Cosmetic Surgery Before Seventeen: What's Right & What's Not

Mustafa Al Saeed

Many people nowadays think that cosmetic surgery before the age of seventeen should not be allowed.
Over the last few years many specialist hospitals have been built, and a lot of people have had cosmetic surgery, and it is dangerous. It is extremely likely that no one wants his children to make some bad change, to do something dangerous. While some teenagers think their faces are not good or there are some mistakes in creation nobody knows about the effect in the future.

First of all, it is certainly true that people can change their bodies and faces. While the features of a face come from God, and this is not their choice, human beings believe they can change the creation for the best, but in fact it is to the worst. On the other hand any one before seventeen years old should not be allowed to have this surgery even if their parents agree. In Lebanon many teenagers who are 13 to 17 years old go to change their bodies every year, similar to some celebrities. I have seen many teenagers girls who are from Lebanon have their breasts, lips, and haunches enlarged. A point in support of my point of view is that many people blame themselves and want to get their past faces. I watched a program that had an interview with some people who had cosmetic surgery when they were teenagers. They said they would be happier if they hadn't had that surgery. What’s more almost every cosmetic surgery has been done using some chemicals such as silicon or plastic, and they affect human beings. Many researches prove they cause cancer and many different types of diseases like itch. The desire to look like a star is very dangerous for normal people, because some hospitals do not have good treatments. Every one has a perfect body when he is born.

On the other hand some children have accidents or fate changes their bodies, which has caused deformities for them such as cuts in the ear or nose. No one likes to see a deformed face, so a lot of hospitals, governments, and people agree with that. Furthermore the environment affects children with such as fatness or hair that becomes hard to manage. In those cases, children or teenagers have been changed to the best, because those problems are not from the creator but from people. Ironically, children's need of cosmetic surgery has not been supported, while children who do not need cosmetic surgery have had billions of dollars invested in them, especially in the western countries and the Middle East.

In summary, there are 2 choices to everything, one is good and the second is bad. I have never ever seen people who paid to change their creation to the best (they believe that) who are happy with the new look. I have seen many stars that have had cosmetic surgery before seventeen years old and they blame themselves because they said people before seventeen do not have enough awareness.
The cosmetic surgery is good for children who have deformities and bad for child who want to change the creation.

Cosmetic Surgery For The Under Seventeens: A Thai Perspective

Nitikorn Fongrattanakul

Nowadays, everyone can see a lot of cosmetic surgery sites in many countries and they can be found through different media sources such as television, newspapers, magazines, the Internet and brochures. Cosmetic surgery is able to make or change the face or body to be more beautiful than before. It also treats you as a nice person and creates you to become a new person. However, there are some advantages and some disadvantages of cosmetic surgery.

On the positive side, everyone has equality as humans and they can do the same things if they want to. In addition, there may be good things which come in life through cosmetic surgery such as good looks, the ability to earn money a lot and become famous.

For example in my country, Thailand, cosmetic surgery is really popular among people over twenty and famous Thai people. Most famous people usually have a new face or a new body made by being operated upon in hospitals.

On the other hand, there are some problems. There may be accidents during operations. Firstly, young people tend to make decisions without thinking carefully and it may be too dangerous for them to do some things which risk their faces or their bodies. Secondly they have just wanted to do it to follow the fashion of each period nowadays. And the last disadvantage is that cosmetic surgery is not necessary in life and it also requires people to spend too luxuriously.

In my opinion, cosmetic surgery is able to be good or bad because if you are operated upon safely in a good hospital, you will get a good result but if you are not, you may get bad news. However, it depends on each doctor and how they perform, whether it be skillfully or not.

In conclusion, people under seventeen should not be allowed to have cosmetic surgery because they are very young people and they also have to be looked after by their parents closely. If they were adults, they could have it. But not this time, to do some thing like this.

By Means of The Scapel: Cosmetic Surgery Before Seventeen

Araceli Munoz

Currently, in occidental societies, people give a special importance to the body’s image. Although the cult of the body isn’t a new fact, and this fact has existed in all cultures and in all times, lately, the conception of the body has acquired a new meaning. At the same time, there has also been a big improvement in science and medicine that has entailed the discovery of new products and techniques of surgery.

