Am I A Good Candidate For Iliac Crest Reductions?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I saw your case study on iliac crest reduction in a male patient and am interested in more information about this. I am in my early thirties, and I am thin with an athletic build but my iliac crests are overdeveloped and this ruins the harmony of my physics, since I have a small waist and broader shoulders and chest, it creates more of an hourglass shape rather than a V shape. I’m looking for more information about the price for this procedure, recovery, functional implications and to what extent the soft tissue that is mentioned in the case study (TFL Fascia, etc) is damage / removed / altered, as well as what other risks may exist, how long recovery timeline, etc. I had no idea this was possible so I was excited to see your article!

A: As I have learned from doing iliac crest augmentation there are no long term functional issues with iliac crest reduction. The small amount of  fascia that is released along the crest to do so is not significant enough to cause any functional problems. There is some discomfort with ambulation in the first few weeks after the surgery but that dissipates quickly and one is back to normal activities within 30 days after the surgery.

Whether iliac crest reduction would be effective for your anatomy and aesthetic goals would require hey picture assessment of your iliac crest prominences.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon