Refacing Inmates

Abstract

This article reviews the role of plastic surgery in rehabilitating disfigured inmates. These programs surfaced over 30 years ago under the assumption that physical deformities were retarding rehabilitation efforts. There are signs that such programs are on the rise, despite the fact that these programs are poorly understood. Few of the published plastic surgery experiments conducted on inmates yield interpretable results, since most of these studies suffer from internal validity problems. Moreover, it is not clear whether disfigurements function as a cause or a consequence of antisocial behavior. Last, we know too little about (a) what types of cosmetic procedures yield positive outcomes, (b) whether corrective surgery works better on adolescents or adults, (c) whether we should concentrate on correcting disfigurements among chronic as opposed to occasional offenders, and (d) whether behavioral outcomes emerging from plastic surgery will vary by gender.