Thus, these two factors have entailed an increase in cosmetic surgery lately. But, if in the beginning, plastic surgery was applied to specific cases, like malformations, cicatrices and physical defects which caused psychological harm, actually, a lot people go through the operating room only for aesthetic reasons.

Furthermore, this obsession for changing our body can go to unsuspected limits. If a few years ago people who had cosmetic surgery used to be old women who wanted to seem younger, now, women and men of all ages have an operation only to change their image. Actually, younger people go through the operating room *. But, at what age should the age limit be?

Some people think that everybody should have the opportunity to decide to have an operation if they want it, even if this person is a minor. The decision of having or not having cosmetic surgery is something totally personal and we shouldn’t criticise young people who want to have a better appearance by means of the scalpel. These people believe it isn’t bad that a teenager desire to have plastic surgery in order to feel good about himself. Young people have rights over their bodies and they can have one or more cosmetic surgery if they want.

In addition, following this viewpoint, there can be many reasons why these young people decide to consult a cosmetic surgeon: from health reasons to personal goals, and passing through to self-esteem problems. Sometimes boys and girls are traumatized by a physical defect which gives a complex or isolates them from the people who surround them. Other times, they have self-esteem problems because they receive a lot of pressure from their environment which says how they should be if they want to be accepted.

Notwithstanding, are young people qualified to make this decision? Who can judge their ability? According to some experts, no teenager should undergo cosmetic surgery if they haven’t been psychologically examined in order to evaluate their maturity level and detect possible problems. On the one hand, these boys or girls a lot of times have a wrong idea about what cosmetic surgery is. And, on the other hand, sometimes these young people aren’t ready to face the problems that can arise after any surgery.

In the opinion of these experts, although plastic surgery implies a positive aspect and a big improvement when it comes to solving malformations, cicatrices and physical defects, any surgery has its risk. In the case of adolescents this risk is bigger than in adult people, because cosmetic surgery can entail complications to their development ** . Moreover, the problems aren’t only physical but also psychological due to a lack of maturity and the emotional importance of this physical change.

In my view, plastic surgery among young people is only advisable in case of malformations, cicatrices and physical defects which cause psychological harm, but I think that it shouldn’t be recommended when boys or girls decide to have an operation only for aesthetic reasons or for being fashionable. Although it’s true that we live in a society where the beauty ideals exert a lot of pressure on young people and often entail self-esteem problems, it’s time for young people to learn that these problems shouldn’t be solved without going through operating room, but looking for other incentives, motivations and values beyond beauty standards. And I sincerely believe that the media could have a very important role in this last process.

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* Statistical data from American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) points out that the number of young people in USA who underwent cosmetic surgery to increase the size of their breasts tripled between 2002 and 2003, when the number of this kind of operations reached the 11.326 cases.

** Like in the case of a rhynoplasty among young people who haven’t finished osseous growth. When they finish this growth is possible that the nose will be deviated because some of the nucleus of ossification is destroyed. Or in the case of a breast implants among teenagers, when the breasts are developing and the tissues are growing. Because of this, the breast can sometimes come to look different from the initial results as time goes by.

A Baby at 70?

Meiti Iotefa Stergios

At present, medical techniques have become more advanced, and I think that in future years men will know all medical knowledge! From now on, it will be possible to do many things which were unimaginable 50 years ago. Today, with the medical advances, it's possible to be pregnant at 70 years old! Incredible isn't it? But do you really think that women are allowed to have a child at this age? In that case, what purpose does the menopause serve? Can men defy nature's laws?

Firstly, I think this medical innovation is good for women who desire to have children or have children again, but who cannot have them because they are sterile and because they have problems or diseases. This allows them to feel a mother again. And it is tremendous for an old woman. Because her children are already adults and have their own life, then she sometimes feels alone.

Secondly, I think that becoming mother at 70 years old is to reign assured because such a woman has years of experience behind her. So, she knows how to take care of children.

That's my argument for. Now for the arguments against.

One argument against I think is, women of 70 are too old for having children and I think, their bodies cannot support the weight of the pregnancy. A woman of this age has more risks of giving birth with problems because her body is too old and has no more capacity. And also, if they are allowed to have children at 70years old, the baby will suffer because the mother is already old and she doesn't have much more time to live. The child cannot indeed take advantage of her and will suffer too young when his mother will die.

