Answers
"We are the parents of an 18 year old Korean daughter who is built very small by nature. Although she is 18, she looks extremely young (12). She is self-conscious of her small breasts and wants larger breasts “because it will make her happy.” As her parents, we feel that she is very well adjusted and very intelligent. She is in college, still lives at home, (commutes back and forth to college), and presently holds two jobs. We are not in favor of her having breast augmentation surgery at this point in time and would like for her to wait until she is a little older to make this decision. Please offer your advice as to how we go about approaching her with this, and also what facts can we give her about having this surgery at such a young age."
— Answered by
Daniel C. Mills, II, MD
Laguna Beach, CA
There are at least 3 aspects to this question, not all have the same focus.
Medically---There is probably not much chance of her breasts developing more now, but it could happen. I don’t know if she is or has been on birth control pills. Sometimes that will be the start of hormonal growth that increases breast size. Another would be pregnancy. That could start more breast growth. She probably will not have many other influences on her breast growth.
Legally---She is over 18, and so can, and probably will, have this done on her own. If she pays for it all on her own, she will be tempted to pay the lowest fee that she can find, and that usually isn't the best surgeon (sometimes not even a surgeon). There is no way legally to stop her.
Family---I would encourage you to go with her to consults, and be supportive. Help her pick out a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, who does a major amount of Aesthetic Surgery. You could have these conversations with her surgeon and her at the same time. If it was me, I would help her with the cost of surgery to the point of picking a good Plastic Surgeon. This way she would be invested into the surgery herself. You said she had two jobs. So if she can do it by herself, by your helping, you gain her confidence more, direct her to a good surgeon, and show that you are being supportive of her ideas.
