Guangdong to protect minors

Hospitals and medical institutions in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, will not be allowed to perform cosmetic surgery on minors without their guardian's consent, according to a local draft regulation on protection of minors, which has been put forward online for public input.

The draft, released over the weekend by the Guangzhou Youth League Committee, will help protect minors from modern-day perils. It also aims to fill in gaps of the national law on the protection of minors, said the committee's website Monday.

One apparent pressing concern according to the Guangzhou Daily was minors seeking nonessential cosmetic surgery. Its report concentrated on one of the regulations that will require medical institutions to inform minors and their guardians of the possible risks of cosmetic surgery.

The new set of regulations for minors in Guangzhou is expected to come in effect in June 2013.

"There are minors coming to our hospital for plastic surgery, but generally we don't accept them if it's only for beauty concerns," Jiang Hua, head of plastic surgery at the Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, told the Global Times, adding that minors are neither psychologically nor physically ready for appearance-changing operations.

More than 3.4 million plastic surgeries were carried out between 2009 and 2010 in China, generating revenues of some 300 billion yuan ($47.96 billion) in 2010, according to a survey by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, reported the New York Times earlier.

China ranks third in the world in terms of the number of plastic surgeries, behind the US and Brazil. China's industry is growing by 40 percent annually and employs over 20 million people.

"Most medical organizations nationwide now perform cosmetic surgery on minors only with the parent's approval. It's insurance for both sides," said Zuo Wenjun, a plastic surgeon from Shanghai Time Plastic Surgery Hospital.

Zuo says every month some parents ask hospitals to do cosmetic surgery on their children, and during the summer and winter vacations, several hundred might seek image-changing operations.

"Sometimes children want a face-lift without notifying their parents, and ask their elder brother, sister or other relatives over 18 to give their consent," Zuo said, adding that schools should be more involved in trying to dissuade minors from altering their body.

The draft regulation on the protection of minors also stipulates that every elementary and junior high school should employ at least one social worker.