It's a problem that has made headlines and simply isn't going away - bullying.

According to BullyingStatistics.org, in 2010 one in seven students in grades kindergarten through 12th was either a bully or had been a victim of bullying. The website also estimates that about 160,000 children miss school each day for fear of being bullied.

One of the most common things kids are tormented about is their physical appearance.

"Thirty-nine percent of children who are bullied is because of the way they look," a Manhattan-based plastic surgeon and founder of the Little Baby Face Foundation told Fox News. "Kids get their hair done to try to look like everybody else, their makeup, their clothes and then they can't change their face."

The news provider reports that 11-year-old Arianna Adan was a repeat victim of bullying by students at her school because of her ears. Her mother says that she became withdrawn and depressed. She even attempted to tack her ears back using a stapler.

According to the New York Daily News, 15-year-old Charlie Cardillo, who has Down Syndrome, was also tormented because of his ears.

"Charlie has been bullied and made fun of throughout his whole life because of his looks," his father, Louis Cardillo, told the newspaper.

These kids - and dozens just like them - got help in altering their appearance through the Little Baby Face Foundation (LBFF), a New York-based charity that offers free surgeries to children worldwide.

LBFF founder says that helping kids eliminate the feature that is often the focus of bullies can help kids live a bully-free existence and become more confident.
"It was painful, but afterwards I was the same, but something changed, I was more beautiful," 11-year-old Arianna Adan told Fox News about her surgery.

Good Morning America reports that the number of children and teens getting plastic surgeries has increased 30 percent over the past decade.

According to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), children under the age of 18 accounted for just over one percent of the total plastic surgeries in 2010, undergoing 125,397 procedures.

Cosmetic ear surgeries, like the procedures Arianna and Charlie had, are among the most common for this age group. Rhinoplasty - or nose reshaping - is also common among children and teens.