Parental opinions about facial plastic surgery for individuals with down syndrome

Facial plastic surgery is an intervention that some have proposed to improve the physical functioning, appearance, and social acceptance of individuals with Down syndrome. Our purpose in this study was to examine the opinions of parents of children with Down syndrome about this practice. Two hundred and fifty parents responded with usable surveys and were generally familiar with the practice, yet the majority of respondents did not support the surgery. The literature on this topic is reviewed, and related issues are discussed.