At What Age Can A Child Undergo Skull Augmentation for Skull Asymmetry?

Q: Dr. Eppley, My daughter is 2.5 years old and I have been worried about her head shape since she was 10 weeks old. I brought it up at every wellness check but was dismissed by her pediatrician saying it was fine. Now it’s too late and I live with guilt and regret daily. I was reading on your site about the skull augmentation implants on toddlers. How invasive of a procedure is this and what are the risks? How many cases have you done on toddlers and what is the success rate? I have attached some photos of her head.

A: Skull augmentation is not an appropriate procedure for infants. The skull needs to grow a lot more and the earliest I could consider it is 4 or 5 years of age….but likely even later than that age.

Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana