Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
Ecclesiastes 1:2

Too Beautiful?

"You can never be to thin or too rich, said the Duchess of Windsor.  She might have added 'or too pretty'".
women's wire

Role models for young children and adults have developed into (more often then not) celebrities who will use surgery to changed their appearance.  Child star and teen sensation, Britney Spears shocked the world by getting breast implants at the age of sixteen. Controversy surrounding Spears' new appearance has evolved into fighting.  Some groups say that she has the right to do what she wants with her body, while others say that because of her status as a role model and celebrity, her actions should reflect those that parents would want their children to possess.  Personally, I do not believe that anyone as young as Spears can make a  decision (such as plastic surgery) that carries heavy emotional, physical, and physiological consquences.

With all the influences on physical appearance, it's really not surprising to know that the number of teenagers getting plastic surgery on the rise, but so is the number of teen who die from complications of surgery.  According to the American Society of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeons there has been a 70% increase in the number of teen surgeries. 

Teens and Cosmetic Surgery

(common procedures for individuals 18 or younger)

1992

1996

1997

Type of procedure

5,519

473

978

na

4,313

788

1,172

404

Nose Reshaping

4,390

1097

867

194

Liposuction

Breast Implants

Laser Skin Resurfacing

Although the prospect of the perfect body is tempting, a person should carefully weigh the consequences of plastic surgery beforehand. 

Just like millions of Americans, Ma Xiaoqing, a 64-year-old Chinese woman, decided to have plastic surgery to make her eyes look more beautiful.  In 1993, when Xiaoqing's surgery was complete, her left eye-lid was inside out. Although she has had multiple surgeries to repair the damage, Xiaoqing is left with severe scarring.  Xiaoqing is just one of the thousands of people in China that experience the devastating results of poor surgery.  So far, Xiaoqing has had eight surgeries in four years to attempt to rectify the surgery that devastated her life seven years ago.

As the number of surgeries goes up, so does the number of deaths caused by plastic surgery.  The Sun Sentinel has been looking at cosmetic surgery and the hidden dangers for many years and have produced a website that includes a section on the recent deaths of plastic surgery patients. 

Are you curious about the costs of plastic surgery?  Well click here for the cost breakdown...