Your Questions

Q: Dr. Eppley, Has there been any new advancements in iliac crest implants? How long do you see before this procedure is cleared for use in the US?

A:Iliac crest implants can be done in the U.S. as of right now using the custom implant design process. But you will likely never see a formal FDA-approved iliac crest implant made as an off the shelf device because the demand for its use is too low to justify the economic effort of any company to do so for an aesthetic product.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley,I had a pre-jowl chin implant placed 25 years ago, 15 years ago, had orthodontic surgery. The doctor recommended removal of the implant due to projection. As the photos indicate, my mentalis muscle is apparently damaged. Doctor made an attempt to fix after the surgery, but it didn’t help much. Now, 15 years later my gums are visible. I’m so unhappy and I’d be thrilled with even a little improvement. V-y plasty perhaps?

A: Thank you for your inquiry and sending your pictures. Lifting up the lower lip and maintaining it is a challenge. Because of this challenge you have to do as many manuevers as possible to even get some sustained modest improvement. Thus I have learned to do the following three intraoral procedures combined when trying to improve a lower lip sag…a mentalis muscle resuspension, an elevating vestibuloplasty and a V-Y mucosal advancement

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have heard good things about your work! I have always been self conscious about my head for two reasons. First, I have a very strong brow with a slanted forhead (not picured) and I have a head that seems to be very short in length and not fit my body. I would be interested in a surgery that could add an implant an lengthen my head to match my body. Also, being a 5’8″ male, any extra height would be grealty appreciated. Based on the picture, do you have any advice or experience simular to mine?

A: Unfortunately I do not see any attached pictures. But conceptually what you are referring to in regards to lengthening the head with a skull inplant and maybe even raising it some is very possible. The key questions are the amount of volume needed to do so, how much can the scalp stretch to accommodate this needed volume and whether this can be done in one stage or would require two stages. (1st stage scalp expansion)

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have a question about extra-oral placement of a vertical jaw lengthening implant and infection rates. I had a 7mm width jaw angle implant placed, which for my extremely short/stocky face with almost no ramus/mandibular distance from the earlobe made my face puffy and squirl like (i am a male). It got worse because my jaw joints over time degenerated and moved even more backwards and vertically, to the point I will be needing a total jaw joint replacement and removal of the jaw implants. My question is: is it possible to have a vertical lengthening implant after the jaw joint replacement. In theory in the pictures it looked like it should be possible, but the lack of room for screw placement is what bothers me, i have added photos of the joint replacement prosthesis. My second question is: intra oral placement risks infection, not just of the implant, but also the artifical jaw joint, which would be pretty bad. Would a extra oral approach significantly reduce the risk of infection? I saw some studies on hip and knee replacement giving a number of 0.3-1% infection rate which is extremely acceptable, would this number be comparable to a jaw implant placed extra-orally? Some sources ive found have stated that extra vs intra orally placement of chin implant is only 1% vs 2% risk, that barely seems to make a difference in route of placement. My last question is, would the jaw angle implant be delivered through a new scar, or would the same scar be opened up to place the jaw angle implant. 

A: I don’t think there is any question that if you had indwelling TMJ joint replacements with the external approach to put them there would be no reason why you would not use the existing external scars for jaw angle implant placement…which would appreciably lower the infection and make the recovery easier by staying out of the mouth. In addition custom jaw angle implants would be needed so they mesh with the lower end of the condylar prosthesis and better manage any asymmetries between the two sides which will inevitably be present.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am contemplating this temporal reductio b surgery. My skull is already wide and in addition those muscles are very prominent on me. My hairline is also thinning on the sides which has been exposing them even more Into my mid 40s. I was also wondering about a jowl lift and how much that will benefit me in the long run if I got one this early in life. My mother’s are very pronounced and mine are getting there but, I’m only 43. I thought I should at least ask if I end up going for the temporal reduction anyway. Do you have any suggestions or recommendations for me? Thanks

A: Thank you for your inquiry and sending your pictures. I believe you are referring to the temporal reduction surgery in which the posterior temporal muscle is removed which appreciably narrows the side of the head. It is actually a very uncommon requested procedure for females because of hair coverage on the side of the head but how the operation is performed and the merits of doing so remain the same.

What you are referring to for the early onset of jowling is a jowl-tuckup type of lower facelift…what I call a Level 1 Facelift. (some call it a ‘mini’ facelift etc) You are at the right age for this type of limited lower facelift in which patients want to get early correction to keep the jawline and neck clean and smooth.

Temporal reduction and any form of lower facelift surgery can be combined if the patient so desires.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, What exists for myself is well over 10mms  of temporal contour excessand I know removing the posterior temporal muscle completely would make immense changes in my appearance. I’m based in Australia and I’m truly surprised that you’re the only surgeon going around that offers this procedure so I’m considering of traveling over. Have you had patients travel to you from overseas before? 

Just a couple of questions, can you by any chance perform more than one procedure in one operation? I’m questioning that because I want a brow bone reduction done as well as a posterior temporal reduction done on myself.

A: In answer to your temporal and brow bone reuction questions:

1) The vast majority or my practice is with patients who did not live where I am located. So geographically distant patients, including patients from Australia, is the norm not the exception.

2) Brow bone reduction can be performed at the same time as temporal reduction. The key question is what technique is needed to do it. But regardless of technique it can be performed during the same surgery.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have a dime size dent in my brow/forehead area from forehead reconstruction surgery, I had done 3 years ago. I was wondering how much for bone cement in that area?

A: Thank you for your inquiry. Bone cement is one option for placement into the brow bone defect…but not the only option. That is a difficult area to get bone cement into without wide open access. The concept of injectable bone cements would not apply to a brow bone defect area for a variety of reasons. Thus I would opt for an endoscopic approach where ePTFE (Goretex) sheeting could be more easily and reliably placed.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley ,Hi, I’m 25 years old and have had hollow under eyes all my life. I used to think it was just thin skin but I’ve realized I believe it’s a suborbital deficiency after seeing images. I wanted to see if I would be a better candidate for filler, fat transfer or a suborbital implant. My dermatologist said she wouldn’t do filler on me because under eye filler migrates. I also attached a photo of me at 19 showing a particularly bad photo of the hollows.

A: Thank you for your inquiry and sending all of your pictures. When you have significant undereye hiollows due to a bony deficiency, which is almost always the cause of significant undereye hollowing, the most significant improvement with the longest duration of effects is going to be a suborbital implant. Or more specifically custom infraorbital implants made from the patient’s 3D CT scan. To optimally correct the bony deficiency it requires an implant design that creates both horizontal and vertical augmentation of the infraorbital rim which no standard implant can do. (see attached)

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, how long does it take for hair to start growing through a trichophytic incision, and once it does, how short can you wear your hair?

I am a male and about a year ago I had forehead contouring surgery through a bicornal incision and they utilized a trichophytic incision. They hair never seemed to grow through and I had two big visible scars down the sides of my head. I just had a scar revision a month ago with another trichophytic closure and there still are visible lines down the sides of my head and there’s only very sparse hairs through the scar.

A: You will find getting a good scar result in the temporal area is very challenging and it is almost better to hair transplant it if this scar revision ‘fails’. Hair should be growing through the scar line within one to two months after surgery…if it is going to do so at all.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I was wondering are infraorbital-malar silicone implants inserted through a transconjunctival incision or intraoral? Thanks.

A: Those are two incisional options for custom infraorbital-malar implant placements both of which are associated with a higher risk of infection (intraoral), implant malposition (intraoral and transconjunctival) and infraorbital nerve injury. (intraoral) Whether those incisions are even options worth considering depends on the extent of the infraorbital part of the implant.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have a question for about lateral orbital rim rimmorbital augmentation using bone cement. Does it work and could you do that please.

A: Bone cement is very hard to place in a complete and smooth manner at the lateral orbital rim through a small eyelid incision. It is not a question as to whether it can be done but whether that is a good technique to do so.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley,  With regards to skull augmentation, instead of placing implants under the skin, would it be possible to extend the bone and place implants or some kind of bony material in place of the gap in between the bone when it gets split open? For instance, you can extend the forehead by making a horizontal incision on the frontal bone and extending the top portion above the cut, and then fill the empty space with something. If hair gets uneven, there can be hair transplants done. What are your thoughts?

