Can I Have Plastic Surgery at 14?

Thanks for the question. You have to be older than 18 years old. If you’re an older than 18; you’re a good candidate for breast augmentation. I wish you all the best.

Breast development continues throughout a woman's life, with a first stage of maturity achieved at 19-20 years old. Asymmetry is also the norm for women, as no breasts are perfectly symmetrical in size and/or shape. Don't worry, because some asymmetry is perfectly normal and you may find that it is evens out as you age. I suggest you wait until you're about 19-20 before considering surgery.

If you have a severe asymmetry between your breasts, this can be fixed at virtually any age, as long as you and your parents understand that further revisional surgeries might be needed in the future as your body develops.  Good luck.

Severe breast asymmetry does definitely affect women's self-esteem and is one of the few times that I do elective breast surgery on minors. Having said that, I don't think that you can be confident that your breast development is complete at your age. If you have the surgery now, and your breast continue to grow, they may become more asymmetric again. I would recommend waiting at least a year to assure that their growth has stopped.

There is no age limit for breast augmentation. However, most surgeons will not perform breast augmentation surgery for women have not had full breast development. For women under 18, you will need parental consent.

It's understandable that this situation would make you uncomfortable.  That being said, it is still early for you to consider surgical correction.  You will still most likely undergo changes and should wait until after in order to proceed with breast surgery.

You will find that the policy for operating on minors for aesthetic reasons varies from surgeon to surgeon.  There is really no law about this, however it is the position of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons that elective aesthetic surgery should only be performed on those over the age of 18.  That being said, I can tell you that my policy has always been to treat each of these cases individually.  While I don't think it's appropriate to do primary breast augmentation for girls under 18 who simply want to enhance the volume of their breasts, I think it is appropriate to consider it for girls who have what could be called a "significant departure from normal anatomy."  One could consider significant asymmetry that affects your self esteem and your ability to wear clothing and swim suits to be such a departure.  Therefore, if a young lady was mature enough to understand what we were going to do, and she understood the risks, I would consider doing this procedure.  This would include any lifting that might need to be done too.  Much the same as I would do an otoplasty, or "ear pinning" procedure on a 10 or 11 year old child who is constantly being teased, I would consider this type of breast surgery to be appropriate as well.  I particularly like the idea of fat transfer to the smaller breast to improve symmetry because the fat will be your own tissue, and it will grow and shrink with changes in your weight/body size over the years.  We don't expect a large increase in size with fat transfer, but if there is only a cup size disparity between the breasts, this may be the ideal solution.  You would have to have enough fat to harvest from some other area of the body, like the abdomen, flanks or thighs in order to get enough tissue for a graft.  The other thing to know is that the breasts may still change with further development and weight gain, pregnancy, and other factors, and this may require additional adjustment in the future.  These things should be weighed against the benefits of enjoying more symmetrical breasts.  Good luck.

Hi.

1)  I know how disturbing your situation is, but I doubt that your breasts have stopped growing and changing.  I would wait another two years.

2)  It sounds like you need a lift of the larger breast and an implant in the smaller one.  You should do very well.