High School Cheerleader Dies of Breast Surgery Complications, Friends Say

[Mugu]

She was captain of her high school cheerleading squad, a nearly straight-A student and a soon-to-be pre-med freshman at the University of Florida.

But now, 18-year-old Stephanie Kuleba is dead, and her friends and relatives are pointing to breast augmentation surgery as the cause.

Several of those close to Kuleba told The Palm Beach Post that it appears she had an extreme reaction to the anesthesia. No official cause of death has yet been released, according to the paper.

"The surgery itself was very personal," said friend Benny Perlman, speaking on behalf of the teen's grieving family. "She passed away from complications during surgery."


Complete article at:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,341313,00.html

[WCGreen]

1. She didn't die from the breast surgery....

She died because of a reaction to anesthesia...

She probably would have faced the same consequence for any surgery...

[madaboutharry]

4. Yes.

And this is why elective surgery must be a carefully thought out choice.

[WCGreen]

18. No kidding...

I would never go under the knife unless I had too...

[flvegan]

2. Another article says it was corrective breast surgery

"Kuleba was undergoing surgery to correct asymmetrical breasts and an inverted areola, (family attorney) Stanziale said."

What really shocked me from this other article was this:

The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reported that between 2002 and 2003, the number of women and girls younger than 18 who got breast implants nearly tripled, from 3,872 to 11,326.

Doctors also say they are seeing more parents giving their teens the gift of new breasts or other cosmetic surgery for milestones like birthdays or graduations.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4520099

[Taverner]

3. Meh - we're all going to be cyborgs in the near future

[KansDem]

5. "...more parents giving their teens the gift of new breasts..."

I wouldn't even know how to approach my 16-year-old daughter with this "offer" for her birthday or graduation.

[flvegan]

6. I couldn't imagine being a 16 year old girl and asking

my mom and dad if they'd buy me bigger boobs.

[JerseygirlCT]

9. Asymmetrical breasts are no medical problem, though

What's an 18 yo doing undergoing serious surgery for something like that?

Our overwhelming obsession with breasts as sex objects in this culture is sort of sick. As is the idea that there's this nearly unattainable ideal of a body image that we all are supposed to strive to reach anyway.

This is a horrible thing.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

13. 18 yo is physically an adult...

As to the necessity of the procedure no one here knows her it may have been really bad or it mogiht have been not really perceptible.. There are times for corrective surgery and this very may well have been one of them..

To be fair I was all ready to come on and be like 'what the hell were the parents thinking' because my initial assumption was some kid who just wanted bigger boobs..

Its easy for people without serious physical deformities to tell those with them to suck it up, its harder to actually suck it up..

Were my daughters, God forbid, to have a really bad deformity I would not fight them on this, maybe I would tell them to wait until 21 but then again this girl was about to go away to school, a good chance for a fresh start without the problem. But were my daughters fine bu just not 'busty' enough for society I would really do everything I ethically, legally, and lovingly could to stop them.

[LibDemAlways]

7. Cosmetic surgery is one thing, and if this

is cosmetic corrective surgery gone wrong, it's a damn shame for the poor girl's family. But I don't understand how surgeons in good conscience can enlarge breasts of teenagers for no good reason - and have the parents be all for it. What the hell is wrong with these people that they don't teach their daughters to accept themselves as they are. Idiots.

[Wabbajack_]

8. I am a man who likes women

I like natural breasts, anyone else?

[nomorenomore08]

10. Seconded. This obsession with "perfect" (i.e. made of plastic) bodies is just sick.

nt

[selador]

11. it's very david cronenberg

prophetic he has been...

[nomorenomore08]

15. Yeah, I was just thinking of Cronenberg as well.

"Videodrome," anyone? A TV show that turns reality into a nightmarish hallucination? Sounds a little like the effect of Fox News on its viewers. *snark*

[selador]

16. i dug existenz too nt

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. My puter refuses to load faux???

[Fleshdancer]

14. I've always wondered....

is there some way to determine if you're going to have a life threatening reaction to anesthesia before going under? Could a blood test be done or something??

:shrug:

[Indenturedebtor]

17. Well part of the human genome project

And it's "spinoffs" is to create a database which matches a persons genome to their responsiveness/side effects to various medicines.

What a shame. The little "inconsistencies" are often the parts you come to most adore in someone you love.