Plastic Surgery On Spring Break?

More And More Teens Are Opting For The Operating Room

(CBS)  Today, kids who want to stay on the cutting edge are getting cut. The Early Show Correspondent Tracy Smith reports.

Plastic surgery, for those who can afford it, is in. And unlike years past, there's no embarrassment about getting your nose re-imagined. And never mind the beach; a growing number of teens are finding their vacations are the perfect time for a visit to the operating room.

“I see lots of patients, whether they're college students on spring break or high school students, this is the way they're spending their vacation time,” says Dr. Stephen Greenberg.

And he's not talking just about nose jobs.

Erica Gugiotti got breast implants while her friend Jason got a tummy tuck and liposuction. Erica says, “That's the next big thing, plastic surgery. Now it's just like putting on lipstick when you get breast implants or a nose job. It is becoming more accepted every day and a lot of pressure to get it.”

This past spring, 15 year-old Amanda was feeling the pressure herself. Her mother Mindy Draizin says, “She would come home in tears saying, ‘They called me ugly and big nose,’ that all her friends were getting boyfriends and one little boy said, ‘You'll never get a boyfriend because you're so ugly.’”

So Amanda and her doctor set a date. But when the day arrived, Amanda wasn't feeling too trendy.

Her mother asked her, “So when the anesthesiologist comes in here what do you want to ask him?” To which Amanda replied, “I don't know; I just want to get it over with. I'm just so scared!”

A few moments, and a few drugs, later, she was calm and Dr Greenberg's team took over. A short time later, Amanda had a new nose, and--she hoped-- a new life.

Her mom recalls, “She was groggy and she put her hands up to the bandages and said, ‘Oh my god, I did it. I'm beautiful now, Mommy. I'm beautiful!’ And I said, ‘Yes, you are, Mandy, you're beautiful.’”

Before and after pictures show quite a difference for the better.

Amanda says, “I have more confidence in myself and I do things now because I want to, not because everyone else is doing it.”

And if a little cosmetic surgery is good for young self esteem, might a little more be better?

Corrine Hernandez, who got breast implants, says, “I want to go again. I want to get my breasts a little larger.”

Not big enough?

She says, “They're big enough, but I want them a little bigger.”

Erica Gugiotti notes, ”When does plastic surgery stop? When do you stop buying new outfits? Do you stop going with the trends? Do you stop buying that new lipstick? Do you stop doing your hair? When do you stop trying to look good? Never, never!”

One thing does in fact lead to another: most of the young people in this story are considering other, more dramatic procedures.