When most people think of getting cosmetic surgery, they think of adults or at least someone who is 18 years or older as it has always been seen in the past years.
However, one Utah family is allowing their 6-year-old son to go under the knife to change his appearance because of what he is currently going through at school.
The six-year-old boy is a son of Timothy Berger and his wife Kallie Berger who are convinced enough that their son requires the cosmetic surgery and are willing to support him and his decision to undergo the procedure.
Gage Berger, the six-year-old boy was a subject of relentless bullying that started at the age of five because of his outrageous shape of ears.
The kids went on to call him elf ears for more than a year until Gage Berger felt the need to have something done about his ears hence talking to his parents about the surgery.
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Timothy Berger and Kallie Berger went on to support their son because the bullying got so bad that their son’s happy, playful and outgoing demeanor began to change to the point where Gage became an introvert and dreaded going to school. They definitely had to do something about their son’s happiness and self-esteem.
“I’d catch him looking in the mirror and trying to pin them back, and when he got nervous or upset or when he was in trouble, he’d physically grab his ears and get depressed which worried me as a parent a and the future of my son.” Timothy told ABC News.
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Timothy and Kallie Bergers feared that the bullying was starting to take its toll on their son’ self-esteem, happiness and comfort so they decided they would look into cosmetic ear pinning surgery to stop the bullying and protect their son’s self-esteem.
Gage told the inside edition that he did not want to be made fun of as this has been going on since he was a first grader.
“This isn’t any different than taking your child to get braces to ‘fix’ the appearance of crooked teeth or changing your Childs’ school because he is being mistreated,” Timothy told ABC News.
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The cosmetic surgeons and the medical team went on to explain to the Bergers about the surgery and the procedures that were going to be undertaken. They went on to assert that it’s only a short two-hour procedure and in no time, it would be over.
The medical team and surgeons said that Timothy Berger was so excited about the procedure and if he wasn’t up to it, the medical team wouldn’t have touched Gage Berger. Generally, it was up to both Timothy and Kallie Berger to decide for their son on what they wanted and what their son wanted for himself.
With Gage Berger on board with the ear surgery, the Berger’s enlisted the help of Dr.
Steven Mobley a plastic surgeon who also had ear-pinning surgery at the age of 19 and was also made fun of as a child. They wanted him to share his experiences and the things he went through with their son and noticed that it was possible to have a successful ear surgery for the gage.
Dr. Mobley made it clear that he isn’t endorsing cosmetic surgery for children but says that it’s a personal and private decision a family needs to make together. That is why both Timothy and Kallie Berger together with their son agreed to have the procedure performed for him.
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“I get a lot of patients with big ears, and some of them decide they like their ears and they have the strength and resilience to stand up to bullies,” explained Dr.mobley. “But I also have other patients who are just crushed, and they shouldn’t be shamed for wanting a procedure that helps them gain back their confidence.” Added Dr.Mobley.
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Gage was nervous before his surgery and brought along his stuffed tiger who he said was also having surgery because the two of them are never apart. That nervousness turned to excitement when it was time to take off his bandages and see his new ears. Gage was more than happy to see his new ears and very pleased with what the doctors had done.
“Oh my gosh!” gage exclaimed with a giant smile on his face with so much excitement. And just like that, Gage’s entire demeanor was transformed. Gage’s parents say that Gage went “back to his old self again” after surgery and “couldn’t be any happier.”