As the years go by, there is a huge increase in cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery is a topic widely debated especially when it comes to teens. People argue whether it should be allowed when people are still eighteen years of age or younger. Bodies are not fully developed and teens maturity levels tend to vary. Some people are doing it just to fit in. Plastic surgery is also not always accurate as it sometimes has its mistakes. But things do happen such as severe burns or a birth defect. Teens may experience bullying and physical abuse and some are mature enough to make their own decisions concerning their bodies.

Mentally they are not at the age where they can make the decision to go through with a procedure. A new policy by the ASPS (American Society of Plastic Surgeons) requires plastic surgeons to determine if patients are emotionally and physically mature enough to have the surgery. From a physical standpoint, the body features are not done growing. Teens might wish to get bigger breasts even though their breasts are still not done growing. These are things that are just not needed and teens have other things to worry about at this age. Not all teenagers are fit to have an operation as extent and advanced as cosmetic surgery. To have a cosmetic surgery you need to be fit for the operation.

Teens have continued to have surgeries despite their lower maturity level. In fact, people eighteen years of age and younger make up four percent of all plastic surgery and the number is rising yearly. Since teens are at such a young age, their decision-making skills often come from other sources than themselves. People who decide to have treatment often get their information from TV, the internet, or magazines, rather than discussing it with a family doctor. One of the most popular reasons that teenagers decide to get a cosmetic operation is because they saw their favorite celebrity get a treatment done. After a celebrity has a specific treatment done, many other teens think that they need to keep up with the times so they will be considered cool.

Plastic surgery is not always successful as the doctor sometimes messes up. Examples of failures include nose jobs going wrong, causing the entire nose to collapse. Breast implants can burst inside the body making it nearly impossible for a woman to breast-feed. There are a lot of other complications that can occur during the surgery. Complications during cosmetic surgery can result in a heart attack, blood clot, or hemorrhage.

I strongly feel that teenagers should wait until growing older before deciding whether they want to take such a life changing risk. Making such a decision at a young age can ruin a life, and even be deadly.