250 girls under 16 had bigger boobs on the NHS

More than 250 girls of 16 and under have had breast enlargements paid for by the NHS over the past five years, official figures have revealed.

Across all age groups, more than 3,000 women had augmentation surgery last year – up almost a third in five years.

Girls as young as ten have gone under the knife, despite concerns that they are not old enough for the procedure at that age.

The Department of Health said NHS-funded breast augmentation would only take place for recognised clinical reasons, not merely for cosmetic ones. But Nigel Mercer, a consultant plastic surgeon, said that the procedure could
be given the go-ahead if a GP believed the patient was suffering
psychological problems because of the size of their breasts.

The latest statistics show that over the past five years, two girls aged 11 and four aged 13 have had the procedure, which costs around £5,000 a time.

In 2010/11, a girl aged ten had her breasts enlarged on the Health Service. The reason for the operation is not known.

Mr
Mercer, ex-president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic
Surgeons, said: ‘In most of these cases, the girl will have significant
breast asymmetry.


'It is very unlikely that a girl would ever get an operation for cosmetic reasons.

‘For these young girls, an “expander” would be put in. This would allow more fluid to be pumped in to take account of the changing body. You need to keep pace with growing breast size.

‘Possible risks are short-term bleeding, long-term hardening and the risk that implants will have to be removed later.’

In 2010/11, 3,180 women had the operation on the Health Service – up 31 per cent on 2006/07, when the figure was 2,434.

Over the past five years, some 13,860 procedures have been carried out, averaging eight a day. The highest total was in 2009/10, when 3,328 took place. The oldest recipients of breast enlargement surgery were two women aged 85.

The peak age for the operation is 19, and last year there were 114 procedures on women of that age. Over the past five years, 255 recipients were aged 16 or under.

Mr Mercer said: ‘Breast augmentation for cosmetic reasons is not allowed on the Health Service unless they can persuade the GP that they have severe psychological problems.

‘Most will be reconstruction, however. Women who have had breast cancer for example.’

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: ‘The NHS only provides patients with breast enlargement surgery for recognised clinical reasons.’

She said the operation could be performed on women with ‘tubular’ or ‘tuberous’ breasts, where there is a congenital restriction of breast growth, or on those with breast asymmetry, where one is larger than the other.

Augmentation may also be performed as part of the reconstruction process for patients who have suffered breast or chest wall tumours.


source HERE

Omg that has shocked me, surely at those ages those children have plenty of time to develop. My daughter is 12 and no way would I allow her to have this done at such a young age xx