"Good Morning America" continued its exploration of all-things-plastic-surgery on Thursday, interviewing seven-year-old Samantha Shaw, a first grader from South Dakota who recently went under the knife to pin back her cup ears and fix a fold on her right ear.

Apparently, the number of teens and children getting plastic surgery has gone up 30 percent over the last decade, with more and more young people resorting to operations in order to avoid bullying. However, Samantha told Juju Chang that she hasn't been bullied, per se. Her mom said that others have made comments in front of Samantha -- with adults being worse than other kids -- but confirmed that the surgery was more preventative, so that her daughter wouldn't get bullied in the future.

New York Dr. Steven Pearlman, who performed the surgery free of charge thanks to the Little Baby Face Foundation, strongly believes that any abnormality can result in torture on the playground. But when asked whether he actually suggests that children get plastic surgery to avoid bullying, Pearlman responded, "Well, it depends where you draw the line. If it's minor, if it's cosmetic, absolutely not. But in my book and [that of] most of the medical community, the plastic surgery community, ears that stick out is not a cosmetic issue."

Source (with video): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/14/7-year-old-plastic-surgery_n_849156.html

Thoughts?

If my child had a severe issue (such as missing a chunk of her ear) I would get it fixed with cosmetic surgery if need be. I can honestly say if I was getting surgery on my daughter's ear for a deformity and they stuck out, I probably would ask about ear-pinning. Might as well while they're already doing something to them, especially if they bother my child.

But, I would not get my daughter surgery if her ears looked like the ears of the little girl mentioned in this article. Yes her ears do stick out, and the one does have a fold... but it's definitely not bad enough that I would consider having it fixed. Ear fold or not, kids will find something to tease her about. It's what kids do. She's got freckles on her face - I know I've heard many kids get made fun of for having them. What's next, is her mom going to bleach her face?

That's not unusual, is it - to get surgery to fix an ear that is cupped over. My cousin had that when she was a kid. It doesn't really compare with a nose job. Like, the ear is wrongly shaped. Easier to get it fixed when young.

@Bubblegum Bimberly: I was thinking the same thing... Ear pinning is a very common operation in children these days, and I do think ear deformities can cause a lot of distress to a child so I'm ok with them being fixed (after careful consideration and discussion between child, parents and surgeon).

Hehe - glad to know I'm not crazy! I don't know anything about it, but I just remembered my cousin had it done back in the day - early 80s, I believe, or late 70s. No one made a big deal of it or even called it 'plastic surgery'. I think her ear was bent over in a more extreme way than the boy in the pic, but as far as I'm aware, it was seen as a normal procedure. A bit of googling now shows me it's free for children on the NHS. Like, if your ear is totally bent over, it makes sense to get it straightened. It's not like a nose job where you're making your nose a different shape because you want it smaller or more pointed or more aqualine or something, and where the fact that the nose is still growing means it would be unwise to do it on a child!

A bit of googling also shows it's a normal procedure in the US too, and kids younger than 7 get it done. So I'm a bit confused why this 7-year-old made news. It's actually covered by insurance for kids under 5 in America. And apparently it has a much more natural effect to do it on a child than an adult, because of the fact the ear is still growing. Here's an American website on why it's a good idea to get it done in childhood: http://www.earpinningsurgery.org/ear-pinning-children.

It's labeled plastic surgery because it's an elective surgery. You don't need it, but since parents are breeding super bullies nowadays, I think parents are opting for it in the best interests of the child. People forget that parents were kids, too, so they take preventative action to make sure their kids have a pleasant school experience so they are encouraged to take their education to college and beyond. I don't think people understand that there's more to being a parent than being your child's bff. If you know your child is being bullied for something that can be changed, even if you get some push-back from your child, you do it. It's in the best interest of the child, will help them feel better about themselves in the long run, and puts them in no danger, why would a parent say no? "It's their choice." No, it's not. If you're the parent it's yours. Kids don't see things through the eyes of experience, and good parents do. Though I think this "It's their choice" stuff is coming from a younger generation of mothers. Have a child too young and you haven't had experience at most of life's twists and turns other than pregnancy.

Yeah, exactly - parents are the ones who sign the consent form - the responsibility lies with them. Children aren't able to look ahead and understand in the same way. Children rely on their parents to make all kinds of decisions for their own wellbeing - both their emotional and their physical wellbeing. Of course if the child was dead against it, then it would be foolish, but the parent is to make the decision based on a variety of factors, including child's willingness. The ultimate decision is the parent's though - I mean, looking at it from another perspective, if a child declared they wanted to nose job, parents would be considered irresponsible for allowing it!

