Ainu to think that this is a form of child abuse

[Themotherofmonkeys]

A boy in ds class year 10 (who looks fine not ugly at all) has had 2 cosmetic surgeries at 15. Surely it can't be legal to have plastic surgery for purely cosmetic reasons at 15. I am also concerned about the boy promoting this. In fact I'm completely gobsmacked.

[piggychops]

It's none of her business because she's not got all the facts, just third hand stories.

[MammaTJ]

My DS had his first plastic surgery at 15 months old! Pfft to the neglectful parents leaving it till 15 years, what are they thinking?

[HicDraconis]

I've anaesthetised children around that age (well, hardly children at 15!) for cosmetic surgery. With jaws, mostly to correct misalignments - a large overbite or very protruding lower jaw can cause other problems which means they would be better corrected - although often not funded by the NHS if not bad enough. With noses, to correct deviated nasal septa giving rise to breathing problems.

Without a lot more information including access to clinic letters and details of exactly what was done, yabvu to equate this to child abuse.

[wheresthelight]

i would suspect that the boy is bragging to cover up the insecurity surrounding the operations to be honest and i think yabvu to participate in gossip and judge his parents with no factual information.

At 15 I had a 'nose job' it was to correct an issue with the internal muscle and cartilage of my nose. outwardly there was absolutely nothing to see, however internally i had nearly broken my nose at some point in childhood and the damage was preventing me being able to breath and causing some severe health issues.

As for the jaw, how do you or your son know that he hasn't had an accident that has caused damage internally that needed to be corrected??

15 year old boys (and girls) make stuff up to make themselves sound more heroic etc than they are. It is also entirely possible that he is making the whole thing up for the attention and glamour of it

[IceBeing]

why are people saying its none of the OPs business? Her son is in the same class...so if other parents are pushing cosmetic surgery it is impacting on the OPs son.

Having said that it doesn't seem clear that the truth is what the boy is relating it as.

[Fabulous46]

I had surgery at 14 for my nose (which had been badly broken in a riding accident) to straighten it. I also had my jaw re-aligned (due to the same accident). They were purely cosmetic as the way I looked was causing me serious emotional issues. When I was 15 I had my teeth sorted (again due to the same riding accident). You don't know the background to this boys surgery. There may be a perfectly legitimate reason. As for the child abuse comment, no, I don't think it was. It's not as if they held him down and forced him to have surgery. Get real!

[LadyIsabellaWrotham]

I agree that the OP shouldn't judge on the basis of teenage gossip.

But I am surprised by the amount of faith shown on this thread in the ethics of all private UK cosmetic surgeons.

[TripTrapTripTrapOverTheBridge]

I'd imagine it was done for a reason and that reason was not cosmetic.

I remember a lad I went to school with having his jaw broken and reset.The problem wasn't obvious to me but it was there hence him having it done.

[MildDrPepperAddiction]

None of your business. Keep your nose out. YABU.

[piggychops]

Um, OP it's actually none of your business...

[Bulbasaur]

Because teenage boys always tell the truth and never talk shit...

It could be a medical problem he's embarrassed about. Or it could be minor surgery that he's exaggerating about. Most doctors won't do major plastic surgery on a person for cosmetic reasons until they are an adult.

[blanklook]

IF the lad had surgery to correct a known medical condition, he'd find it much easier to tell people he'd had a cosmetic procedure rather than disclose a previously non-obvious-to-a-casual-observer medical condition to all and sundry and have to deal with all of the nosey questions afterwards.

[WineWineWine]

I think you could benefit from some plastic surgery yourself, to reduce the size of your nose and keep it out of other people's business!

You have NO idea what you are talking about.

[SnowSpot]

This thread makes me realise why the Salem witch trials were able to happen.

Get a judgemental person, some half-truths-half-lies, whip it up into a frenzy and 'burn the witch!!'

[Pipbin]

To start with this is none of your business but I bet what has happened is that this boy has had to have an embarrassing operation like circumcision or piles and has made up something 'cool' like cosmetic surgery.

[Dawndonnaagain]

Do be careful, my brother bragged about his cosmetic surgery, many years ago. It was actually for a deviated septum that couldn't be seen from the outside. At the same time he had pieces of bone removed from his hip and added to his jaw because his jaw kept locking, again, looked fine to an onlooker. He was 15.
And crikey, he's 55 now!

[HaroldLloyd]

Have you got a particular axe to grind as you do seem a bit over invested in this for someone not in receipt of any more information but teen gossip.

[sleepyhead]

Well, in the purely hypothetical situation where someone decides that their 15 year old son isn't beautiful enough, and it would be to his advantage to look more like David Beckham (for example) and badgers him into having plastic surgery to this end, yes I think that would be deeply, deeply wrong and worrying.

But I also don't believe that they would find a UK surgeon to do the work.

[MajesticWhine]

Tatty

[Themotherofmonkeys]

Frau again I can tell you were not the one pushing the surgery I would not dream of thinking that you made the wrong choice. Normally if a surgeon recommends then the surgery is the right thing to do

[Themotherofmonkeys]

Well say it was purely cosmetic like the boy said im not talking about sticking out ears, braces or stuff like that. I'm talking about going under general getting plastic surgery for cosmetic reasons. Surely you must agree in that case it is wrong letting your child think he's not good enough and plastic surgery can be addictive

[raltheraffe]

Just to give a slightly different angle. When I was 19 I had a bad accident which resulted in a broken nose. My nose did not look much different than before the accident-it was not squashed to one side or anything, but the septum somehow moved leaving me totally unable to breathe down one nostril.
I went to A&E who referred me to plastics as I was left with breathing difficulties.
I phoned my mum to tell her I had been in an accident and now needed surgery to put the septum back centrally.
My mum's response was "tell the surgeon to make your nose smaller, it is really long and the end is bulbous".
Prior to that my nose had not really bothered me. It kind of fitted my face, but after my mum said that I developed major issues with my appearance and saved up and got a cosmetic nose job.
Years later I am actually quite angry my own mother said this to me. Parents are not supposed to be critical like that. It still angers me to this day, and it upsets me that I was stupid enough to alter my appearance based on what someone else said.

[BigglesFliesUndone]

To show another side of this, I was subjected to 30 odd purely cosmetic surgeries from the age of 2 - this was in the 60s and 70's to be fair but I actually do believe it was a form of abuse. I was given no choice and could only finally say no when I got to 16, by which time I was so cowed by it, I allowed myself to have another three until I finally plucked up the courage at 18 to stop it. I was a human guinea pig and am beyond angry with the bullying doctors and my pathetic mother who allowed them to do it.

Nowadays, this condition, which my youngest daughter also has, is only 'corrected' after long discussion with the child when they are old enough, psychological assessment and full consent (although some parents do push it, which I find ridiculous) so, presumably, whatever this boy had done would have been with his consent and approval we hope.

[TattyDevine]

OP, let it go.

Fuck, someone should do a song about that.

[Sabrinnnnnnnna]

Btw - although my brother's surgery was orthodontic - it was still his choice to have it done. It wasn't medical necessity - it was an option available to him - and that doesn't make it child abuse.