subject: How Young Is Too Young For Liposuction? [print this page] Liposuction is a big and constantly growing field. The surgery is performed on hundreds of thousands of Americans every year, and the variety of people who undergo the procedure (which is also called lipoplasty and suction lipectomy) seems to be constantly widening as well.
The last decades has seen the surgery move from being merely a procedure reserved for rich, upper class women to being something that a much wider variety of people are interested in. A rise in the popularity of cosmetic surgery financing has led to an increase in members of the middle class undergoing the surgery. More men are undergoing the process as well, which shows a shift in the gender demographics of the procedure.
As the surgery grows, there is a small percentage of liposuction recipients who are very young. According to one website, lipoplasty is one of the most popular surgeries for people under the age of 18.
When one thinks back to one's teenage years, one can't help but think that of course teenagers want cosmetic surgeries. It's a very rare person who didn't, at some point during puberty find themselves too fat or thin, too curvy or too flat. Most people remember adolescence as an awkward age.
However, there is also reason why it might be wisest to wait until after one's teenage years to get lipoplasty. Perhaps one of the largest is simply that the body is still growing and changing. Many people can look back at their teen body angst and smile, because a lot of the problems went away with time. If a person is simply going through a slightly chubby time during puberty, acting to surgically remove fat could lead to unnecessary surgery. Also, if a person's body is still changing significantly, the post-surgical development could lead to an unnatural look later in life.
Similarly, it may be wisest to wait until the body is fully developed before deciding to undergo invasive elective surgery. It is possible that there could be some side effects that are more common when the surgery is performed on young people.
Wherever possible, it is best for people to lose weight naturally: through diet and exercise. This gives a person a number of health benefits, whereas the effects of a lipectomy are purely aesthetic. With teens and children, this rule may be especially applicable. Before turning to drastic measures such as cosmetic surgery, parents and children should seriously evaluate their life. Are there any ways in which greater levels of activity could be introduced into the child's life? Are there changes in the family's eating habits which could help the child to lose weight? If families try this sort of approach first, they will most likely reap health benefits for their children.
