Will Temporal Reduction Surgery Help Relieve Tension Headaches?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have prominent temporals major muscles which are very strong. It bothers me in two ways: 

1) I get incredible tension headaches from clenching in the night and even eating chewy food. 

2) I dislike the look. 

I’ve had three Botox courses into the muscle to try and reduce it and whilst it provides some temporary relief it’s short lived. 

I’m interested in the surgery and wanted to understand more about it.

Thanks in advance.

A: Thank you for your inquiry and detailing your temporal muscle concerns. The critical question is which part of the temporal muscle is involved.  (posterior, anterior to both) That knowledge determines the extent of the surgery and time/cost to do so. Please send some pictures that show the event/location of your temporal muscle hypertrophy. Based on your description I suspect it is a combination of both posterior and anterior area temporal reductions which, although can be surgically treated at the same time, are done by different methods.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana