Plastic Surgery: An Epidemic Amongst Young People?
If you read about plastic surgery in Hollywood, it seems like every 19-year-old singer, actress or actor has gone in for cosmetic rejuvenation.
According to the professional plastic surgery organizations, American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), somewhere around 224,000 patients between 13 and 18 had received some type of invasive or non-invasive surgical rejuvenation in 2007.
“There’s a common belief among the public that a large percentage of young adults and teens are having cosmetic surgery,” said ASPS president Scott Spear, M.D., chief of plastic surgery, Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
According to the ASAPS, the top procedures for teens include:
- Laser hair removal
- Microdermabrasion
- Chemical peel
- Otoplasty (ear pinning)
- Rhinoplasty
ASPS statistics agree, but find about 10 percent of teen patients undergoing chin augmentation and four percent having dermabrasion.
Breast augmentations for 18 and 19 years are counted separately with about 10,500 young women having the procedure.
To find out how many young people were really having plastic surgery procedures, researchers reporting in the March, 2008 issue of Plastic and Reconconstructive Surgery surveyed 559 college women, ages 17 to 24, at six U.S. universities.
Results? Five percent of the study group had some form of cosmetic surgery. Most common was chemical peel, followed by breast augmentation, nose reshaping and breast reduction.
Said David Sarwer, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at the University of
Pennsylvania, the lead author of the study: “The study found the more a young woman cares about her physical appearance; the more likely she will view cosmetic surgery positively.” (Read more about the cosmetic surgery survey)
The study’s conclusion? No cosmetic surgery epidemic among young people found!
admin @ April 2, 2009