City considers plastic surgery ban for minors

Guangzhou may become the first Chinese city to ban juveniles from receiving nonessential plastic surgery, according to a draft revision of regulations on the protection of minors, released on Sunday.

If approved, the rules will also require doctors to inform under-18s and their legal guardian about the risks involved before they can undergo any cosmetic operation for medical reasons.

"Cities nationwide have seen younger and younger people undergoing plastic surgery in recent years," said Yang Jianguang, a law professor at Sun Yat-sen University.

"In the pursuit of a fashionable or pretty look, these youngsters may make a ill-thought-out decision to undergo a procedure that could harm their health."

Yang has been leading a panel of experts in drafting the revision since February, and emphasized that it is necessary to regulate the rapidly growing plastic surgery industry through the law.

"It's worrying that some institutions are taking advantage of the trend to offer low-cost yet substandard surgeries to lure juveniles," Yang added.

Zhejiang Mingzhongyi Medical Center in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, launched a promotion targeting college and secondary school students during the summer vacation, offering a 20 percent discount for surgeries such as nose reshaping and double eyelids.

A receptionist told a China Daily reporter posing as a 17-year-old potential customer that the promo will continue on after the summer vacation. She described nose reshaping and double eyelid surgery as "small surgeries with few risks that junior middle school students can undergo".

The receptionist told the China Daily reporter she would need to persuade the parents to sign the consent form for the surgery.

"But many parents brought their children to us for surgery over the summer vacation. Don't worry," the receptionist said.

The center is administrated by the No 3 Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University.

Bu Ren, a facial reconstruction specialist at Plastic Surgery Hospital under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, warned that surgery on juveniles can have unknown effects because the young person has not completed his or her physical growth.

"In addition, due to mental immaturity, juveniles tend to be unrealistic about the surgical effect," she said. "They will be badly hurt if the effect doesn't meet their expectation, or even develop a morbid obsession with plastic surgery in order to bring the desired result."

She welcomed the proposed changes to Guangzhou's regulations but added that she is concerned about the implementation.

"It's difficult for us to confirm a client's age," Bu said. "We do not have the right to ask clients to show their identity cards so we can only judge from appearance.

"Sometimes parents will even help their underage children conceal their true age."

In addition to laws and regulations, the public needs to be educated about the risks of juvenile cosmetology so that they will work with surgeons to ensure the implementation of the regulations, she said.

Laws limit surgery

"If approved, the regulation will be the first rule that has addressed the issue of plastic surgery for under-18s in China," said Zhao Yin, a lawyer who specializes in medical cases at Zhonglun W&D Law Firm in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.

She hopes Guangzhou's pending regulations will be approved and adopted across the country to promote the healthy development of the cosmetic surgery industry.

"The legislation may attract some objections and be the source of some dissatisfaction among non-medical beauty salons as their business may be hit," she said.

"Juveniles are some of their major clients, together with women in their 40s and 50s, especially in Guangzhou, where cosmetic surgery is well established, as the city is in one of the country's most economically developed areas."

The government has urged the public to submit opinions about the draft revision before Nov 15.

Yang said that a draft will be submitted to the Guangzhou people's congress by the end of this year, and he expects the regulations to come into effect in the first half of 2013.

He and his panel are ready for a heated debate with the public on the regulations.

"People might argue that the government shouldn't interfere in their choice of lifestyle or their right to pursue beauty," Yang said.

For example, the previous version of the draft used to forbid juveniles from getting tattoos, which led to a public debate in June when the government told the media about the plan.

"We later decided not to include tattoos on the banned list, as it is relatively less risky compared to plastic surgery, such as breast implants," Yang said.

Guangzhou's proposed regulations to protect young people also address other hot issues. For example, the regulations require parents and guardians to prioritize the security of the juvenile in the event of a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, typhoon and flood, or an accident, such as a car crash.

When an earthquake hit Sichuan province in 2008, high school teacher Fan Meizhong left his students in the classroom and ran for his life to the playground. He then openly talked about what he did without displaying any guilt for his actions. His behavior caused an uproar among the general public.