East Meets West In Problems Of Youth And Plastic Surgery

We all know the Chinese love plastic and we also know that some Chinese want to look beautiful and lucky, but do you know that plastic surgery is increasing in Chinese middle schoolers?

That’s right, children as young as thirteen – only a small percentage born with congenital deformities – are undergoing cosmetic alterations in China today. According to an interview with Dr. Chen Jianfei in China’s China Daily, the most popular procedures for Chinese teens and tweens are liposuction, double blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery) and breast enlargement. Many plastic surgeons report that these children seek plastic surgery in between school years and switching schools in hopes of gaining more confidence.

"We do not recommend cosmetic surgery to people under 16 years old," Dr. Wang Shusheng of Guangzhou Medical College plastic surgery center. Dr. Shusheng advices that the body will continue to change as the child grows older and that surgery can alter the effects of aging in sometimes unpredictable ways.

"Youngsters need to adjust their aesthetic concept," says Tu Minxia, an expert on youth issues.

Minxia believes that these teenagers, like teenagers in the West, are focused too much on physical issues than on inner attractive qualities, such as achievement and confidence in one’s own abilities.