RICHMOND, VA (WRIC/CNN) - You've heard of programs to stop bullying, but now some children are now getting cosmetic surgery to combat teasing.
Although it's now been two months, talking about the teasing and bullying still brings tears to 11-year-old Bella Harrington.
"They were teasing her over it,” said Sabrina Harrington, the child’s mother. “One thing they said she had elf ears."
The younger Harrington said children would always point out her ears, and that is why she wanted to change it. “I thought that they stuck out way too much,” she said.
"When she was a baby that one ear stuck out a lot,” said Sabrina Harrington. “She started saying that they were being mean saying different things. We kept telling her its OK.”
And the 11-year-old is not alone, as about five percent of the population has protruding ears, said Dr. Joe Niamtu.
According to Niamtu, when it comes to correcting an issue that's prompting bullying, the younger the patient is, the better.
"We like to treat these children before they enter school,” Niamtu said. “So it's not uncommon that I'm doing 4-or 5-year-olds. And the reason is bullying, or peer pressure it's been shown to psychologically to have the ability to affect their self-esteem or body image for the rest of their life."
Experts said it's not a decision to be made lightly.
The Harringtons waited several years before Bella came to Niamtu. Her surgery was in December.
Sabrina Harrington said it’s no different than getting braces.
"When people would ask if I would like to go swimming in the summer I'd be scared they'd show," Bella Harrington said.
But her "big reveal" says it all.
"I was so happy," she said.
What may appear to some as a slight change made a big difference in this little girl's life.
“I wear my hair up a lot and I’m not like focused on if people can see them,” Bella Harrington said.
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