“Hey fatso! Four-eyes!” We’ve all heard name-calling in school whether indirectly or directly. Sadly bullying is very prominent in many schools and affects many people’s self-esteem even through adulthood. I came across this video about plastic surgery for bullied kids. In my opinion, it is really horrible that any kid has to resort to that instead of loving themself or being accepted for who they are. This story is about 14-year old Nadia Ilse who, with her mother’s approval, had surgery done to her ears, nose, and chin. An organization called Little Baby Face Foundation funded her surgery which costed about $40,000.
I understand the medical use for plastic surgery and think the Little Baby Face Foundation is a wonderful and generous organization for kids with severe cases. If you check out their website, you will see pictures some unfortunate deformities. All the while, unnecessary cosmetic use is a bit extreme. The fact Nadia didn’t have counseling first and still hasn’t afterwards makes me wonder if would she still have gone through with it if she did receive it. Bullying affect the victims more psychologically. She is looking forward to starting the school year as a freshman without being called Dumbo. I truly hope that while she has changed her outside appearance, she grows inside to be a better and more confident woman.
What do you think? Would you have plastic surgery or let your kids have it in the hopes to stop bullying?
Please read/watch previous blog posts and courses about bullying:
- Post: MotivHate
- Post: It Gets Better
- Course: New Jersey Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act
- Course: Harassment in the Digital Age
Nadia Ilse was born with malformed ears, a deviated septum and hemifacial microsomia (HM). Little Baby Face Foundation treated her because we provide free surgery to children born with birth defects. Nadia’s mother sought out help because Nadia begged her to find help for her ears because Nadia had been horribly bullied for years. She’d even considered suicide.
Nadia hadn’t known that she had a deviated septum and HM. But she is thrilled that now she can breathe so much easier. And she’s thrilled that “she looks beautiful” (her words). Note: HM worsens with age and would’ve become more and more pronounced. That is why Dr. Romo did her jaw, too.
As it turns out, the doctor who performed the surgery also pointed out that this victim of bullying needed a rhinoplasty (nose reshaping, in this case a reduction) and a mentoplasty (reshaping of the chin to make it more or less prominent) as well, ostensibly because these two features would look “bigger” once the size of her ears were reduced. The ethics of performing certain facial surgery on teens concerns me, because as a teenager one’s face has not fully matured. For instance, the jaw bone is the last bone to mature in the face. I will generally only perform cosmetic surgery on the ears and the nose for a teenager under the age of 18, and only after a thorough consultation with the teen and his or her parents. I believe that informed and thoughtful guidelines must be observed during a consultation.
Dr. Branman
I’ve been hearing a lot about teenagers and plastic surgery these days and honestly, it’s getting boring. I think that there are more important problems in the world (or in a person’s life for that matter) that should be addressed. I think that the real problem here is that parents forget to instill to their children how beautiful they are and the key to success is not just defined by looks but a combination of wit, talent , personality and of course, looks.