Plastic Surgery And Down Syndrome:

A headline making the rounds of countless newspapers and online discussion forums lately has been the news piece about the parents who had corrective plastic surgery for their daughter who has Down syndrome.

A similar case was highlighted in another story where a plastic surgeon whose daughter was diagnosed with the condition expressed his wish to take a similar step for his child when she grows up.

Down syndrome is held to occur in one out of every 733 live births in the U.S. and is considered to be one of the most frequently occurring chromosomal abnormalities by medical experts. There are doctors who face cases where parents request them to correct the look of their child.

Reconstructive eyelid surgery, facial surgery and an otoplasty or ear surgery are some of the procedures medical boards and plastic surgeons admit to performing on their patients who have Down syndrome. They also admit to there existing very less information and research material available concerning such cases.

Parents and guardians of wards who have Down syndrome have to remember that external alteration cannot change the mental state of the individual. Plastic surgery no doubt can improve the way people look, but the risks and implications attached to surgeries performed on individuals with Down syndrome usually are difficult dealing with and understanding.

We, at the Plastic Surgery Institute of California, recommend that parents and guardians think hard about such matters and consult a plastic surgeon or physician who is sympathetic to and experienced in such cases.