Teenage Breast Augmentation

Most of us remember our teenage years as a pretty rough period in our lives. Would plastic surgery have helped make things go more smoothly? Is breast augmentation in the late teenage years ever a good idea? How young is too young?

Our Clinic Policy

At my practice in Denver, plastic surgery is almost never performed on anyone under the age of 18. In some rare cases, a breast reduction may be performed out of medical necessity, but this is definitely the exception and not the rule. Women can have saline breast augmentation starting at age 18, but even so, my advice is to wait until they’re a bit older.

My reasons for this are several:

• The body is often still developing through the late teens. Breast size and shape can continue to change over this time period.
• Cosmetic surgery is a big decision. Many times, teens don’t have the life experience to properly weigh the risks and outcomes of a surgical procedure. For example, will augmentation now affect their ability to breastfeed later on in life? These probably aren’t concerns of the average teenager, yet they should be considered.
• Surgery should be for you alone. Teenage girls are dealing with a lot of peer pressure which may lead them to make decisions to impress their friends and classmates. This is the wrong reason for a cosmetic procedure.
• Teenagers are fickle. What’s cool right now is often out of fashion five minutes later. That’s great when you’re changing outfits before school, but not so great when debating making changes to your body.

When considering breast augmentation, there’s never a reason to rush. Advise your teen to take some time to get to know themselves first.