A: That is not a viable skull augmentation concept. If you separate the outer layer of the bone and place a synthetic barrier between it and the underlying bone the detached bone will die/atrophy as it has no blood supply.

This concept also does not account for smooth contours around all edges of an augmented skull areas which is one of the primary determinants of a favorable aesthetic outcome.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in Rib Removal and Clavicle Reduction surgeries. I had a few questions :

– what is the expected reduction in waist size for rib removal (width and circumference)?

– does you have experience with comparing outcomes between the two procedures?

A: In answer to your questions:

1) Rib removal patients report an average of 1 to 3 inches in circumferential waistline reduction. (by the patient’s own measurements) I focus more on the improvement in shape or how it looks.

2) Clavicle reduction is very different and is a completely predictable operation in terms of outcome because the amount of clavicle bone removed correlates 1:1 with the visible reduction in shoulder width. Thus if 2.5cms of bone is removed per side than the shoulder width reduction is 1 inch per side.

The difference is that the clavicle bone is linear in orientation and the reduction is completely dependent on the bone length removed. Conversely, the lower ribs are oblique in orientation and the length of bone removed does not correlate to the horizontal waistline reduction directly. In addition waistline shape/circumference is controlled by more than the just bone with a substantial contribution of soft tissues as well.

Dr. Barry Eppley’

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have had two chin implant surgeries intraorally and considering a revision to a custom chin implant. If I were to proceed with a custom implant, is there a way to improve the tightness in the labiomental crease as part of the revision surgery? I have heard fat grafting to this area can be helpful. If that’s true, what type of fat graft would work best? I am a thin woman so I don’t know how much fat would be needed (I don’t have much). Would it be worth the risk of another intra-oral surgery to try and get this improvement? Does this add a lot of cost and time to the procedure? Thank you for your advice. 

A: Injection fat grafting to the labiomental crease can be performed at the same time as a chin implant replacement.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, hello, I am wanting to have a sliding genioplasty done. I had a consultation with an oral surgeon and was told that one of the risks are that two small grooves on either side of my chin my occur as a result. She recommends advancing 9mm. But i wanted to ask you in terms of your technique is there something that could be done to avoid these? Does the amount of advancement play a role in the dents? i appreciate your time, i am just looking to make the right decision. 

Thank you.

A: Inferior border notching is an inevitable sequalae of most sliding genioplasties. The larger the movement the more likely it will occur. Suffice it to say at 9mms you can assume it will occur. There are ways to lessen it such as a low angled osteotomy cut or concurrently filling in the notch with various types of grafts/materials.

The question is not whether it will occur but whether it will turn out to be aesthetically bothersome and whether any of the intraoperative strategies can sufficiently reduce/eliminate the notching.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am a young Asian female. My main concern is I  have prominent chin and my mid face is flat , I had braces when I was a teenager, now my bite is correct , but I still have a crescent moon side profile . I ‘d like to got consultation to get a better opinion on is it possible to achieve result to the photo with the help of paranasal implant  and jaw reduction surgery . I attached the before and after pictures also my X ray , I am wondering if the after results are possible?

A: Thank you for your inquiry and sending your front view imaged picture. Certainly a single (paired ePTFE paranasal implants alone) or double stacked (paranasals + premaxillary overlay) implant can nicely augment your central midface as your imaging has shown. For the jaw reduction there are numerous techniques to do it and which one is best for imaged result remains to be determined but at the least an intraoral t-shaped chin reshaping procedure is needed.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q; Dr. Eppley, Im interested in fat transfer to brow and temple and/or non invasive brow lift (not botox) and fat graft to the hands. I had a mini lower facelift several years ago and just had an upper eyelid lift this year. My eyelids are still heavier than I’d like because my brow needs to be lifted. I’m not a candidate for endo brow lift because I have a high hairline and family history of hair loss.