In reality, parents are expected to be the ones making the decisions for the child's wellbeing, and there are always pros and cons of decisions. If the parent waits till the child is legally able to sign the consent form themselves - when they are 18 - then they have also actively prevented their child from ever having an ear that looks natural, as by then it's too late for the surgery to have natural looking results. The 18 year old child could easily resent that - especially if they have endured years of bullying.

And realistically, a five year old with a deformed ear is more likely, as an adult, to regret not having ear pinning than having had it. You can't undo years of bullying, and the effects on self esteem. And having a bit of minor surgery for a deformed ear doesn't mean the child is therefore perfect and will have no understanding of what it's like to have parts of their body they don't like and get minor teasing for, nor will they think that any minor flaw needs to be rectified for bullies. That's daft.

And in reality, people all adjust their appearance to some extent for the sake of others, to be accepted and to avoid being ostracised. The clothes people choose are based on what is acceptable and what is fashionable - people may not choose the height of fashion, but they choose something that is generally acceptable and isn't likely to make them stand out in a really negative way and get mocked. Same with the hairstyles people choose. And braces for their teeth. The things people say - you don't say everything you ever think of, but you filter. There is a basic survival tenet in society that makes people try to fit in to some extent - people have a basic need to be accepted, not ostracised and isolated. Because bullying happens - not just among children. It's herd mentality.

People love to think of themselves as hardcore individuals, utterly unique and not at all influenced by societal expectations, but that is utter bollocks! And I can say that as someone who is 'abnormal' in my lack of motivation to fit in and socialise - and yet even I do try to a certain extent, because I need to survive in life, and decisions as to appearance and behaviour all have consequences, and you have to decide which consequences are important to you. It's no good saying 'Well, yes, this is a consequence, but it shouldn't be a consequence - like, people shouldn't do that - so I'm going to go ahead anyway, knowing that this is the consequence, because I don't believe it should be a consequence! So, like, yes people will bully my child, but they shouldn't, so why should I do anything to make my child look less odd? I'm going to allow him to receive the consequences, because I don't agree with the consequences!' I mean, gosh, I don't agree that I should have to get a big bum if I eat loads of crisps, but it's gonna happen anyway!

(This reminds me a bit of the House episode where the woman who is a dwarf has the opportunity for her dwarf child to be able to grow to a normal height. And she's all 'No, why should she conform to societal expectations? There's nothing wrong with being short! Society shouldn't be prejudiced against us! She should learn to be strong like me!' And the docs ask 'But do you really want her to have to spend all that energy fighting and having to be strong, when there is a simple way of stopping it happen?')

Most surgery is 'elective'. That just means it isn't emergency surgery. It covers FAR more than plastic surgery.

No, body modification solely for cosmetic purposes is ALWAYS my childs choice, NOT mine.

I read the title of this post, and the first thing I thought about was the stigma of the term "plastic surgery" when applied to children, especially as young as 7 years old. I thought about a 7-year old walking around with fake breasts.

I was quite less interested in the article when I actually read it (no offense), because of the nature of the surgery. Emily the Strange nailed it. She was looking out for the best interest of her child what with the huge exposure on bullying (especially cyber bullying) in the past couple of years that's only looking to get worse.

Hehe - yes, I totally clicked thinking it was going to be a nose job or lip implants! Correction of a malformed ear is not quite the same! ;D

I would have this fixed if she were requesting to have it fixed. It isn't a breast augmentation and it isn't a liposuction. My daughter technically had "plastic surgery" to repair a scar on her face... I don't see that as plastic surgery so much as surgery to fix an issue. We're actually contemplating going to see the same plastic surgeon to see if he can do something about a different scar.

she does not need plastic surgery!!! leave your body the way the Lord our God made it!!!

WHAT?!? Did you SEE that ear? God created plastic surgery so that kid could get some help. KEEP YOUR AGENDA OFF OUR KIDS EARS!

personally I wouldn't let them get it done. When they are eighteen & have the money & have an issue with it, the fine. It's their money.

But I guess it's one of those "to each their own" knd of thing

I think it's so sad that it came to plastic surgery for this girl to stop being teased. The school should do more about this bullying. Those little asshole kids need to get their asses kicked so they know how it feels.

If you watch the video, it's not just kids - it's mostly adults. And the main issue is not teasing, because a lot of the time there is no intention to bully. People are just always saying 'OMG - what happened to your ear!'

