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Surgeons think teens should wait for breast augmentation

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, January 4, 2005

Responding, perhaps to some degree, to the incessant media speculation about the physical attributes of certain young celebrities, The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) recently adopted a policy recommending that adolescent candidates for purely cosmetic breast augmentation should be at least 18 years old.

The ASPS issued the statement on December 22, 2004, saying the policy is consistent with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of saline filled breast implants for women at least 18 years old. In addition to the suggestion that surgery candidates be at least 18 years old, the ASPS's policy also states that physicians need to determine if patients are physically and emotionally mature enough for the procedure, and if they understand the potential short and long-term risks of having the surgery.

"The ASPS leadership felt a responsibility to more than just quietly comply with the FDA," said ASPS President Scott Spear, MD. "We want our members and the public to see how strongly we feel about teenage cosmetic breast augmentation."

The ASPS's Policy Statement on Breast Augmentation in Teenagers can be viewed in its entirety here: http://www.plasticsurgery.org/medical_professionals/Policy_Statements/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=15619.  

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