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via Nickelodeon press release:

KIDS WHO HAVE SURGERY TO CHANGE THEIR LOOKS SHARE STORIES ON NICK NEWS WITH LINDA ELLERBEE, “MINOR ADJUSTMENTS: KIDS AND COSMETIC SURGERY,” PREMIERING SUNDAY, OCT. 23, ON NICKELODEON

NEW YORK, Oct. 19, 2011 – Cosmetic surgery is a $30 billion industry and the patient is getting younger all the time. While some kids have cosmetic surgery for medical reasons, others are having it just to improve their looks. Nick News with Linda Ellerbee hears from kids who have gone through various cosmetic procedures in the half-hour special, “Minor Adjustments: Kids and Cosmetic Surgery,” premiering Sunday, Oct. 23, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon. Beginning Monday, Oct. 24, the special will be available on iTunes as a free podcast and available Tuesday, Oct. 25 on Nick.com.

“The new American cosmetic surgery patient is a kid,” said Linda Ellerbee. “It’s become an increasingly popular Christmas, graduation or Sweet Sixteen gift. This issue is complicated, and saying what is right and what is wrong is tricky in a world filled with more gray than black and white.”

Brooke, 18, from Austin, TX was 12 when she told her parents she wanted to get liposuction, a cosmetic surgery to remove fat from the body. A plastic surgeon agreed to operate on Brooke, and she is believed to be the youngest liposuction patient in the country. After that, she got a tummy tuck, lap band surgery and breast implants all before the age of 16. “I wouldn’t change a thing. It was a boost. If people say I look like Barbie, I take it as a compliment.”

Surgery to alter the shape of the nose is the most common cosmetic procedure. Jessica, 16, from Hewlett, NY always felt self-conscious about the shape of her nose. “Every time I looked at myself, there was just something there that bothered me,” said Jessica. “It was the one thing I always hated about myself. I had surgery to get my nose done about four months ago. All I want to do now is get rid of those before pictures, because I just love the way I look now.”

John, 17, of Boca Raton, Fla. has no regrets about his breast reduction surgery. “No teenage boy should have breasts, it’s not normal.” John was very self-conscious about it and when he first heard about breast reduction surgery, he wanted to do it that day. “In a situation like this, I don’t think cosmetic surgery is so bad. My life has pretty much turned around completely.”

Most doctors, including clinical psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere, believe it’s important to look at what’s on the inside before rushing to fix what’s on the outside. “I think a lot of young people are going to be very disappointed because they have this idea that plastic surgery or cosmetic surgery is the quick fix,” said Dr. Jeff Gardere. “Come to love who you are. If you have a larger nose or a protruding chin, it’s who you are. Embrace it!”

Nick News, produced by Lucky Duck Productions, is now in its 20th year and is the longest-running kids’ news show in television history. It has built its reputation on the respectful and direct way it speaks to kids about the important issues of the day. Over the years, Nick News has received more than 21 Emmy nominations and recently won its ninth Emmy Award for Under the Influence: Kids of Alcoholics in the category of Outstanding Children’s Nonfiction Program. Additional Emmy wins for outstanding children’s programming include: The Face of Courage: Kids Living with Cancer (2010); Coming Home: When Parents Return from War (2009); The Untouchable Kids of India (2008); Private Worlds: Kids and Autism (2007); Never Again: From the Holocaust to the Sudan (2005); Faces of Hope: The Kids of Afghanistan (2002) and What Are You Staring At? (1998). In addition, in 1995, the entire series won the Emmy. In 2009, Nick News was honored with the Edward R. Murrow Award for best Network News Documentary for Coming Home: When Parents Return from War – the first-ever kids’ television program to receive this prestigious award. Nick News has also received three Peabody Awards, including a personal award given to Ellerbee for explaining the impeachment of President Clinton to kids, as well as a Columbia duPont Award and more than a dozen Parents’ Choice Awards.

Nickelodeon, now in its 32nd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA – News, VIA.B – News).