Will Secondary Skull Reshaping Cause Complications?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in skull reshaping surgery. I think I have scaphocephaly but I’m not sure. My head shape looks like those of the kids in the picture when I was younger and had received surgery thank God. My head shape has gotten better significantly but it is still narrow and my forehead seems to be protruding outward. I thankfully have a full head of hair but am afraid of what will happen when I go bald. I just want to talk you more in depth and possibly send some pictures. As you can see from the pictures my head shape isn’t as bad but it is more of a cosmetic issue. My only concern is of complications that could ruin my appearance for the rest of my life or going bald from complications from the surgery. Hopefully you can get back to me asap I’m excited for your reply as I have found someone out there that can help!

A: Your picture does show the remnants of having originally had scaphocephaly or sagittal craniosynostosis. As you have mentioned the front to back distance of your skull is just a bit long with a slightly protruding forehead and a somewhat narrow skull width. I assume hidden within your hair is a scalp scar from the original infantile craniosynostosis surgery. The question now is whether any effort at improving your skull shape justifies the effort. I do think the forehead bulge can be reduced, certain skull areas smoothed out and some width added using your existing coronal scalp scar. This is not a skull reshaping procedure in my experience that is associated with any major complications, only minor aesthetic ones.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis,Indiana