7-Year-Old Samantha Shaw Gets Plastic Surgery To Prevent Bullying (VIDEO)

"Good Morning America" continued its exploration of all-things-plastic-surgery on Thursday, interviewing seven-year-old Samantha Shaw, a first grader from South Dakota who recently went under the knife to pin back her cup ears and fix a fold on her right ear.

Apparently, the number of teens and children getting plastic surgery has gone up 30 percent over the last decade, with more and more young people resorting to operations in order to avoid bullying. However, Samantha told Juju Chang that she hasn't been bullied, per se. Her mom said that others have made comments in front of Samantha -- with adults being worse than other kids -- but confirmed that the surgery was more preventative, so that her daughter wouldn't get bullied in the future.

New York Dr. Steven Pearlman, who performed the surgery free of charge thanks to the Little Baby Face Foundation, strongly believes that any abnormality can result in torture on the playground. But when asked whether he actually suggests that children get plastic surgery to avoid bullying, Pearlman responded, "Well, it depends where you draw the line. If it's minor, if it's cosmetic, absolutely not. But in my book and [that of] most of the medical community, the plastic surgery community, ears that stick out is not a cosmetic issue."

WATCH:

Comments

[rheaseo25]

08:09 AM on 06/09/2011

this is much better than the mother who injected botox injection on her 8 year old kid. otoplasty or ear surgery are designed for kids with these type of physical flaws, it makes the surgery much easier if its done at early age.

Cosmetic Surgery Information:http://www.advancecosmetic.com

[Mad Max51]

04:05 PM on 05/16/2011

I am who I am and if you don't like it... Thenget to stepping because I don't need you/

[No1 Goddess JMS]

12:46 AM on 05/16/2011

I meant DISGUST

[No1 Goddess JMS]

12:45 AM on 05/16/2011

Okay, lol...
I saw the before and after and... her ears STILL look CRAZY!!
So if the kids tease her about THAT, what's mommy gonna do theeeen?
Cut her frickin ears OFF, lol??!
Geeeesh.
Stop raising a lil victim and a whimp.
Develop your kids character, for christ's sake...
I've seen ppl with no arms or legs, eyes missing, dents in their head, cleft lips, ears MISSING, etc. (who didn't "correct" it) fair through life better than THIS!!
This is soooo weak!!
Ppl who see/use plastic surgery as an ALTERNATIVE to raising your kids to be strong, digust me.

[No1 Goddess JMS]

12:48 AM on 05/16/2011

Also, ppl keep saying that this surgery is NOT cosmetic...
Last time I checked, big ears can STILL hear things.

[No1 Goddess JMS]

10:38 PM on 05/11/2011

Lol...
NOW they're gonna tease her for getting plastic surgery, lol!!!
When will it ever end? It won't.
Time to develop some tough skin and stop encouraging your kids to grow up to become whimps!
Can't you see? -The bullies WIN here!
WHO in their right mind would endorse this madness? -Crazy ppl, that's who.

[loulou32963]

07:06 PM on 04/20/2011

I am now in my 50's and wish that my family had the money to fix my ears when I was a child. My ears stuck out so much that my own mother called me 'dumbo'. I had to wear my hair covering my ears until I had them pinned back in my 20's. It was one of them best decisions that I ever made. My other was to get braces at age 17 and pay for them myself.
Both are corrections for imperfections that are easily fixed.These help people to look average.
Getting ears pinned back or a teeth correct can make your life a lot easier at age 7 or when you are an adult.
How many people react negatively when a kid has braces on their teeth or wears contacts instead of thick glasses in school? NONE.
The people that are making the most noise are probably happy with their looks, but they should not judge a mother for trying to make her childs life easiser. I wish my mother would have do so for me.
And if you are looking at picutres of KATE HUDSON...she has had her nose fixed and ears pinned.Take a look at her childhood pictures and you will see that she is averge/cute now, but could never get the roles that she has had if she had not had the nose corrected at a you age. Her ears have been covered up by her hair styles until recently.

[shaydeybiz]

11:01 AM on 05/14/2011

I have to say I totally disagree. I am 26 and I am overweight and I don't necessarily like my face BUT I know this is the package I was given to work with and that's exactly what I've done. This idea of seeking to fix every little flaw is unbelievably stupid. This girl's ears didn't need fixing. She was cute as she was. And no I don't think its horrible to have braces since not getting braces when you need them can lead to jaw problems... but I do think contacts are unnecessary.
So many people these days are so afraid of what might happen if their kid is bullied. You know what we're raising a bunch of BABIES! Many adults today are strong because they learned through life's trials to be strong... but we try so hard to make everything easy for these kids and then we'll be surprised when they are a bunch of spineless selfish adults....
Guess that's the way it goes though. Go ahead coddle your children.... and watch them freak out when the real world hits like a ton a bricks. I'll let mine experience a little disappointment and teach her how to handle bullies so she doesn't have to take crap from them.

