Dr. John Stratis, a board-certified cosmetic surgeon and breast enhancement specialist at Stratis-Gayner Plastic Surgery, offers a professional viewpoint on the startling trend of mothers encouraging their young daughters to have plastic surgery.
With the onslaught of reports regarding mothers who advocate that their daughters undergo plastic surgery (vanity surgery) and non-surgical facial treatments, such as BOTOX, Dr. Stratis states that this is cause for great concern.
“When I read the recent ABC News report, ‘Human Barbie Gives 7-Year-Old Daughter Liposuction Voucher,’ about a British mother who gave her 7-year-old daughter a voucher for liposuction, I was shocked,” Dr. Stratis said.
The ABC report noted that the mother, known in the United Kingdom as "The Human Barbie," had previously given her daughter a birthday present of a voucher for breast augmentation, which she said her daughter could have when she turns 16.
Although regulations differ in the U.K. concerning breast implants, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that a woman be at least 18 years old to undergo breast augmentation with implants, and 22 years old to have the option of silicone gel implants.
“Before I perform any procedure, I carefully and thoroughly evaluate my patient's health and personal motivations for the surgery,” Dr. Stratis says. “I conduct this analysis to ensure that my patient is physically healthy and also to make sure that her motivations are realistic. If a teenager told me that she wanted a procedure like breast implants, I would talk with her in-depth about her motivation.”
Dr. Stratis considers the procedure to be extremely risky for a teenager. He is also concerned that the mother is sending her daughter a message that future plastic surgery is essential. Along with seeking a teenager’s motivation for a procedure like breast implants, Dr. Stratis states that he would also question the mother’s motivation.
“Mothers should protect their daughters and instill confidence in them,” Dr. Stratis said. “Then they can make sound decisions for themselves when they reach adulthood. A valid reason for plastic surgery for a child might be ear surgery. Children with protruding ears are often ridiculed by their peers, which can hurt their self-esteem.”
In such cases, Dr. Scott Gayner, a board-certified facial plastic surgeon and the other half of Stratis-Gayner Plastic Surgery, would evaluate the child to determine if this procedure was appropriate.
Dr. Stratis is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and served as chief resident at Medical College of Pennsylvania. He focuses on body contouring and breast enhancement procedures. For more information about Drs. Stratis and Gayner, please visit www.focusedforyou.com.
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