In the Blog

Stomach stapling for your sweet sixteen

October 10th, 2006     by Zoe Cormier     Comments

Theres an interesting article in The Globe and Mail today about a new trend in plastic surgery teens getting gastric band surgery. In order to force obese people to eat less, a plastic surgeon loops a ring around their stomach to make it smaller (for the low low price of $16,000). According to this piece a clinic in Yorkville, Toronto, has operated on the stomachs of more than 20 teens between 16 and 19 (some of which came from the US where stomach banding surgery is highly restricted for people under 18).

This trend doesnt shock me like the other plastic surgeries weve seen young women undergo (like breast implants see yesterdays blog entry Breast implants linked to suicide’). Unlike small breasts or a big nose, a hundred extra pounds is a serious threat to your health (as well as to your sense of self-worth). We all know how incredibly difficult losing that weight can be. Heck, I personally know a couple of people (both men, by the way) who have had their stomachs stapled and say it changed their lives.

But we know very little about the long-term effects of this kind of surgery, especially for young people. What do all our shameless readers think? Do the benefits of the surgery outweigh (no pun intended) the risks? Or should this kind of procedure be illegal for Canadian teens like it is for American ones?

Tags: body politics, news flash

« Breast implants linked to suicide

The status of status »