This is the minimum age for a breast augmentation

How old you have to be for a cosmetic procedure differs from country to country. In Austria, the minimum age for such a procedure is precisely laid down in the Ästhetik-OP Gesetz. How old you have to be to have a breast augmentation carried out and which requirements have to be met is therefore clearly regulated.

Austria: breast augmentation from the age of 18

While the regulations in other countries such as the USA are somewhat different, in Austria the law permits you to have your breasts enlarged as soon as you have reached the age of 18. Of course, even from the age of 18 a detailed medical history is still taken by the treating surgeon.

The plastic surgeon takes the decision

Quite independently of age, the plastic surgeon must always form a personal impression of the patient and weigh up individually whether and which procedure is appropriate. Sometimes patients have a distorted perception or unrealistic expectations; here the treating doctor will communicate very clearly which results are possible and, in case of doubt, also decline to operate.

It can certainly happen that a patient is turned down if the treating plastic surgeon does not have a good feeling or perhaps has the impression that the wish for a breast augmentation has arisen merely out of a whim. Examples of this are patients who decide on a breast operation only because their friends have just had one, for instance, or because it seems “trendy” to them at the moment.

Age alone is not the deciding factor

Age alone is therefore not the only factor that decides for or against a breast augmentation. According to the Austrian Ästhetik-OP Gesetz you have to be at least 18 years old. Personal maturity, however, plays an equally important role, is independent of age and is assessed individually by the plastic surgeon from patient to patient.