It's not like having a long nose or a big mole or bushy eyebrows - it's an actual deformity that people comment on because they think something's just happened to her - like that she fell over and her ear bent in half! That is totally going to make a kid feel self-conscious - to have people constantly look horrified and ask what happened when it's just the way she normally looks! And of course, when she gets older, if her ear was still like that, then the hardcore bullying at school would start too.

When I was 15, I went to a walk-in clinic for strep throat treatment. After getting a prescription for the treatment, the doctor looked at me, pointed at my ears (which happened to stick out a lot), and said, I can fix those. Honestly, not many people made fun of me for them (at least not to my face!), but I hated them. My mom told me it was my choice, but mentioned that it was only free until I turned 16. It should be noted, however, that my family was worse than any of the kids at school for pointing out my flaws. Anyway, it was the worst decision evar! I think it had more to do with shoddy workmanship than the procedure itself, but 12 years later, my ears still hurt. :/

I also have a birth defect in my left ring finger that stunted the growth of one of the bones, so it appears that I have no knuckle. People also poked fun at me for that (especially my sister -.-), and quite publicly, so I've never been very open about it (HAY GUYSSS LOOKIT MY FUCKED UP FINGER!), and free surgery was also an option for that, but I never went for it. Mostly because it would be INCREDIBLY painful - even at 15 years old, I was smart enough to know that just wouldn't be worth it.

That being said, I don't believe cosmetic surgeries should ever be forced on someone, much less a child, and it's unethical to even suggest it. The average 7 year old isn't capable of comprehending the long-term effects, so even if parents gave their child the choice, the child would probably make a horribly uninformed one.

what kind of message is that mother sending to her child by making her get an unnecessary surgery.. she's teaching her daughter to do things to please other people. in this case, that's changing her appearance to avoid bullying. if it's not harming you or potentially threatening your life, don't mess with it. pathetic.

I agree that more needs to be done about bullying. What is sad is that Samantha was getting most it from adults, who should know better. Samantha wanted to have this procedure done so people leave her alone about her ears and so she could wear her hair up like the rest of the girls do. Samantha and her mother sat down and talked about this for weeks.
If you had ever seen her before, she was as quiet as a mouse and always so self conscious. She has gained so much self confidence since the surgery. I'm glad she had this done before any of it got out of control. Samantha was gorgeous before, but I love her like she is my own child. If it helps her to feel better about her self, I am glad.

When I was at school (90's) most people with ears that stuck out had them pinned back at some point, normally in primary school, I remember them coming in with their big bandage around their head. I had mine done when I was six, I had them done then because I wanted it doing and they told my parents that having it done younger lessens the scars and also means as the ear grows it maintains a more natural stance, where as in older people it can remain tight and cause the top of the ear to 'fall in' making them look deformed.

It isn't any different than having a brace to straighten your teeth, how many people actually have a brace because the position of their teeth is causing health problems e.g. the need for fillings? People say this bullying is terrible (it is), however I have seen many adults on this site judge other people and be very nasty about them just because they don't have perfectly straight white teeth.

People say not until they're 18, but would they make their children wait until they were 18 to get a brace as well?

@ Transit - I love you. I really, really do. ;] Rarely ever do you say anything that I disagree with. My 9 year old needs braces - she has an over bite and a cross bite. It doesn't effect her health but I'm going to pay for them because I want her to have pretty white teeth and it's easier to correct before she turns teenager.. Cosmetic, eh. Maybe. But she'll thank me when she's older. :]

@stephanie: I've never viewed braces as simply a cosmetic thing. I know there are a lot of people that do - but the way I look at it is, people who have crooked or crowded teeth (like I do) have a more difficult time cleaning and flossing their teeth. I have a tooth in the front that is overlapping another (not a lot, but it does), and let me tell you, it is a bitch to clean the part of it that's behind the other with just normal brushing. And flossing? Ugh. I have a few teeth in the back that I have to seriously yank to get the floss between.

Not a day goes by where I don't wish I'd gotten braces when I was younger (or wish that I could afford them now ;D), so I think it's really great that you're getting your daughter braces :) She probably won't realize how nice straight teeth really are to thank you, but at least I think you'll be saving her a lot of screwing around when it comes to brushing/flossing ;D

@Patchwork Princess: Thanks! I have some dental issues with cavities due to my total refusal as a teen to go to the dentist and now my serious anxiety/fear of the dentist requiring sedation etc etc etc. I don't want that for her, so I make sure she goes and I want it to be taken care of. She loves having her teeth cleaned so I think we're in for a good start :)