Could Saddam Have a New Face?

ByABC News
April 18, 2003, 4:55 PM

April 23, 2003 — -- Could that nondescript, paunchy guy sitting next to you on the bus be Saddam Hussein?

It's medically possible, say plastic surgeons.

The former Iraqi leader, not seen publicly since at least April 9, could conceivably be nearly healed from soft-tissue plastic surgery and have the look of a dapper businessman, a mustache-free version of his younger self, or an uglier man than he ever was.

Given a bit more healing time, he could have his facial structure transformed so dramatically that even members of his inner circle and high-tech facial recognition programs would have trouble recognizing him.

"If you went ahead and just painted your house, that would just take a few days to make a little bit different," said Dr. Henry Kawamoto, a plastic surgeon at the University of California, Los Angeles. "But if you wanted to change the structure that would take a little bit longer."

There is no evidence to suggest Saddam has had any surgery. In fact, a profiler who has studied Saddam believes he's way too vain to agree to change his appearance, and may be dead.

At the very least, many believe he's likely in too much of a scramble to escape to make time for an operation.

Nevertheless, several plastic surgeons contacted by ABCNEWS offered their takes on how different he could appear if he wanted to.

"It would be quite easy to change his appearance," said Dr. Julius Few, assistant professor of plastic surgery at Northwestern Medical School in Chicago. "It is technically easier to change a person's appearance than to enhance it and maintain the same character. He could be transformed and significantly recovered by three to six weeks."

To make Saddam look like a younger man with male-pattern baldness, Few might "recede his hairline, elevate his brow, smooth out his upper and lower eyelids, adding a subtle slant to the corners, place cheek implants, soften his nose, give him a facelift and chin implant, and reduce the size of his ears."