»More teenage girls getting adult plastic surgery«

For decades, plastic surgery for teenage girls meant one thing — a nose job, frequently performed during the summer between high school and college. While rhinoplasty remains the most common cosmetic operation for teenagers, doctors are performing an increasing number of procedures such as breast implants, liposuction and tummy tucks on young women like Casto and even girls as young as 14.

The enormous popularity of reality TV shows such as "Extreme Makeover," "The Swan" and MTV's "I Want a Famous Face," as well as an explosion of Web sites that extol the virtues of cosmetic medicine, has 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.

A British firm has announced plans to develop breast implants using a synthetic biomaterial which it claims will make them safer and feel more natural.
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But AorTech said it hoped Elast-Eon would help them break into a global market in breast implants estimated to be worth $600 million a year.
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Tear-resistant, flexible and blood-compatible, the material offers a more durable and resilient alternative to silicone or silicone gel.

Silicone implants, which were first developed in the 1960s, were taken off the market in the U.S. in 1993 due to concerns over their safety.

Critics claim silicone often leaks from the gel-filled devices, causing cancer and neurological diseases.

As a result more than 90 percent of the U.S. market now uses saline-filled implants. To prevent leaching and rupturing, breast implants have become increasingly firm, while trials with peanut oil and soy-bean oil have failed to produce a satisfactory alternative.