No longer taboo
Speech pathology major Jolene Mikoch compares her bra to a larger size. Mikoch would like to have a breast augmentation.
Plastic surgery is not as taboo as it used to be. “It’s more accepted than it was in the past,” Annandono says. “(Patients) are not putting themselves down for wanting to make themselves look better.”
Television shows like MTV’s “I Want a Famous Face” and FX Network’s “Nip/Tuck” have ensured the disappearance of taboos. In the past few years, there has been a considerable surge in plastic surgery procedures, and women as young as 14 are going under the knife, The Washington Post reported last year.
But, “A good board-certified plastic surgeon does not do plastic surgery on teenagers,” Annandono says. “(Patients) have to be mature enough to know what they’re getting themselves into.”
Dr. Jim Lehman, a plastic surgeon who has worked for Akron Plastic Surgeons, Inc. for 33 years, says he has seen an increase in younger clientele. He says he weeds out “problematic” individuals if he recognizes “serious psychological issues,” such as immaturity or unrealistic expectations. With such patients, he may recommend counseling.
“People need to understand it’s not an instant fix. Americans want something with no effort.”
“People need to understand it’s not an instant fix,” Lehman says. “Americans want something with no effort.” He adds that plastic surgery patients shown on television often have had personal trainers, new hairstyles and dental work to further improve their appearances beyond what surgery accomplished.
Fifty percent of the younger patients Fedele’s office sees bring a parent to their consultations, Annandono says. Today’s parents are more open “because (they) grew up in a different, more experimental kind of generation,” she says, and many mothers who sit in on consultations may have had plastic surgery themselves if it had been an option for them at an earlier age.
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