Another argument against, is the energy. I think, to have children it's necessary to have energy because it's not a small work. It's necessary to be able to do sleepless night, change nappies and prepare the baby's bottle in the middle of the night. So I think for an older lady, it risks to be difficult. And also, a child requires money so it's necessary to have some to raise it. But most old women don't work or, are already in retreat so it must be more difficult

In conclusion, I think it's not really a good idea to have children at 70 years old because there are lots of contradictions such as diseases, tiredness, etc and mainly the menopause! I think nature does things well, then if women become menopausal, it's for a reason. May be their body is not any more capable to carry a child and it is more sensitive than formally. So I think, it's much more dangerous than joyful having a child at 70 years

Children Over 50 or 60: A Way Forward

Afnan Khadawurdi

Nowadays a lot of people think that everything can happen by using technology such as some old women can have babies by using fertilization techniques, but like everything some people are for this technology and others are against.

The first point in favour of women being allowed to have children when they are in their fifties or sixties is that some women when they were young might not have had time for children because they were businesswomen or something like that, or because now they have a huge experience from their lives. Also some women think their life will be more funny and exciting if they have a new baby especially when their kids became big enough and autonomous. I read in one article there was a family that had three children, all of whom went overseas to work or study. So the parents decided to have another child and they did that and they were very happy. Accordingly some people believe that they should be allowed to have children at this age.

On the other hand some people think that this is very difficult for the mother and the baby. Firstly if the mother gets pregnant when she is 50 or 60 she might lose her life because the delivery in her age is so hard also, if she lived after that would the baby live with her mother just for a short time? I knew one woman who is my mother’s cousin and she got pregnant when she was around fifty however she was a grandmother and had grandchildren and the doctor told her she had to give up the baby because she could lose her life or the baby, but she determined to keep him and when she was to deliver she suffered for three days. Then finally she received a surgery to help her and her baby. Secondly the age between the mother and her baby would be very big and I think they would not be able to understand each other because there are several generations between them. The mother will become older and won’t be able to give her baby care, because she needs special care.

In conclusion, I think women shouldn’t have babies after the age of 50 or 60 because as I said she might be suffering some problems or her baby might.

I recommend if such a woman wants a baby she could adopt a baby. May be this can reduce some problems that could happen in the future.

Babies in Your Fifties Or Sixties?

Fatmah Al Naser

Nowadays, with advanced technology and improvement in knowledge, having children in old age for women is become easy by fertilization techniques. Many people believe that women should be allowed to have babies at this age because this makes the women's lives better and happier. Also women in their fifties or sixties have good experience and more knowledge. In addition, sophisticated technology makes everything possible. However, other people have a different opinion about that. They think it is high cost and illegal in some countries. Also what will happen to this baby in the future?

First of all, the people who believe in having a baby in old age, support their opinion by saying that life without children is like a flower with no smell. For instance, one of my relatives did not have children. She was sad most of the time, but when her doctor told her she could get a baby although she is an elderly woman, her life completely changed and became happy. Moreover, women in this age have good experience and knowledge to educate their children and they guarantee the best life for them. Also the mother at this age has a lot of money to spend on her child to give him a high quality education and good care. Her baby in that case will have a beautiful and a successful future. As well new technology makes the impossible things possible. In the UK there are many successful operations to get a baby.

On the other hand, this kind of operation is very expensive and is not available in most countries. Getting a baby cost my relative a lot of money, approximately $ 50,000, but because she is rich she could do that. My neighbor in Saudi Arabia has similar circumstances but she does not have enough money to get a baby. Besides that, in many countries fertilization techniques are illegal; it depends on governments and religion. Also this technique is not accepted in many nations, because something like that is unusual and needs more time to become normal. Moreover, the baby in that case will face difficulty in the future to understand his mother and the gap between two generations will be very big and his mother probably will die early to leave him alone, so his life will become miserable and depressing. An example of this is my sister's friend. The gap between her and her mother is fifty three years and she is not polite with her mother and she describes her mother's way as old fashioned. She was rebellious against her mother.

In conclusion, I would like to say that although using fertilization techniques to get a baby in old age has disadvantages, it is still a good solution to get a baby. Also we should use the latest technology to make our lives better. In my opinion I completely agree with using fertilization techniques. It is a credible way.