Teens Cutting Back on Plastic Surgery in US

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Fewer teens are getting plastic surgery today than they were a year, five years and even 10 years ago, according to a new report.

In 2010, there were 125,397 plastic surgery procedures performed on people 18 and younger, making up 1.3 percent of the total plastic surgery procedures performed in the United States. That's down from 2 percent of the total in 2009, 1.5 percent of the total five years ago and 3.5 percent of the total 10 years ago.

Teen plastic surgery rates don't mirror that of adults, though. Plastic surgery for adults increased by nearly 9 percent in 2010 compared with 2009 rates, according to a report released earlier this month by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. The bump in the number of adult plastic surgeries in 2010 was attributed to an easing recession, that report said.

Among the findings of the new report:

  • The most common surgical procedure among teens in 2010 was cosmetic ear surgery, according to the report. Ear surgery is often recommended for children as they near total ear development at age 5 or 6. Correction of the ears before the child enters school helps eliminate potential psychological trauma from the teasing of classmates , the report said.

The report was released this week by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

Pass it on: Fewer teens went under the knife for plastic surgery in 2010 than they did in 2009.

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Live Science Staff
Live Science Staff
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