Could my 15 Year Old Daughter Have Liposuction?

Question

My daughter is a healthy 15 year old. 5'6 125 pounds. She doesn't diet, just eats healthy and she's on the swim team. Despite being a normal weight and active she still has areas on her body that haven't seemed to change and that she's unhappy with mainly her stomach and hips. Would she be able to have liposuction?

Jeff Angobaldo, MD · Answer

Thank you for submitting your question. I would wait until 18 years of age before you consider a cosmetic surgical procedure. There are risks and complications that can occur with any surgery. When your an adult , you are more emotionally and physically ready for a surgery. Best wishes

Vincent N. Zubowicz, MD · Answer

Medically there is no problem with liposuction on a healthy 15-year-old. His matter-of-fact she probably is an ideal candidate. Psychologically it's another matter. The parents will have to sign the consent and take responsibility for the procedure.

Mark Deutsch, MD, FACS · Answer

While it would be legal with parental consent to have liposuction, I think you would be hard-pressed to find a surgeon willing to perform the procedure as most know that at age 15 her body is still continuing to grow and change. In addition, she should be more mature at the time of surgery so that she is fully able to understand any possible risks and be able to properly comply with post-operative instructions.

Dan Mills, MD · Answer

Personally I am not a fan of performing liposuction on a young teen ager whose body is continuing to change. Unfortunately, this is the time period when young women can be the most self conscious about what others would see as a minor physical flaw. You can often tell by looking at other family members if there is a tendency to hold on to fat pockets in a particular area, and make a determination of whether this problem may be a hereditary and ongoing problem. If you think that it might be, you might want to consider a less invasive treatment, such as Coolsculpting, which would give a non-surgical reduction to a localized fat pocket.

Peter E. Johnson, MD · Answer

Certainly with consent from a parent your 15 year old can have liposuction, however she is still changing and developing and it might be best to wait. There are some compelling inherited shapes which liposuction can address. Most young women easily find things they don't like about themselves and time to grow physically and emotionally will solve most.

Matthew Concannon, MD · Answer

Thanks for your question. Legally, as long as her parents give consent, it can be done. However, at 15 her body is still changing. Unless there was some very compelling reason for proceeding with a surgery such as this at this point in her life, it would probably be a better idea to defer it until she was more mature physically and emotionally. At that time, she would be in a better position to participate in the decision making process and would likely do better overall as well. Good luck!

	Matthew Concannon MD

Barry L. Eppley, MD, DMD · Answer

As long as she has your (parental) consent, she can legally have liposuction. By your description, it sounds like she has as a few spot areas that could be effectively reduced.

Could my 15 Year Old Daughter Have Liposuction?

Answers (7)

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