Plastic surgery has been around since 800 BC. Many adults view these procedures as a benefit to themselves; But would you allow your teenager to think about it to hide his faults? According to the American Society of Plastic Surgery, nearly 210,000 cosmetic surgery procedures were performed on adolescents aged 13 to 19 in 2009 (Thompson). Low self-esteem has led some teenagers to choose plastic surgery to boost their self-confidence. This should not be considered an option for adolescents without knowing the consequences it can also bring. Therefore, parents should not allow their young teenager to undergo plastic surgery. Rhinoplasty and breast implants are common procedures that many teenagers resort to to satisfy their insecurities. “Nearly 35,000 American teenage girls had surgically reshaped noses last year and approximately 8,000 girls aged 13 to 19 had breast augmentation last year (2009) and 2,953 of them were aged 18 years or younger” (Thompson). Dr. Antell says he doesn't know if a teenager will continue to grow or not. He avoids having surgery because destroying the human body would cause more problems. Harming a young girl's body will not only make her deformed, but even more self-conscious. “Breast implants are a murky area because we don’t know if the adolescent has stopped growing yet” (Wansbrough). This not only applies to breast implants, but also to rhinoplasty, liposuction and injections. The body grows and plastic surgery has a long-term effect. “The key perspective is to assess physical, emotional and psychological maturity before treating a patient” (Wansbrough). In order to get a diagnosis for the desired surgical procedure, adolescents need to ask themselves, are they ready for the procedure? The doctor will ask a series of questions and look at the middle of the paper realizing that they are far too young to have plastic surgery. The world would be a different place if you changed everything that others don't like about you. We must therefore encourage adolescents to love them because they were born that way. There may be physical changes, but real change starts with who they are inside (Wansbrough). Works Cited “Cosmetic surgery is suitable for adolescents”. Body image. Np: Greenhaven Press, 2003. N. pag. Opposing viewpoints in context. Internet. February 20, 2014. Schweis, Erin. “Cosmetic surgery can be harmful to adolescents.” Body image. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. N. p. Opposing viewpoints in context. Internet. January 30, 2014. Thompson, Victoria. “Teenagers choose plastic surgery to boost their self-esteem.” abcnews.com. Np, and Web. February 17, 2014. Wansbrough, Liane Beam. “Body under construction”. Faze Magazine: n. page. faze.ca. Internet. February 17. 2014.