[MathChique]

06:48 PM on 04/19/2011

For all of you who seem to be authorities on this subject and who are judgmental of the people who have chose to have it done I'd like to ask if you have bothered to ask anyone who has had this procedure done at a young age if they have any regrets? Or do you even know anyone who has had this surgery?

[MathChique]

06:43 PM on 04/19/2011

This procedure is at least 50 years old. When I was 8 my best friend had it and my daughter had it over twenty years ago. We thought of it as correcting a problem. Now, with all of the reality shows and people having multiple surgeries, GMA makes a big deal about a 7-year old kid getting her ears pinned and then, tied it to a bullying issue.
A cleft pallet is repaired (of course much worse than flapping ears) but we don't make a big deal of the plastic surgery aspect.
People have bunions removed, not because it is necessary, but because they are ugly and make shoes hard to fit. We don't make a big deal about the plastic surgery aspect of it.
Same goes for orthodontia, gum surgery, and many other surgeries.

[marketing]

11:45 PM on 04/18/2011

School-age children in particular are often victims of taunting and bullying by other kids because of the size and shape of their ears.

Studies have shown that people with aesthetically atypical ears have significantly lower self-esteem; and children often cope by either developing introverted personalities or engaging in problematic behavior. Fortunately, studies have also shown that otoplasty can change all of that.

http://www.esteemstudio.com.au/t5otoplasty.php

[David McDaniel]

04:28 AM on 04/19/2011

Why is it that when I ask for information about these vague studies that you mention and point out that you're advertising for a commercial website, my comments disappear?

[by-the-sea-]

05:14 PM on 04/18/2011

Ear pinning is a very common procedure; no one here has the right to come down so harshly on the parents. They are free to make the choice that they made for THEIR child (not yours), and if it makes the little girl happy, more power to them!!

[BreeRodyMantha]

12:20 PM on 04/18/2011

I had a friend who had this same surgery at age fifteen. I'd say that's a better age because they can understand the true impact of it. You ask a seven-year-old, "Honey, you want us to fix your ears?" They won't say, "Well, I feel very perturbed that my mother thinks I'm imperfect the way I am. I'll have to sleep on it." They'll say "yes!" or "no!"

Had the girl already actually been bullied, that would be another factor working into it. But she hasn't. Comments have been made, but comments are made about a lot of things.

It would seem that the mother is the insecure one. She doesn't want her daughter to risk being hurt. Which is admirable, but I think she's doing it the wrong way. There is no substitute for love, and teaching your child to love themselves. I was badly bullied for being nerdy, and my Mom always encouraged me to be myself and love myself. I love her.

Plenty of kids are bullied for things they CAN'T change surgically - for example, being gay. If there were a surgery to "fix" that, would you do it? Or would you just tell your child that they're beautiful the way they are?

Little Samantha seems like a bright, beautiful child. This is an unfortunate story.

[David McDaniel]

04:21 AM on 04/19/2011

I agree. It's interesting that you bring up being gay, because I was thinking about that earlier. Yet, sadly, there are parents who *do* try to "fix" their kids from that.

As to me, when I was 7, I stuttered, I didn't want to wear glasses, I begged my parents to have my freckles removed, and I also wanted a circus tiger in the back yard.

My parents had the good sense to tell me that I was loved for the person that I am, that I would need to wait until I was old enough to demonstrate responsibility to wear contacts if I still wanted them later, that my freckles were a part of the person that they loved, and that changing those things would only let the people who were teasing me win. They taught me to accept myself and assert myself and concentrate on my inner character and not worry about what I looked like on the outside -- that if other people had a problem with it, it was their problem, not mine.

They didn't tolerate anyone talking badly about me, and more importantly, they did not allow me to judge other people by their appearances, either.

They also told me I would have to settle for a house cat. Yeah, I was really let down for a while, but it taught me the important lesson that what you think you want isn't always what's best, and you can't have everything you want.

[Ella Silver]

07:00 AM on 04/18/2011

90% of you should never be allowed to raise children. or even breed.

You're likely instilling your children with horrible values, not considering the importance of nurturing their minds and not teaching them to be tough and tenacious people with strength of will and character but rather terrified mushpants who will run from every challenge or bit of adversity life deals them.

