Plastic surgery, even at 12

More young girls are going under the knife in their quest for beauty. MICHELLE is 18 and has gone for cosmetic surgery four times.

Last year, she had an operation to make her double eyelids more prominent and her nose sharper. This year, the first-year university student re-did her nose and had chin implants to make her face look better - more oval, less round, she said. Her new, 'improved' face cost her parents $20,000.

For plastic surgeons Martin Huang and Woffles Wu, such requests from teenaged girls are all in a day's work. An increasing number of girls as young as 12 are going under the knife in their quest for beauty.

It's happening in other parts of Asia too. The Korea Times newspaper reported last month a survey of 680 high-school students in Seoul. It found that four out of every 10 students surveyed wanted cosmetic surgery, and about one in 10 went ahead and had work done. Over in China, three hospitals in Guangzhou reported that 90 per cent of their cosmetic surgery patients were high-school students, the South China Morning Post reported. Some were given a new nose, double eyelids or liposuction as a reward for their hard work in school.

In Singapore, most of the teens who want cosmetic surgery are from middle- or high-income families that can afford the thousands of dollars for the surgery. About 30 per cent are Indonesians, but most are Singaporeans. The most popular requests are double eyelids, nose jobs and surgery to tuck back protruding ears. The procedures can cost anything from $2,000 to $3,000 for double eyelids, and up to $6,000 for a complex nose job.

Dr Wu said he gets at least 10 new teenaged clients each month, double the number four years ago. They now make up one-fifth of all his clients. Dr Huang has operated on about 150 teens in the past five years.

So why do teens do it?

Michelle, who is 1.7m tall and weighs 48kg, considers herself good-looking, but just wants to look better. She said: 'I've always had guys after me. I'm not doing this to get attention from men and I'm not doing it because I'm insecure. The number one thing for me is to look pretty. I have this obsession with beauty.'

Others do it to boost their confidence. Kiki (not her real name), 12, used to be overweight, and the extra pounds affected her confidence. She bugged her parents to take her to a plastic surgeon. On her wish-list: a higher and sharper nose, and liposuction to remove the fat around her waist. Her parents gave in.

Then there are those who simply want to look like their favourite Korean and Japanese pop stars, many of whom have also had their features surgically altered. Dr Wu said some teens come to his clinic waving pictures of their favourite stars, asking for Japanese pop queen Namie Amuro's 'sharp and cute pixie features' or Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi's 'alluring but aloof look'.

The surgeons interviewed all stress that the law requires them to get the consent of parents before they can operate on anyone under the age of 21. And some draw the line at certain procedures.
Plastic surgeon Seah Chee Seng said: 'If a 16-year-old wants breast implants, even if her parents consent, I might not do it. I feel that they may just change their minds later as one's body image is constantly changing.'

Michelle's parents, both professionals, did not like the idea of their daughter going for cosmetic surgery initially. She spent months persuading them. Said her mother, a 44-year-old banker: 'We saw that she was rather depressed when we objected, and we decided to give in to her. As parents, we want her to be happy. 'Now she's happier, but I don't know if we are doing her a favour or disfavour. Only time will tell.'

Just as there are parents willing to cart their children off to the plastic surgeon's office, there are those who are appalled by the idea. 
Said 43-year-old secretary En Xiao: 'Unless they are disfigured, children should be proud of their natural assets.' The mother of a 15-year-old boy added: 'Looks are important, but there are other ways to improve one's looks besides surgery, like the way you dress.' 

Price of beauty

IN SINGAPORE, most of the teens who want cosmetic surgery are from middle- or high-income families that can afford the thousands of dollars for the surgery. The most popular requests are double eyelids, nose jobs and surgery to tuck back protruding ears. The procedures can cost anything from $2,000 to $3,000 for double eyelids, and up to $6,000 for a complex nose job.

Source: The Straits Times, 28 September 2003