Make me Beautiful: More and more people under 30 turning to cosmetic surgery
By Kristin Day
Jenn Angele spent the days leading up to her 22nd birthday in bed. Her head wrapped in gauze and her jaw nearly immobile, the East Carolina University senior spent the days inside her parents' Charlotte home half delirious from a combination of pain killers and sleep aids.
But as the bruises around her nose and eyes faded, Angele knew her third trip to the plastic surgeon's table was worth it.
It's certainly not uncommon to find a young woman who anticipates some sort of surgical or chemical touch-up once she is older - especially post childbirth. But there is a growing number of women under 30 - and men - who have already had at least one procedure, whether it be to enhance their appearance or for health purposes.
Jackie McLawhorn, office manager at Greenville Plastic Surgery, said that their patient population, aside from school-aged children who receive reconstructive surgery for issues such as birth defects, scar deformities and traumatic injuries, begins at about 16 years old.
"These types of patients range from candidates for breast reduction, male gynecomastia excision (breast reduction for men), breast asymmetry, unsightly facial lesions (and) breast augmentation to any type of anomaly that affects their body image," McLawhorn said.
Angele was 16 when she received her first rhinoplasty. For her, surgery was necessary to preserve her self-esteem.
"I started asking for a nose job when I was in fifth grade," Angele said.
"People made fun of me all of the time. People would throw things at me and call me names because of my nose. It was awful."
She discussed her insecurities and need for surgery with her parents for years. But they didn't feel the timing was right until the summer before her senior year of high school.
After a brief spell of tears and extreme anxiety moments before the surgery, the doctors were able to finish the procedure in two-three hours. Angele doesn't remember anything from that day after she was put under, but a week later, her bandages were off and she was done.
That is, until a year later when she went back for a revision.
But even after the second surgery, she was disappointed with her results.
"He got rid of the main problem, which was the large bump that I had on my nose," Angele said. "He left a lot of other problems that he could've fixed.
"By the time the swelling went down, my nose was no longer proportionate, my nose was crooked, and it was just not very attractive."
On Aug. 9, Angele went back under the knife, this time with Dr. Kevin Smith in Charlotte. She received her third rhinoplasty, along with two more procedures on and around her chin. She says Smith did "an amazing job," but while her face is almost fully functional, she won't completely recover for another year.
Breast reductions and augmentations are common surgical requests from young women as well. McLawhorn said augmentation is requested more often from patients between 18 and 30, and guesses that 70 percent of their patients who undergo an augmentation are under 30.
"Body image is such an important part of a young woman's self-confidence at a time when she is seeking employment, seeking a mate, going through the educational process, etc.," McLawhorn said.
McLawhorn also said they treat young men who have developed unusually large breasts during puberty.
"These patients usually undergo gynecomastia excision, which certainly gives them the confidence they need to go without a shirt or even change in the high school locker rooms," McLawhorn said.
Dr. Howard Dawkins of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery in Greenville has been a plastic surgeon for about 30 years. Citing the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, he said the number of breast augmentations in women and breast reductions in men 13-19 years old increased between 2005 and 2006 alone.
"Every (other procedure) is down 6 percent except for augmentations," Dawkins said. "That is up 12 percent."
But for patients 20-29 years old, nearly every procedure, from breast lifts, to tummy tucks and botox has increased in popularity.
Student Krisi Burgess, now 22, received her breast augmentation when she was 21, but she started considering the procedure when she was 15.
"I was the exact same height and size I am now (but) with a large butt and huge thighs and no boobs," Burgess said. "None."
Though her parents had mixed reactions, they accompanied her to Dr. Richard E. Cummings' office in Kinston, where she went from an A cup to a large C/small D.
"I saw my dad cry for the first time in my life when I went into the operating room," Burgess said. "My mom used me as a guinea pig because she's getting work done now. She'll have liposuction and a breast augmentation."
Her surgery took about 20 minutes, her parents drove her home, and the next day, she went shopping. During her follow-up appointment, Burgess was so pleased that she told Cummings he was her favorite person.
"I love him," she says.
McLawhorn cites several possible reasons for plastic surgery's popularity among young people. For instance, TV documentaries and programs, such as "Extreme Makeover" and "Dr. 90210" can take the mystery out of surgery and procedures have become more affordable.
Dawkins also thinks the economics have made surgery more accessible.
"If you look at the prices, they've been more steady for the last couple of years," Dawkins said.
Some companies are willing to finance procedures. Burgess pays $111 a month for her breast augmentation.
But for her and Angele, surgery was worth the risks and financial strain. And they'd do it again.
"I don't plan on getting old," Burgess said. "Wrinkles? I'll have them botoxed. Anything, I'm going to have it fixed."
"If I find something that I'm not happy with that I feel should be fixed, then yeah. Why not?" Angele said. "Because the change in my self-esteem is so worth it."
"Some people get tattoos; some people get pierced. I get plastic surgery.
"Everybody has their thing that they do to make themselves feel better."
Visit Aesthetic Plastic Surgery at www.lookasbeautiful.com and Greenville Plastic Surgery at www.gpsurg.com.
Contact Kristin Day at 329-9579 or kday@coxnc.com.