A 6-year-old boy who was getting bullied over his ears went under the knife to permanently change his look.
Gage Berger told Inside Edition that kids at school picked on him, saying “that I look like an elf and I have weird ears,” he explained. “I just don’t want to be made fun of.”
His parents felt the same way, noting that other kids often stare and giggle when they see Gage’s ears. “He just gets really down on himself and he thinks, ‘I’m not good enough,’” his mother, Kallie Berger, told Inside Edition.
To fix the problem, Gage’s parents brought him to a plastic surgeon for an operation called an ear pinback, which can “improve the shape, position or proportion of the ear,” according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
While doctors generally don’t recommend plastic surgery for children under 18, ear pinbacks are more common among kids. According to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, there were 9,123 ear pinback surgeries performed on children under the age of 18 in 2014.
Original LINK: https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/why-this-6-year-old-got-plastic-surgery-162432642.html
My opinion: Since he had such an abnormal ear shape, I believe the surgery was justified. It's good to get it over with while he's young, instead of having everyone he meets judge him based on something he has no control over.
Questions: If you had a child with a physical abnormality, and they insisted on getting correction, would you?
What are some specific reasons why you would or wouldn't allow it?
Replies
Well done! Be sure to hyperlink correctly.
Every situation is different and in this case I believe the surgery was justified. The problem with plastic surgery is that it is so subjective and our society is so judgmental. In this case it looks like if his ears were left like they originally were they could cause him health problems in the future. It really is about what is best for the kid.
If my child had a physical abnormality I would not let him get plastic surgery till he is at least 13 years old because then he or she is a teenager and they are going to junior high and high school so teens are going to eather be worse there or they will just forget about it.
I don't think they could forget about it because, well, it's his ears. They'd be the first thing anyone sees on him, and the reminded of them would always be there. What's the difference between having it at 6 or 13?
I think plastic surgeries at that age are bad and I don't agree with parents allowing it, even in this case where he gets bullied and made fun of i think his parents should have went to the school about it to get it stopped....I wouldn't want my child to change it at that young of an age. It's not right in my opinion.
But what about when he goes out in public like to a mall or any other public places he might visit? People would judge him before he even gets a chance to speak. Would that be something you could learn to ignore?
It's terrible that he got made fun of so much for his ears that he had to have plastic surgery at such a young age. It's nice that he is happier now that his ears are "normal".
I would just so my own kid wouldn't get bullied but also i wouldn't because that's the way he was born and he shouldn't matter about what others think about you. But its what he wanted and hes still young his ears may change with his body when he starts to grow more.
Good point. I forgot that there's a slight chance of surgery failure. I think even knowing that (depending on how high the risk of failure is of course) I would still allow the correction.
I would let me or her do it because tehy want to be happy.
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