I think this story is wonderful! While plastic surgery is not for everyone, it certainly was the answer for little Gage! God bless him, and his whole family!

This is a great example of plastic surgeons doing great medical work. As a socal resident everyone in my family gets regular skin cancer screenings and any dermatology procedures at Cosmetic Laser Dermatology. If you live in San Diego I can't recommend enough.

I think that was a massive mistake.

Yeah but instead of putting his son through surgery he should have insisted schools clamp down on the nasty bullies! Let's face it-this kids ears were NOT that unusual. HE did NOT have "elf ears." Instead of playing into his insecurity, anyone bullying him should have been called out on it and expelled if need be. I would never have put my child through unnecessary surgery just because other kids were jerks.

Agree. Kids that bully others are trying to make themselves feel better. I always got bullied for being very small. Midget was my name. For a child, it is painful. My dad sat me down and told me all that was great about me. I never looked back. I learnt to love me. He also told be never to tell another person what might hurt them. I dont. Parents pray a role in how your kids talk or respond. Why not equip them the best way?

I agree with you in theory. In reality, it does not work to insist the school clamp down on bullies. Sadly.

Good for him! Kids sure can be dicks.

The only ones that are ugly in this story are the bully kids that made fun of him. He's adorable either way.

Maybe a thicker skin would have been a more useful modification.

Why? Why not just teach other children not to be cruel? Some kids can handle teasing and some kids just cannot. We are not cookie cutter people. We have different personalities and emotional strengths.

We should all be teaching our children not to be cruel. But, it's a tough world, and people are people. What is a child going to do later in life when s/he encounters a difficult co-worker, customer or boss? A huge part of childhood is developing the coping mechanisms we will need as adults. I'm not sure the strategy in this case was the healthiest choice.

There is time for learning coping skills. Teasing is really harmful to some kids and they cannot shake it off. Their needs matter too. Some of them eventually kill themselves when they cannot make it stop.

Don't know many 6 year olds that have built up a thick skin due to life's normal ups and downs.

He was already adorable. What ever we can do as parents to protect our kids from the idjets out there....parents: teach your children not to tease others. It's not nice .

In a perfect world, parents would always teach their children to show respect for their classmates and friends. Unfortunately, there are far too many people out there who either abdicate their parental responsibilities and obligations to raise good and decent human beings, or they are so morally bankrupt, they don't see their children doing anything wrong.

I raised five children, all grown and married now. When I would catch them being less than nice to their siblings or friends, I never asked them "How would you feel to be treated that way" because the universal reply was "I don't know" with a shrug of the shoulders.

Instead, I asked them "How do you feel about yourself, knowing you have caused your (sister,brother,friend etc) to feel hurt. Does that make you feel good? Does that make you feel happy to know he/she feels so bad now because you said unkind things?"
That always worked, because it made them think, and know they were responsible for their actions. It also opened another opportunity for a conversation about treating others thoughtfully and kindly.

They all have children now, and I always have to smile when I hear them say the same things to my grandchildren that I said to them. So I guess some of it did made a dent.

Ear pinning on young children has been done for years, and I don't see it as a problem. The boy is very handsome either way, but the really ugly ones are the bullies...and I am guessing their parents are not much different. They will move on to torment someone else.

He was so much cuter with his natural ears!

Ear pinning is actually quite common. I've known several that have gone through that relatively minor procedure. There's nothing wrong with it. With that said, those who are bullying for any reason need to be firmly dealt with.

Surprised this is news. My brother had that surgery when he was a kid, as his ears really stuck out and they bothered him. It was a simple procedure and he was really happy afterwards, not a big deal.

IMO, it's a big deal to those who have it done.

My sister had that surgery at about the same age - the doctor considered it a birth defect due to too much cartilage. It did not matter what my parents said or did, it was hurting her. It helped her tremendously. You can say all you want about stopping bullying, etc. But for these kids, if this is the only way, and it is doable, than accept it. He will be happier.

I have an idea, lets make sure everyone looks the same so we don't offend anyone.

Kids can be very mean. There was a boy in our school with big ears. Girls would say to each other. "I know who your boyfriend is RADAR!"

Everyone gets bullied at one time or another during childhood. What works to stop it? Brute force and learning not to be afraid to use it even in the sneakiest way.

Um, no. We humans are more creative than that. Most of us.

Ridiculous. All that kid needed was some boxing lessons. Now he has learned not to stand up for himself but to capitulate to others, to go along to get along. Sad.

Awwww, he is such a cutie pie both before and after, what a great smile he has.

