Who will regulate the "track" of cosmetic surgery for minors
Xiaotang is in her third year of high school in a middle school in Sichuan Province. Although her studies are tight, she still decides to “snip off the bus” for plastic surgery.
Initially, the idea was to change from single eyelid to double eyelid.
However, after some discussions with the doctor, Xiaotang finally decided to do two projects: full cut double eyelids, rib nose and bulging.
The reason for the anxiety is that Xiaotang feels that the third year of high school is also a perfect recovery period for plastic surgery and can welcome college life with a brand new look.
There are not a few who have such plans.
According to the "White Paper on China's Medical Beauty Industry" released by an Internet medical beauty platform in 2019, among Chinese medical beauty consumers, teenagers between the ages of 18 and 19 account for 15.48%.
After the college entrance examination, June and July are the peak periods of consumption for surgical items, accounting for 22.41% of the platform's annual orders.
Although there is currently no statistics on cosmetic plastic surgery for minors, the previous statistics of the aforementioned platforms show that the post-00s' medical beauty consumption momentum is stronger than that of the post-90s.
In terms of the proportion of medical aesthetic consumers under 19, it was 15.44% in 2017 and rose to 18.81% in 2018.
The younger age of cosmetic surgery, is it happiness or worry?
Double eyelid and rhinoplasty are the "introductory" items for minor cosmetic surgery
"Classmates often say that my face is small and my facial features are not perfect." This kind of evaluation made Xiaotang worry, her single eyelid made her feel more inferior than her studies.
Five or six people around me chose plastic surgery, and the desire of Xiaotang to become beautiful became more and more urgent.
After his parents divorced, Xiaotang lived with his mother.
On the issue of becoming beautiful, my mother seems to understand her "obsession."
Xiaotang didn't pay too much communication cost, and her mother compromised.
She successfully received 50,000 yuan of "plastic surgery funds".
In December 2020, Xiaotang walked into the hospital recommended by a friend with the template photos he found in advance.
In her opinion, the doctor's aesthetics and experience are very important.
After simple communication, Xiaotang finally decided on two projects: full-cut double eyelids and rib nose plus bulging.
Thinking back to the feeling on the operating table, Xiao Tang's most impressive impression is cold.
"My heart was nervous and low blood sugar. I was shivering with the cold. The doctor turned on the air conditioner for me and kept putting on the quilt." Xiaotang said. Although the anesthetic had been injected locally when doing double eyelids, the sutures felt pulling and swelling. Strikes from time to time, always reminding myself that the road to plastic surgery is irreversible.
However, this discomfort did not last long.
The costal cartilage must be taken under general anesthesia. Under the action of anesthetic, Xiaotang quickly fell asleep.
She did not see that the doctor made an incision in the fold under the breast on her right chest, took out part of the rib cartilage for carving, and then used it as an implant material for rhinoplasty.
When she woke up, Xiaotang's nose was covered with thick gauze, and blood oozes from the incision.
During the three days in the hospital, Xiaotang hired a dedicated nurse to take care of herself.
Although the dedicated care saves a lot of trouble, it does not detract from the crime of becoming beautiful.
It was not until the third day after the operation that the nasal congestion in Xiaotang’s nose was completely removed. “It feels so good that the nose is open.”
Li Xin, a plastic surgeon at Beijing Badachu Plastic Surgery Hospital, said in an interview with a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that double eyelid and rhinoplasty surgery has become an introductory item for minor plastic surgery.
Rib nose surgery is very complicated and the cost is also high.
A 1.5cm-4cm scar will be left on the chest of the "beauty seeker", and this scar will be accompanied for life.
Li Xin said that there are more and more immature faces in plastic surgery hospitals, especially after the college entrance examination, which is often the busiest time in the hospital.
Many parents took the college entrance examination candidates into the plastic surgery hospital to start the children's pursuit of beauty.
On this issue, it seems not difficult for parents and children to reach agreement.
A girl who just finished the college entrance examination came to consult about double eyelid surgery.
But after the double-eyelid facial examination, the girl’s father seemed to be "still still thinking" and continued to ask Li Xin whether the child needs two more face-lifting injections, or whether other parts can be adjusted.
It's not just Beijing.
Zhang Jin, a doctor of plastic surgery in Chongqing who has been in the field for nearly 20 years, also feels the same.
He said that June is the peak period of plastic surgery for college entrance examination candidates in China, and in April, many overseas students return to China to "get together" for plastic surgery.
This phenomenon is called the "Student Plastic Surgery Season" in the industry.
