Growing up, you may have dreamed of getting a car at your high school graduation, maybe even something as simple as a nice watch or some help from your parents with paying for college. Nowadays, gift giving isn’t so simple—especially for a momentous occasion such as graduating highschool. Some girls aren’t just getting the latest Lexus model or a trip to Cancun for their high school graduation… they are getting new boobs.
According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, many girls are getting breast augmentation surgeries in addition to their highschool diplomas. What’s more, the graduate’s parents or other relatives often finance these surgeries. In fact, according to the Houston Chronicle, more than 3,300 girls under the age of 19 had breast augmentation surgery in 2013, which is a 64 percent increase compared to the year 2000.
Many surgeons even see a jump in sales in May and June, right after local graduation ceremonies. It’s not clear whether these girls are getting surgeries at this time as graduation gifts, or simply because they are waiting until they are out of highschool to get the procedure done, but either way, there are a significant number of these girls. Many girls even save up money from multiple sources, income from part time jobs, birthday money, graduation money, Christmas money, all that cash that can be funded toward whatever they desire, and at 18 and 19, what some of them desire is bigger breasts.
Graduation time also occurs during a busy season for plastic surgeons because many people are starting to think about how they are going to look in a bathing suit as the weather starts heating up. However, if this is the priority for a woman, it is better to get the surgery earlier in the spring or winter so you have more time to recover before you reveal your new bikini body.
Sometimes though, a young grad might be turned away from the surgery by the surgeon for varying reasons. One of these reasons is that although a young grad might not be happy with the way her body looks, she still might be growing or has room for natural growth, so a plastic surgeon wouldn’t recommend getting the surgery at that time. In any case, it is always better to wait a few years into your 20s to make sure that you really need or want bigger breasts.
However, as college approaches, more and more women are coming to breast augmentation surgeries earlier. Motivation for this is that they want to go into college with a known figure, and many people might not even realize that they had surgery to begin with because college is a time for creating a new identity for most people. The summer time is also busy for breast augmentation surgeries because more people have downtime when they aren’t attending classes or working full time.
If you are considering gifting a breast augmentation surgery to a highschool grad you know, make sure they are aware of the risks and benefits of breast augmentation so they can make an informed decision.
Dr. Gregory H. Croll is the owner of his own practice, and the leading doctor for plastic surgery Columbia MO has to offer.