While it may seem our culture is concerned only with capitalism and the gain of economic surplus (Bell, 1975) there are many real reasons young teenagers ask for surgery. Parents, unlike children, may often offer a more objective vantage from which surgery, even elective surgery, can be scrutinized (Adams, 1996). Parents have the ability to ask the cosmetic surgeon whether they think a procedure will be necessary or whether a child should seek psychological counseling prior to surgery to ensure their reasons for surgery are appropriate and not the result of a psychological disorder (Adams 5). When parents provide consent, they take on the responsibility to ensure their child's care is handled in the best way possible. They are capable of picking the surgeons brains; they are capable of understanding the side-effects of most surgeries; they know how to evaluate a doctor's credentials to ensure his practices are ethical, honest and in the best interests of the patient rather than the pocket book.

It is important to note also, that while most children will not fully develop before age 25, some teenagers would benefit physically by elective surgery, especially in cases where they have a birth defect or other problem (Allen, 1997). While many make it seem like elective surgery is something done for the sake of vanity alone, this if often not the case; rather many teenagers just as adults suffer disfigurement or other physical problems because structures are not fully developed or are forming incorrectly (as in the case of a deviated septum for example, which may prevent a young teenager aspiring to be a singer from breathing correctly) (Allen, 1997). One way to ensure teenagers get plastic surgery for the right reasons is by forcing them to undergo psychological evaluation prior to treatment.

This however, may prove challenging. If however, parents are in support of initiatives that help ensure the safety of children, they are more likely to support measures that would allow their children to seek treatment for disorders one might ordinarily consider unnecessary. A parent should request permission to attend to any psychological evaluation and to select the provider offering these...

The role of the parent can include finding out whether there are specific reasons for surgery that are normal and ordinary or those that may be suggestive of some problem emotionally that must first be treated.
Conclusions

Cosmetic surgery is an elective surgery more and more young people turn to each day for varying reasons. While there are many risks associated with elective procedures, for some there are also many gains to be had. To ensure the safety and health of teenagers electing to have cosmetic surgery, a new policy should be enforced by all plastic surgeons, a policy that requires parental consent to surgery and parental presence during procedures to ensure teenagers are not over-treated and are treated for the right reasons by a qualified and educated plastic surgeon.