Friday a Philadelphia jury found plastic surgeon Dr. Richard Glunk and nurse anesthetist Edward DeStefano liable in the 2001 death of Amy Fledderman a Penn State freshman awarding $20.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages to her parents.

On May 23, 2001, just following her freshman year at Penn State, Fledderman entered Glunk's office to have liposuction surgery on her legs, stomach and under her chin. Two days later Fledderman died at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania from fat embolism syndrome, a complication where fat enter's the bloodstream and lodges in the person's lungs. "She died a horrible death," Slade McLaughlin, the Fledderman family attorney said. "She choked on her own blood."

According to WCAU-TV, Glunk will appeal the ruling.

But the verdict shines a light on what is potentially a big problem involving teenagers. According to The Philadelphia Daily News, citing WebMD, the number of people having cosmetic surgery under the age of 18 jumped from 60,000 in 1997 to 225,000 in 2003. The number of teens having cosmetic surgery is simply staggering, take these numbers for example:

• In 2007, 4,960 liposuction surgeries were performed on teens.
• Also in 2007, there were 10,505 breast-implant surgeries
• In 2007, 4,960 nose jobs were performed

An argument can be made that some of these surgeries were necessary, but knowing that people (especially girls I would assume) are having cosmetic surgery at age 13 is more than a bit disturbing. And knowing that Fledderman, at 5'5" and 128lbs felt the need to have liposuction is a shame.