Can A Reduction Of My Sagittal Skull Ridge Be Done?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in skull reshaping, specifically a reduction of a sagittal ridge. Not sure what to expect, I got a high top ridge at the back of my head (covered by hair, so a photo does not really show it) – rising maybe 2.5 cm above the rest of the skull top, which looks strange. Would you have reduction experience for that kind of surgery? Can one expect a great change in appearance. (assuming only 5-7mm can be reduced)? Thanks for your advise. 🙂

A: With very high sagittal ridges in which bony reduction alone can not make it confluent with the parasagittal skullbone, one can consider a combined sagittal reduction with augmentation of the areas right next to it. However, the first question to answer is really how much bone can be reduced. In very high ridges the bone may be quite thick and more than the typical 5 to 7mms could be reduced. This would require a CT scan to determine the sagittal ridge thickness and what type of reduction change to expect. It is also possible that in many sagittal ridge reductions I have seen that the bone is much thicker than normal and more may be possible to be reduced. This will be seen in a CT scan.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana