagers are still developing their bodies and brains so even though a girl may want breast implants at age 15, she could possibly not want implants once her breasts are done maturing because they grew a cup size and she's content with that natural size.
In 2005 the American Society of Plastic Surgeons report that more than 330,000 adolescents 18 years old and younger underwent plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures. Breast augmentation was one of the most popular surgeries, but most of the 330,000 procedures were nonsurgical, such as chemical peels.
Teenagers are most likely to be dissatisfied with their appearance; however; older teenagers feel better about their bodies than younger teenagers, according to a study done in 1989. The study also concluded features that reflected the culturally determined stereotypes, such as large breasts, were the ones with which the teenagers were most dissatisfied. Although the FDA approves breast augmentation for women 18 years and older there is no legal restrictions and enforcement of the procedure.
Complications
There have been no studies or trials involving risks of breast augmentation surgery for patients younger than 18 years of age so the risk are unknown. However, there are many complications that can occur when undergoing a breast augmentation, no matter what age. The FDA states 40 percent of women with breast implants will have at least one serious complication within three years after the procedure. They include:
- Additional surgery every five to 10 years
- Breast pain, numbness or hardness of nipples
- Less likely to have enough milk to breastfeed
- Can obscure up to 50 percent of tumors during a mammography
- Can get infections leading to toxic shock syndrome or amputation
- Breasts tend to be saggy and stretched out if the implants are taken out
Death Rates
According to the National Cancer Institute, women who have breast implants have two times more the risk of death from brain cancer, three times more the risk of death from lung cancer and four to five times the risk of suicide compared to other plastic surgery patients of the same age.
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