Talking about the biggest change brought about by plastic surgery, Xiao Tang said with a smile, “I feel that my flaws are suddenly'healed', and I can finally reduce the special effects when taking selfies.” However, she did not intend to stop there. The “thinning” lip surgery has taken root in her heart.
Underage "beauty seekers" are more assertive than their parents
The day before Xiaotang's plastic surgery, her friend had a comprehensive nose and eye surgery in the same hospital.
"The doctor will inevitably get tired when doing the second operation, and the results cannot be guaranteed, so my friend and I staggered the time." Xiaotang said.
High school students often have their own considerations on how to choose and arrange plastic surgery.
Li Xin summed up a "label" for them-independent.
She said that most of the minors who come to see a doctor are prepared, and they have already done their homework on the Internet in advance, from selecting a doctor, preparing for the operation to recovering after the operation.
"Give them a knife and you can do it yourself." Li Xin said with a smile.
In Dr. Zhang Jin's face-to-face consultation experience, a 17-year-old girl also impressed him.
The girl is a game anchor and has a considerable income every month. While realizing the freedom of living expenses, she is also able to spend tens of thousands of yuan in plastic surgery expenses.
Zhang Jin remembered that in the face-to-face consultation room, the girls talked freely and had their own unique views on the aesthetics of plastic surgery.
The mother who was by the side did not say a word, and the two comments that she occasionally expressed would be stopped by the girl.
In this intergenerational game, the mother was passive throughout the whole process, and all her opinions were finally turned into two words on the operation notice-"agree".
The reporter visited a number of medical and aesthetic institutions and found that minor plastic surgery must be accompanied by their parents and signed the operation notice, which has become an industry rule.
However, for the aborigines of the Internet, it is not difficult to find a shortcut to change the United States outside the rules.
Nana once found a beauty shop on the Internet.
Without checking whether Nana is an adult, the shop injected a face-lifting needle for her at the age of 13.
She also took an adult friend's ID card several times, "fishing in troubled water" in the plastic surgery hospital, and lay on the operating table smoothly.
According to the 2020 "White Paper on China's Medical Beauty Industry Insights" released by iResearch, illegal production in the medical beauty and plastic surgery industry is still rampant. There are about 80,000 lifestyle beauty shops across the country that illegally carry out medical beauty projects, which are illegal.
According to statistics from the China Plastic Surgery Association, in 2019, there were at least 100,000 illegal practitioners of medical aesthetics.
Li Xin said that plastic surgery has become more and more common among minors.
Many parents believe that instead of letting their children go to a small beauty shop for plastic surgery, it is better to take them to a regular hospital for surgery.
It is this kind of psychology that keeps parents in a passive position in the cosmetic surgery game with their children.
Under the age of 18, plastic surgery as long as "dad agrees"?
Before this, the video advertisement of a well-known medical beauty App caused heated discussion.
In the entire video, the father and daughter were in a stalemate due to plastic surgery. Eventually the father compromised, and the word "OK" slowly popped out, and the daughter also showed a long-lost smile.
This silent intergenerational conflict ended in a "reunion" ending, but the implicit encouragement to young medical beauties made many netizens speechless: Plastic surgery, dad agree to it?
The "Administrative Measures for Medical Beauty Services" clearly stipulates that, before performing treatment on a patient, a practicing physician must inform the patient or relatives of the indications, contraindications, medical risks and precautions for the treatment in writing, and obtain the patient or guardian Sign and agree.
Without the consent of the guardian, no medical cosmetology project may be implemented for persons without civil capacity or limited capacity.
Many medical beauty apps show all cases of "successful" beauty.
Advanced "AI measurement of face value" and precise digital analysis, each expression expressly or implies "you can be more beautiful" and "beautiful is complete".
Even testers under the age of 18 can "own" a complete set of beauty programs.
Li Xin believes that many of the cases shown are difficult to distinguish between true and false.
Even adults can easily be misled by wild marketing rhetoric due to lack of medical knowledge.
Zhang Jin had seen a 19-year-old girl.
When she was 15, accompanied by her mother, she had her first rhinoplasty surgery.
However, her parents didn't know enough about the plastic surgery hospital at the time, so she now has to undergo repair surgery every year, which is now the fourth time.
"I feel a little scared after listening." Zhang Jin said.
During the interview, the two doctors both held conservative attitudes towards the phenomenon of plastic surgery and younger age.
On the one hand, minors are still developing, and blind plastic surgery can easily cause physical damage.
On the other hand, most minors are immature in their minds, and it is difficult for them to have a clear understanding of aesthetics. In addition, they are susceptible to temptation and easy to follow the trend. They may be impulsive plastic surgery, so it is not appropriate to make premature changes.
