IdahoMom
Former Member
While I think that it's very sad this girl lost her life, I think the underlying story here is that hundreds of thousand of young women are surgically altering their appearances....and some of these young women are still in high school. Why not wait awhile before having surgery?
eta: I ran across another article after posting this that said this was corrective surgery
Heads up: the headline will undoubtedly make some cringe because of the cheerleader reference. I remember past stories that posters objected to because of references to being a cheerleader (I didn't write the headline, lol).
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/south/epaper/2008/03/25/m1a_cheerleader_0324.html
Breast-surgery complications kill West Boca High cheerleader
snip
Stephanie Kuleba had a charmed life: captain of the varsity cheerleading squad at West Boca High, a nearly perfect grade-point average, good looks and a ticket to the University of Florida, where she would start her journey toward becoming a medical doctor.
Her friends said she was "perfect," so when Kuleba died Saturday of complications from breast augmentation surgery, none of them could understand how the girl whose success in life "was a sure thing" could perish in such a strange and devastating fashion.
"She was a role model for a lot of people," said friend and classmate Vicky Goldring, 16. "She was incredibly smart. She wanted to help people. She was just a happy 18-year-old girl."
While no official cause of death was released by authorities or Kuleba's family, many of her friends said she suffered a severe reaction to anesthesia given to her during a breast augmentation procedure Friday night.
Paramedics were called to an outpatient surgery center at 1905 Clint Moore Road in Boca Raton and rushed Kuleba to Delray Medical Center, where she died Saturday...
...In recent years, doctors have performed an increasing number of procedures such as breast implants, liposuction and tummy tucks on young women and even girls as young as 14.
The enormous popularity of reality TV shows like Extreme Makeover have fueled the desire of adolescent girls to alter their bodies permanently, and they are finding more surgeons willing to oblige them. Breast implants and liposuction are now bestowed by parents as graduation or birthday gifts. Some doctors say they have performed breast augmentations on Baby Boomer mothers and their teenage daughters.
From 2002 to 2003, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the number of women and girls 18 and younger who got breast implants nearly tripled, from 3,872 to 11,326.
Among all age groups, cosmetic implants have skyrocketed in popularity, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Last year, according to the ASPS, about 247,000 women got implants for augmentation, compared with 32,000 in 1992.
------------------------
http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/companion.asp?id=1&compID=102
snip
Plastic Surgery in a Developing Teen
One of the concerns about plastic surgery on adolescents is that their bodies are still maturing. In addition to development that may occur in the late teens, growth charts indicate that the average girl gains weight between the ages of 18 and 21, and that is likely to change her desire or need for breast augmentation as well as liposuction. There are no epidemiological studies or clinical trials on the safety and long-term risks of these procedures for adolescents. Although the FDA approved saline breast implants for women ages 18 and older,3 it is legal for physicians to perform breast augmentation for anyone under 18 as an “off-label” use, and the number of teens 18 and younger undergoing breast augmentation tripled from 2002 to 2003. It was not until December 2004 that the American Society of Plastic Surgeons stated an official position against breast augmentation for patients under 18.
eta: I ran across another article after posting this that said this was corrective surgery
Heads up: the headline will undoubtedly make some cringe because of the cheerleader reference. I remember past stories that posters objected to because of references to being a cheerleader (I didn't write the headline, lol).
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/south/epaper/2008/03/25/m1a_cheerleader_0324.html
Breast-surgery complications kill West Boca High cheerleader
snip
Stephanie Kuleba had a charmed life: captain of the varsity cheerleading squad at West Boca High, a nearly perfect grade-point average, good looks and a ticket to the University of Florida, where she would start her journey toward becoming a medical doctor.
Her friends said she was "perfect," so when Kuleba died Saturday of complications from breast augmentation surgery, none of them could understand how the girl whose success in life "was a sure thing" could perish in such a strange and devastating fashion.
"She was a role model for a lot of people," said friend and classmate Vicky Goldring, 16. "She was incredibly smart. She wanted to help people. She was just a happy 18-year-old girl."
While no official cause of death was released by authorities or Kuleba's family, many of her friends said she suffered a severe reaction to anesthesia given to her during a breast augmentation procedure Friday night.
Paramedics were called to an outpatient surgery center at 1905 Clint Moore Road in Boca Raton and rushed Kuleba to Delray Medical Center, where she died Saturday...
...In recent years, doctors have performed an increasing number of procedures such as breast implants, liposuction and tummy tucks on young women and even girls as young as 14.
The enormous popularity of reality TV shows like Extreme Makeover have fueled the desire of adolescent girls to alter their bodies permanently, and they are finding more surgeons willing to oblige them. Breast implants and liposuction are now bestowed by parents as graduation or birthday gifts. Some doctors say they have performed breast augmentations on Baby Boomer mothers and their teenage daughters.
From 2002 to 2003, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the number of women and girls 18 and younger who got breast implants nearly tripled, from 3,872 to 11,326.
Among all age groups, cosmetic implants have skyrocketed in popularity, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Last year, according to the ASPS, about 247,000 women got implants for augmentation, compared with 32,000 in 1992.
------------------------
http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/companion.asp?id=1&compID=102
snip
Plastic Surgery in a Developing Teen
One of the concerns about plastic surgery on adolescents is that their bodies are still maturing. In addition to development that may occur in the late teens, growth charts indicate that the average girl gains weight between the ages of 18 and 21, and that is likely to change her desire or need for breast augmentation as well as liposuction. There are no epidemiological studies or clinical trials on the safety and long-term risks of these procedures for adolescents. Although the FDA approved saline breast implants for women ages 18 and older,3 it is legal for physicians to perform breast augmentation for anyone under 18 as an “off-label” use, and the number of teens 18 and younger undergoing breast augmentation tripled from 2002 to 2003. It was not until December 2004 that the American Society of Plastic Surgeons stated an official position against breast augmentation for patients under 18.