The Nation - News from April 4, 1989

Hundreds of Texas state prison inmates have been getting face lifts, liposuction and other cosmetic fixes at taxpayers’ expense for more than 20 years, according to a published report. The operations have been performed at Galveston’s John Sealy Hospital, which provides medical and surgical staff for the state prison and is a teaching hospital for the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. The hospital said the Texas Corrections Department is not charged for surgery on inmates, but the expenses are paid by taxes because the hospital is part of a state-funded college, the Houston Chronicle reported. The medical school says the practice helps surgeons perfect their skills.