Can My Protruding Forehead Be Reshaped?

Q: Dr. Eppley, my head is mildly deformed looking from the side. The forehead bulges out at the top and makes my head look too long from the side view. I want my forehead to have a more curved look that angles backward. I have attached a side view which shows me before and after I have done some computer imaging to show the forehead shape I am after. Can this look be surgically achieved?

A: Thank you for your inquiry and sending the photo attachments. What you are talking about is a cranial reduction/forehead reshaping which would be done by a burring removal technique. The important question is whether it can be reduced enough to achieve the result you are looking for. That is best answered by knowing how think the outer table of the cranial bone is. That can be evaluated by simple plain x-rays of the skull (AP and lateral views). From these films the amount of bone that can physically be removed (outer table) can be measured. There is no question some reduction be done, I (and you) would want to know the best we can beforehand if it is enough to justify undergoing surgery for it.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana