minimum age for plastic surgery

Every parent wants their child to feel confident and proud of who they are, inside and out. That’s why it can be heartbreaking to hear your son or daughter ask for plastic surgery – it tells you that they are unhappy with an aspect of their appearance and are actively looking for a way to change it. While it’s clear how much a person can be held back by constant self-consciousness, parents understandably have concerns about going the plastic surgery route as well. After all, elective surgery is still a medical procedure, so the risks and benefits need to be weighed carefully. So, as a parent, how do you know if your child or teenager is old enough for you to consider cosmetic surgery as an option? The answer, of course, depends on the patient and the procedure, but here are some guidelines about the most common procedures for teenagers and children.

Otoplasty

Otoplasty improves the appearance of the ears, primarily for patients whose ears protrude farther from their head than they would like them to. Ear surgery accounted for 29% of the cosmetic surgeries performed on patients who were 18 years old or younger in 2014, and this procedure also has a particularly young age limit. Otoplasty involves reshaping the cartilage which gives an ear its shape, and because a child’s cartilage becomes firmer with age, the procedure can be performed at any time after the cartilage is developed enough to hold its new shape – usually around the age of four to six years old. However, ear surgery can also be performed effectively on many adults, so if you’re concerned about the appearance of your own ears, your window for otoplasty hasn’t closed.

Rhinoplasty

As a close second to otoplasty, nose surgery also made up 29% of plastic surgeries for patients aged 18 or younger in 2014. For teens who want to enhance the balance of their facial features by improving the appearance of a nose that is large or undesirably shaped, rhinoplasty can typically be performed after the nose reaches its adult size at the age of 15-17. For patients who are seeking surgery to correct a deviated septum or structural breathing problem, these factors will also be considered before determining when rhinoplasty is a viable option.

Breast Surgery (for males and females)

This category encompasses breast augmentation and breast reduction for girls as well as male breast reduction. For girls with excessively large breasts, reduction surgery is most successful when it is performed after the patient’s breasts have finished growing in her late teens or early adult years. Male breast reduction is a common procedure among teenage boys who suffer from gynecomastia (the development of female-looking breasts on a male), which often begins in adolescence due to hormones, genetics, weight fluctuations, or certain medications. As with female breast reduction, male breast reduction is best performed when the breasts are no longer growing. For patients seeking breast augmentation, on the other hand, the minimum ages are more specific due to FDA guidelines – saline breast implants are only approved for use in patients 18 years or older, while silicone implants may only be used for patients who are at least 22 years of age.

Making a decision about your child’s plastic surgery should not be taken lightly, and while information like this is helpful, it’s only one step of the process. When you schedule a consultation with me, Dr. John LeRoy, I’ll take extra care to assess your child’s expectations, maturity, and readiness to determine whether the procedure and the timing are right for them. To learn more about the cosmetic surgery services I offer, explore my website and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.