Cosmetic surgery makeovers as graduation gifts

It is not unusual anymore to hear about parents giving out cosmetic surgery certificates to their daughters as graduation gifts. It is happening and every graduation day marks not just the beginning of a new life in the university but also a new set of breasts or a new nose. Parents just love to dole out makeovers as lofty gifts and teens couldn’t be more thrilled.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), teens make up just two percent of the cosmetic surgery patients in the United States. That’s quite a small number to even bother about. But statistics show that from 2002 to 2006, procedures performed on kids ages 13 to 19 nearly doubles to 244,144, which includes 47,000 nose jobs and 9,000 breast augmentations.

According to ASPS president, Dr. Roxanne Guy, nose jobs, breast implants, teeth whitening, skin resurfacing, and liposuction surgery are the ones that make it to the graduate’s wish list. It seems that everyone wants to enter college life with a renewed sense of self-esteem and with lots of self-confidence.

Dr. Guy and other experts unite in pointing out that this desire for teen cosmetic surgery has been fueled by television shows that promote extreme makeovers such as The Swan and Extreme Makeovers. Likewise, the society’s growing acceptance of plastic surgery in general also became the main culprit to this trend.

Teens are generally more aware of plastic surgery options nowadays than say ten years ago. And if their parents are avid supporters of the field, then it is more likely that the teens themselves crave for their own makeovers.

There is something alarming about this new psychological makeup especially if the ones putting in the pressure are the parents themselves. However, cosmetic surgery should be a decision solely made by the patient and not by anybody else. This, a plastic surgeon should make it a point to ensure.