The problem isn't this boy's ears. People judge others based on certain perceived "norms." If the bully sees someone who doesn't conform to that perception, he/she uses that trait to pick on, bully, threaten, harass, and demean the individual who is different. It's the only way they can feel good about themselves. Imagine what kind of self image the bully must have to act out like that.
I'm a short guy. I have a friend who is extraordinarily tall. We compared notes as to the bullying we received in grade school. Guess what? It was exactly the same. It wasn't that he was "too tall," or that I was "too short." It was that we were both different than what the bullies perceived as "normal."
This attitude toward anyone who looks different is what has to change for bullying to stop. Bullies are very insecure, sometimes abused at home, or subjected to the same bullying behavior by their parents. They don't know any better. To allow it to go unchecked means that the bully is a bully for life. Some end up dead, on drugs, in abusive relationships, or in jail. Some learn, most don't.
To anyone who has been bullied, IT ISN'T YOU! It's the bully or bullies! NO ONE deserves to be bullied,

Cute kid. I usually resent putting children through needless surgery, but I guess, in this case the parents felt that the harassments were overwhelming, and made ther right call.

So like in about 3 years we'll be reading about how he's have gender reassignment surgery and taking estrogen. Great job.

Wrong topic. The Caitlan story was a few days ago.
Having big ears or a big nose, or anything out of the ordinary does not equate to gender dysphoria, nor does having ears pinned back equate in any way to wanting a sex change.
Pacifica must feel very threatened by people different than he/she is. Too bad. Moving on.

Only if someone taunts him into it, apparently.

This little guy was really cute with his ears, but I know how mean children can be. I am glad he got plastic surgery to pin his ears back. He deserved to stop those hateful children who were mean about his ears.

Good Lord kids can be little demons. If this helped him emotionally then its was minor surgery that was worth it.

Kids are the worst critics and the nastiest ones. My family is very tall and I got my share of giant, giraffe jokes growing up. By 11 I was 6ft, and as a girl that can be a killer. Now I wouldn't change a thing about my height.

Now you're a long legged hottie.....

it's great to be able to feel better about yourself, i just hope all the people getting surgeries like this aren't surprised if their offspring inherit the traits they had surgically sculpted away, and that they are honest with their partners about it.

When I was a kid, I used to wonder why other kids were obsessed about their ears, or their nose, or their chin; when I never obsessed over my appearance. It wasn't until I grew up, that I realized, the difference was, I had nothing to obsess about.

I think it's great his parents did what they thought was best for their child, and that there's a financial assistance program that made it possible.

His smile says it all.

I thought he was cute kid to start with.

Agree. I just hope the bullying doesn't get worse. The bullies will notice the difference and know that they teased this poor child so much that drastic measures were taken. Sometimes that is just pouring gas on the fire when it comes to bullying. This child needs lots of positive reinforcement along the way. Surgery is not going to change everything. We all need to nip bullying in the bud whenever/where ever we see it.

In the "before" photo he looked like a young Yoda.... ;-)

Sad that the kid had to do surgery. I think bullies in his age group actually go home and tell their parents in details what they do daily when they are with other kids, but the parents more than likely have a good laugh with them about it and probably encourage them by adding their mean bits to it too. I think parents and teachers can do more to change bullies at such a young age.

Look at that smile!!!
Good work!

I have a few issues with this story. 6 yrs old and endured YEARS of bullying due to his ears. At 3-4 my kids didn't even know the difference between regular ears and the ones the little boy had. My niece dealt with it for years just keeping her hair long but it was not as "traumatic" as these parents are making this. I would not be afraid to bet the ears bothered the parents more than a child.

Poor little guy. My ears stuck out when I was a kid. I looked like a muncheechee if I let my hair air dry. Nobody ever made fun of me though but I was very self-conscious about it. After my teens, they started moving back and against my head and you can barely see then straight on now.

L'il ones sure can be mean.

The kid has big elf ears....yea he'll get teased but I think the parents needed to help him have thicker skin and develop a backbone instead of putting him through unecessary surgery...what is the kid going to do if they tease him about something else? Keep changing himself to appease a bunch of jerks kids?

It shows American Quick fix mentality and lack of parenting skills. The kid should have been convinced about gifted uniques as a virtue to be proud of than ashamed of and subject him to glorified butchery as a special kind of surgery. It would have made a tremendous difference to his character as a grown up.

Maybe it would have, but as a parent it's hard sometimes to look at your kid and go "this pain will make you stronger later on." That doesn't help the here and now. And maybe the kid's ego would have been shattered too much to repair. It's hard to trust in the "maybes" when your kid is hurting.

That doesn't work in the real world. You can tell a kid whatever you want, but it doesn't mean they'll believe it.