How Effective Is Skull Reduction?

Q: Dr. Eppley,  I am struggling with my confidence as a result of having a big head. I have read lots of articles on your webpage, and I would really like to do have something done with my head size. It is basically just big in every dimension. So I would like to do these surgeries: 

1. Narrowing of head. (Partly removal of the temporal muscle and burring of bone) 

2. Shorten the length of my head from my forehead to the back of my head. 

3. I would like to reduce the height of my head. (For instance by burring down the sagittal ridge)

I have always had a quite big head, but I was involved in an accident recently, which provoked a bump on the back of my head. So my questions are, how much would it be possible to reduce the skull in the questioned areas?

A: You have highlighted the five site specific skull reduction locations (front, top, back and sides) where reduction procedures are possible that can have an effect on overall head size. It is hard to put an exact number or percent as to how much head size reduction would result from these collective efforts Since every patient is different with varying amounts of head size protrusions and bone thicknesses, each case has to be evaluated on an individual basis. The question is not whether one can perform all these skull procedures but whether the end result justifies the effort. I would need to see pictures of your head from different angles to provide an answer in your case. Ultimately a CT scan is needed to assess the thicknesses of the bone and muscle which also helps in making that determination.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana