Surgeons have important legal and ethical obligations to patients who are incarcerated and accompanied by carceral facility personnel.

AMA's focus on health care for persons who are incarcerated was in response to the US Supreme Court’s 1964 Cooper v Pate holding.

Patients’ rights to evidence-based standard of care should not be compromised for patients who are incarcerated.

This article considers AMA Code of Medical Ethics’ opinions relevant to the care of patients who are incarcerated.

Safety-net hospitals care for patients who are incarcerated and are key environments in which surgical trainees learn to wield their professional autonomy.

Most surgical inpatients who are incarcerated are not permitted to have visitors while hospitalized.

Incarceration history adds to the clinical and ethical complexity of surgical care for patients who require an ostomy, especially when secondary to trauma.

Surgical research involving patients who are incarcerated is fraught with ethical, logistical, and practical questions.

Patients who are incarcerated lack timely access to safe, quality surgical care.

The US has the most individuals who are incarcerated worldwide.