Bullied Into Plastic Surgery? - KMGH Denver

DENVER -- According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic surgery, more than double the cosmetic procedures are being performed on children compared with statistics 13 years ago.In the last decade, the reports of teenage bullying in school have doubled.7NEWS has learned some teenage girls are opting for plastic surgery because of what bullies are saying in school.In old pictures 14-year-old Navana Britto points to one thing, her nose."There was like this huge bump right here," Navana said.That was before the eighth-grade student had Rhinoplasty a month ago."It was really obvious if you looked at me from the front," remembered Navana.But she said she really didn't have a problem with the way her nose looked until a bully at school said this, "Navana your nose looks messed up. Have you thought about getting it fixed?"Soon Navana was asking herself the same question."Wow I didn't realize it was that messed up. Do I really need that much work done? I wasn't comfortable in my own skin," said Navana."Nobody likes to see their child's feelings get hurt. She wanted to have it done, and if it will make her feel better we'll do it," said Vicki Britto.Vicki first agreed to surgery because she said her daughter had breathing problems from a deviated septum. Losing the bump her daughter was teased for, "Was a bonus as far as I'm concerned. She could've just gotten the inside fixed and just left the outside, but you know if it's available to you and will make you feel better, why not?" said Vicki.7NEWS asked Vicki if at 14 years old her daughter was mature enough to choose surgery. "Yes she was," answered Vicki."I'm very grateful that she had it done and I'm very grateful to Dr. Raval for doing it for her," said Vicki.7NEWS asked Navana's surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Raval, 'How young is too young?'"It's a good question. It's hard to say," explained Raval. He said it depends on the child and the procedure."We do want to interview the older ones and make sure it's what they want. When kids are entering school and parents are concerned about teasing we can do something like pining the ears back as early as the age of 5 or 6. We've found at that age, that it is pretty close to adult size and it doesn't affect future development of the ears if we just pin them back a little bit," said Raval.Raval said he has seen more parents paying to make cosmetic changes for their children. One of his young patients was a 13-year-old girl who underwent Rhinoplasty and a chin implant."The surgery improved her self esteem and the way she sees the world. Cases like that I think we did the right thing," said Raval.7NEWS asked Raval how the decision to undergo surgery on the 13-year-old girl was made. "She made it with her parents. We met with the parents. We discussed everything. We went over all the risks and the benefits. We went over what to expect, what not to expect. We actually met with them several times and the parents with the child agreed that it was something they wanted to do," said Raval. "I think many kids would be grateful that their parents were able to do this for them."We showed the before and after pictures to an expert in child psychology."There is significant change clearly," pointed out Shawn Worthy. "That would be a decision I would want for my child to make as an adult, or someone else's child to make as an adult and not at such an early age," said Worthy.Worthy said cosmetic surgery on bullied children is, "A superficial solution to a broad and significant problem." His message to parents considering cosmetic changes for their children, "I would say rethink it. I would say really think about what you're saying to your child."Worthy is concerned about the message that he said a surgical fix sends."I'm not quite right. I'm imperfect. I'm not quite good enough. I don't look quite good enough. What message you know does that have to carry them through their lives for the rest of their life? That's the question that I wonder about," said Worthy.When teasing and bullying gets bad, Worthy said, "That's a time for a parent to step in and talk to the teachers, talk to the schools and do those things. But, I think plastic surgery is not the solution.""I do see where people are coming from where they say that this is controversial, but I do think that it is an answer for the right person, in the right family and it's a family decision," said Raval. "And everybody just has to decide for themselves if this is something that they want to do or if they want their child to continue to be teased. I'm not saying it's the best decision for everyone. Some kids will do just fine even though they're teased their whole life and they'll be much stronger for it, but some kids won't.""When he handed me the mirror I was like, I was just shocked," said Navana.Old pictures are all that's left of Navana's old nose. She is still a little swollen one month after the surgery. It could take up to a year for her nose to completely heal, but the bump she was teased for is gone."I'm really happy that this has kind of changed," Navana said as she pointed to the bridge of her nose.Navana said that since the surgery she is more confident, and the response at her school has been as smooth as her new profile. She said her old bully backed off and the teasing has stopped. But Navana said she is still carrying the hurt from the bully's mean words. "That's still in the back of my mind even though after I got it finished and everything," said Navana.A statement from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons says: "The ASPS has no formal position on plastic surgery for teenagers. As with any surgery, parental consent is required for all plastic surgery procedures performed on teens younger than 18. The ASPS advises parents to evaluate the teenager's physical and emotional maturity and believes that individual cases merit careful evaluation under the guidance of a plastic surgeon certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery."
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