News

Rise In US Teen Girls Having Breast Reduction Surgeries Because Of Increasing Bustlines

by Julian Sonny

Everybody! Great news! Breasts are getting bigger! Awesome! Nothing could possibly wrong with this, right? Right?

Wrong, apparently. As breast size increases, so does the number of breast reduction surgeries in America, as well as the willingness of doctors to operate on teenage girls.

Though the reconstructive surgery was generally suggested only for girls who were at least 18-years-old, the procedure has become more common.

"These can be issues with socialization or physical problems such as back pain, neck pain and shoulder pain," said Dr Jonathan Weiser in Miramar, Florida, who agreed to operate on 16-year-old Monika Montalvo. "What we've found over time is that some of these factors, if not treated when they're young, get worse over time," he said.

Miss Montalvo had been interested in getting her breasts reduced for years, and started speaking with plastic surgeons about it when she was 15.

While most doctors aim to wait until the patient is 18, some cases call for immediate measures.

"In this population, we have to make sure the patient is done growing. We do that quite simply by reviewing how often they've changed bra sizes in recent months. If they haven't changed their size in well over a year, we can feel pretty confident they're done growing," Dr. Weiser said.

Many factors cause women to undergo the surgery, including undesired attention, difficulty fitting into clothes, and low self-esteem, in addition to the shoulder and back pains that come with a busty figure.

For Monika, it was a combination of all three.

"I wanted to do cheerleading but I couldn't. The pain in my back was horrible and on top of that, it was hard to find clothing," she said.

According to Women's Wear Daily, the median breast size in America jumped from a 36C in 2000 to a 36DD in 2010.

Men everywhere are groaning at this news, but after hearing the reasons for the surgery, we may understand it better.

Well, maybe not. Elite.