Assessing adolescents and young adults for plastic surgical intervention: pre-surgical appearance ratings and appearance-related burdens as reported by adolescents and young adults, parents and surgeons

Currently available research on psychological aspects of plastic surgery offers little basis for clinical decision making in the plastic surgeonʹs assessment of adolescents and young adults applying for surgery. Therefore, the research aims were to study: first, how these adolescents and young adults estimate their appearance as compared to their parents and plastic surgeons to determine the reality of their own appearance perception; second, what appearance-related burdens they experience to determine the urgency of their request for surgery; and third, the surgeonsʹ considerations for the operation. Data were obtained from 184 plastic surgical patients aged 12–22 years (71.2% girls), 172 of their parents and 37 surgeons from 16 hospitals in The Netherlands, using appearance rating scales and telephone interviews. Results showed that adolescents and young adults rated their appearance realistically as compared to surgeons and parents, and reported substantial appearance-related suffering. There was a moderate to large overlap between the adolescent- and parent-reported burdens. In their assessment, surgeons took psychological and social impediments into consideration. In conclusion, plastic surgeons may rightfully assume that adolescents and young adults have a realistic view of their appearance and that they suffer from significant appearance-related burdens. Parents prove to be an important additional source of information.