Zhang Jin said that from a medical point of view, for some pathological conditions of developmental defects or deformities, the general consensus among hospitals is that a lower age is no problem.
In addition, some corrections will have time points. Too late intervention may cause psychological pressure on minors, but cosmetic surgery that simply seeks beauty must be cautious.
Liu Xin, director of the Medical Law and Ethics Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, said in an interview with the media that when it comes to cosmetic surgery, we must be alert to the abuse of guardianship.
The purpose of guardianship is to protect the lawful rights and interests of minors. This requires full consideration of the pros and cons, especially those involving the fundamental interests of minors. The future development of the child must be taken into consideration. The guardian simply signs and exercises the power of agency. Obviously There is a problem.
For cosmetic surgery, minors should have "special regulations"
On April 3, 2020, Xiaodong underwent a total double eyelid surgery in a hospital in Fujian.
Unexpectedly, a nightmare began here.
On the same day, after Xiaodong's father signed the operation notice, the operation started at 9 o'clock, and Xiao Dong was not pushed out of the operating room until 12 o'clock.
In the meantime, the chief surgeon "taught" the interns on the side from time to time, "From opening the corners of the eyes, loosening the muscles, and opening the orbital typhoid muscles, I can hear all of them clearly, and I am extremely afraid of thinking about it."
Xiaodong’s eyes did not recover as expected. Instead, the corners of the eyes were sunken, the scars were stuck, and the shapes were asymmetrical. There was even a feeling of pulling and pain. "It means that there is an expanded scar on the eye frame, even if you wear it. Covering glasses can easily attract strange eyes."
Realizing that the operation failed, Xiaodong began to collect information on double eyelid repair.
After consulting several hospitals, a doctor's words almost broke her.
"The doctor said that my eye problem is too great, maybe there is damage to the eye function, it is difficult to perform repair surgery for me." Xiaodong felt that the tears were full in the mask.
"At that time, my father kept asking the doctor to be more careful. Maybe he thought he had made me ugly and made me suffer from double eyelids." Xiaodong couldn't help but feel sad when he thought of it. Most of the hospitals offered prices above 30,000 yuan.
Xiaodong consulted a lawyer for this, but was told that a lawsuit of less than 50,000 yuan was unnecessary.
Moreover, the process is long, and even if the case is won, the hospital will not compensate much.
Legal professionals interviewed said that compared with other lawsuits, medical cosmetology disputes often require identification first, and it is not easy to defend rights.
Moreover, many patients have to seek medical advice at the same time. Parents and children often feel tortured and exhausted physically and mentally.
At present, the laws and regulations do not make special provisions on the issue of minor plastic surgery.
In 2019, some representatives of the National People's Congress called on the law to keep up with the supervision of minors.
In an interview with the media, Wang Jiajuan, a representative of the National People's Congress and a teacher at the No. 1 Senior Middle School in Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province, said that clear regulations should be made on the situation of minor plastic surgery.
Except for medical plastic surgery due to congenital defects and other reasons, it is strictly forbidden to perform cosmetic surgery on minors; on the other hand, it is necessary to clarify the legal responsibilities of minors’ guardians and plastic surgery institutions, and severely penalize violations of the law.
Lei Jiamao, a lawyer from Guangzhengda Law Firm in Guangxi, said in an interview with a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily that plastic surgery is a decision involving personal rights and is different from other decisions that are purely property rights. Parents should be restricted in this regard. .
Lei Jiamao said that some states in Australia and the United States prohibit plastic surgery institutions from performing plastic surgery on minors under the age of 18, and some even have tattoos.
From this perspective, the corresponding restrictions on minor plastic surgery, such as stricter procedures and clearer responsibilities, are in line with the legislative trend.
Although he does not shy away from defending his rights through legal proceedings, Lei Jiamao believes that the issue of "plastic surgery fever" for minors requires the joint efforts of the state, society, schools and families to resolve.
Each subject must have a sense of mission and responsibility. For example, the medical aesthetics industry must strengthen industry self-discipline and refrain from advertising medical aesthetics to minors.
On January 11, Xiaodong signed a mediation agreement with the hospital and received a compensation of 10,000 yuan and a refund of 6,000 yuan for the surgery.
However, before the operation, she was full of anti-inflammatory drugs, scar cream, cosmetic contact lenses, eye shadows and false eyelashes, which she was still lying quietly in the drawer.
(At the request of interviewees, Xiaotang, Nana, and Xiaodong are all pseudonyms.)
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Chen Qian Source: China Youth Daily