February 20, 2019
In this news story, I explore the correlation between societal body ideals perpetuated by the media and the rise in illegal plastic surgery procedures.
In the last decade, the explosion of social media has resulted in a rising number of teens and young women seeking plastic surgery procedures, in many cases resulting in death.
The number of cosmetic surgery procedures in young adults (20-29) has risen nearly 7 percent between 2007 and 2017, according to Vikram Mookerjee, student leader of Boston University Medical School’s Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Society. Procedures for teens aged 13-19 have risen 2 percent.
Surgical complications are low when procedures are performed by a board-certified doctor because there are guidelines the doctor must follow to ensure the well-being of the patient. However, the high costs associated with plastic surgery have created a problem for people who want to have these procedures done. To get around this, people will go to illegal, uncertified surgeons.
Social media’s popularity among teenagers and college students across the world plays a big part in this spike in the number of cosmetic procedures.
“People keep going to these doctors due to lack of resources and misinformation,” said Doctor Juan Pablo Herrera at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “They are so desperate that they risk their own health if they don’t have enough money to pay for a legitimate operation.”
The average price for a legal butt lift is $4,802, but the price can vary anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 depending on the case (ASPS). Illegal operations are much cheaper, usually ranging from a few hundred dollars to $1,500. This price difference is the main reason many women seek these dangerous procedures.
Illegal plastic surgery operations are characterized as any person performing a procedure without a medical license, using unapproved products, or in a non-medical area. Although these “back-alley” operations may be thousands of dollars cheaper, the risk of death and complications, during and after the surgery, rises due to the unsanitary and unregulated conditions.
Large online presences such as Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, who are known for their curvy bodies and extravagant lifestyles, set a nearly unattainable standard for beauty. With more than 127 million Instagram followers each, these women are among the top followed people on social media. These new body ideals of what is considered desirable are thrusted into the media. Young women, who cannot naturally attain these body types, turn to plastic surgery to reach those standards as a result.
One characteristic of these online influencers is their waist to hip to butt ratio. They have taken the “ideal” hourglass shape to a new extreme by photographing themselves in flattering, unnatural poses. There is a correlation with the amount of young girls trying to look like these photographs and the fact that, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), butt lifts have risen more than 213% from 2000 to 2017, not accounting for underground, unregulated procedures.
“I think that social media plays a dynamic role and evolving role in how many people desire cosmetic surgery, what kind of surgery they desire, and how easily they access it,” said Mookerjee.
In 2017 alone, Americans had 300,378 breast augmentation procedures, up 3 percent from 2016, according to ASPS. Of those 300,378 people, 29% were between the ages of 20 and 29.
In that same year, 20,300 butt lifts were performed, more than doubling the amount from the previous five years, according to the ASPS.
Under a certified doctor, Brazilian butt lifts (BBLs) are carried out two ways: by taking fat from the back or stomach and injecting into the butt, or through dermal filler injections. Certified surgeons have access to safer products, so the risks of surgery are much lower. Although recent advances in silicone implants have almost eradicated the complications associated with implant ruptures, the mortality rate associated with BBLs are estimated to be 1 in 3000–the highest of any cosmetic procedure (ASPS).
The risks increase even more when they are done through illegal operations. From reports of the use of industrial grade silicone to cement injections, these operations often result in death.
Silicone injections for cosmetic purposes have been outlawed in America since the 1960s because they cause deformities and embolisms, or blocked arteries that restrict the flow of blood, usually resulting in death. These safety regulations are thrown out the window when procedures are illegally carried out.
In 2013, Tamara Blaine, who was a college freshman, sought to find a cheaper way to get her butt augmented and turned to illegal surgery (Winston). She had her operation done in a motel in Manhattan and died only a few hours after she was injected with silicone. Tamara’s autopsy report had traces of silicone in her blood, citing asphyxiation and complications from the silicone as the cause of death.
Tamara is not a rare case though. In the past 5 years, many women have died in New York, in neighborhoods like the Bronx or Queens, as a result of the botched underground procedures. Exact numbers of deaths are hard to find because these procedures are undocumented, the numbers in America are estimated to be in the hundreds, according to Mookerjee.
“I had self-confidence issues, but social media has taken them to a new level. I am surrounded by media that is trying to sell me the idea of perfection and peers who are also buying into it,” said Boston University sophomore Amanda Willis. Media seems to have done it’s job because she had just gotten lip injections for her twentieth birthday.
Aileen Tran 