Good luck with that. You people return to your world.. I'm returning to mine.

[MG Metiva]

09:06 AM on 04/18/2011

Cruel much?

[BreeRodyMantha]

12:33 PM on 04/18/2011

What's more cruel - teaching a kid the ways to cope with teasing, or rushing them to surgically fix what you see as a flaw so that they don't get teased?

We have to remember that there's a huge difference between teasing and bullying. A little teasing can build character. Bullying destroys it.To this day at age twenty-one, I get teased for my extremely pale skin and my very young looks, my flat chest, my deep voice, my big, French-Canadian chin. They're all just part of who I am, like Samantha's ears.

There's a huge difference between that and bullying, which no one should have to go through. But it doesn't look like Samantha has gone through that. And while it shouldn't happen to anyone, coping with it properly instead of just putting a band-aid over what people are making fun of you for is healthy. I was bullied very badly in middle school, and the experience brought me closer to my mother, who taught me to love myself for who I am - a nerdy misfit!

http://breetalksaboutstuff.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/cosmetic-ear-surgery-to-prevent-bullying-on-a-seven-year-old/ Here are my full thoughts on it. You may appreciate it.

[David McDaniel]

03:06 PM on 04/17/2011

I find it amazing that when I've stated that I would NEVER allow a 7-year-old child to undergo a strictly cosmetic procedure under general anesthesia that I've seen people:

1. Tell me that general anesthesia is no more dangerous than a sleeping pill. Yet when I present facts -- http://journals.lww.com/anesthesiology/fulltext/2002/12000/anesthesia_safety__model_or_myth___a_review_of_the.38.aspx -- people say I'm just trying to scare people. No, I'm simply saying that general anesthesia should be avoided unless medically necessary and whenever possible, alternatives should be sought.

2. Talk about "poor Samantha" and the emotional impact of bullying, yet these same people are calling her horrid names but don't see the hypocrisy in that.

3. Think that because a plastic surgeon did this for free, he's some really great guy. What about all the free advertising he got on National TV and all of the parents he's trying to convince to have their children fixed for minor issues?

4. Looking to him as the great medical authority on the issue. If you went to see a neurosurgeon, a cardiac surgeon, and a plastic surgeon and had no medical problems, the first two would send you away, but the plastic surgeon would try to fix ALL of us. Does that sound ethical?

5. Fail to seriously consider that a psychiatrist or orthopedic specialist might have better medical solutions.

6, Continually attempt to convince me that this procedure was medically necessary.

[Boopsie2008]

10:31 PM on 04/17/2011

No, after your many many posts on how it is just awful to subject a 7-year old to surgery because of the risk of death due to anesthesia, it's clear that this rant will continue unabated.

But as to your point 6, watch the video again. Her surgeon felt that it was.

[David McDaniel]

09:57 AM on 04/18/2011

Watch again with regard to points 3, 4, and 5 and see how EXTRAORDINARILY biased this piece is, and how this is essentially a 4+ minute commercial for ONE plastic surgeon. Sure, he did this for free, but do you think he really cared about Samantha, or do you think any young child would do as long as he got FREE AIR TIME, with NOT ONE other medical professional to offer either supporting opinions, or contrary opinions? And, he's essentially soliciting business from other parents he can manipulate as well.

Did we here from an ENT specialist? A pediatrician? Board Certified Pediatric Orthopedic doctors? Board Certified Child Psychiatrists or anyone in the Mental Health Community who *specializes* in self-esteem issues, or are we just going to take the word of ONE plastic surgeon as the ultimate self-esteem authority?

If he truly cared about Samantha and her self-esteem and doing this for free, do you think he would've exploited her on National TV, or done this quietly? If he truly wanted to help needy children, wouldn't he fix a 3-year-old whose car seat went through the windshield, an orphan who stepped on a land mine, or a 15-year-old who got half of his face blown off with a shotgun?

No. He insists that this is "Medically Necessary", yet this was not posing one iota of danger to her physical health.

I understand that you see the facts differently. This is how I see them.

[loulou32963]

07:24 PM on 04/20/2011

http://www.ayoungyou.com/category/procedures/otoplasty-ear-reshaping-ear-shaping/

Are you a doctor? If you take a minute to look at the infomation that is found in the link above, maybe you will form a different opion.

[nikkid39]

12:08 PM on 04/17/2011

Good job, mom. I would have done the same thing. Now, comb the girl's hair and we are in business.

[EvenThen]

10:57 AM on 04/17/2011

This is not new. Surgery on kids for this has been going on for as long as I can remember. If it makes life better I say go for it.