A:I am not aware of what a ‘non-invasive’ browllift may be as they are all surgical. Excluding an endoscopic browlift every other browlift works by the excision of tissue somewhere to achieve its effect. For a high hairline patient the only options are a pretrichal (frontal hairline) or a direct browlift approach. While fat grafting will add volume to the brows it is not going to create a true browlift effect.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, Can you do the skull reshaping procedure? I want my skull reduced because I have extra grown two horn-like bones on top corner of both sides of the head. This made my head shape really awkward like an Alien shape, has made me insecure throughout life, made me lost confidence in many things throughout growing school days, teen to adult days etc. Now am seriously looking to get this sorted and I have seen many places from USA and abroad where skull reshaping can be done to some degree. 

I would appreciate a response please. Thanks

A:These are skull procedures that I do regularly. (www.skullreshaping.com) Can you please send pictures of these horn-like protrusions for my assessment.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley,Would it be possible to decrease the distance between the eyebrows by removing a portion of skin between the eyebrows right above the nose bridge in a sort of sideways (american) football shape and then stitching the wound closed, pulling the skin and therefore eyebrows a few mm closer together?

A: That would be one way to do it although hair transplants or micro pigmentation would avoid the vertical glabellar scar.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have a facial feminization surgery scheduled in the fall. How long would I need to wait after this surgery to be safe to be in the ‘facing down’ position for the rib removal surgery?

A: I would wait a minimum of 3 to 4 months after facial feminization surgery so most of the healing is complete before having one’s face be positioned into a soft cradle for rib removal surgery.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I was wondering if the hydroxyapatite paste you use in the chin surgeries turns into bone later? Or does it just become hard but not into bone?

A:I don’t use hydroxyapatite paste in chin surgeries since it is a ceramic and never turns into bone. What I use is allogeneic corticocancellous bone chips and blocks which can turn into the patient’s own bone.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, Is bilateral temporal reduction risky? Does it have any history of affecting you. How long does the surgery last?

A:Temporal reduction is a perfectly safe surgery that has no adverse effects. Because it is a reductive procedure its effects are permanent.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley I had breast augmentation last year but my right breast is doesn’t look like left one, my right nipple 1 cm lower then left one, I just wondered that can we do crescent breast lifting for my right breast lower nipple. Because I don’t want big scars. 

A :It is important to remember that all breast implants do is take one’s natural breasts and make them bigger. Thus asymmetries like yours (horizontal nipple level differences) after breast augmentation are usually what the breasts looked like before the surgery…but often not noticed because the breasts were smaller and the difference between them less as a result. The corrective approach, as you have noted, is a superior areolar crescent lift.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have a very weak chin (I think) and was curious what you would recommend as the best course of action? 

A:Thank you for your inquiry and sending your pictures. Your chin is weak but not in the traditional horizontal manner. Rather the chin and entire jawline is vertically deficient. This is also associated with a short neck and low hyoid position. There are two approaches to take with your lower face which depends on whether you want just the chin changed or the entire jawline. If it is just the chin then a vertical lengthening bony genioplasty would be the best procedure. If you desire the entire jawline treated then a custom jawline implant would be the procedure. What would separate these two procedures, besides the extent of the jawline treated, is how much vertical lengthening can be achieved at the chin. (the bony genioplasty can do more) These differences are best seen in the frontal view imaging.

Either procedure needs to be combined with neck management (submentoplasty) for the best result.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in hip pelvic implants but not the kind that are simply stuffed into a pocket, I’ve been to numerous doctors and the only type of procedure they do are standard hip implants stuffed in a pocket. I have contacted a hospital in Seoul that is known for pelvic plasty but noticed one of your replies on Real Self in response to a similar inquiry. I am very lean and narrow hips and are looking to round out my figure. I am also a trans woman which only adds to my hip deficiencies. I have attached photos for your review. Look forward to hearing back from you! Thanks so much

A: Thank you for your inquiry and sending your picture. The type of hip augmentation to which you refer is that of iliac crest implants which provides a bony augmentation to the upper hip region rather than a lower soft tissue augmentation over the greater trochanteric region of the hips. (see attached) As you know only the country of Korea offers such implants made of metal…which may (or may not) be the ideal material for augmenting the iliac crest. No one really knows since so few such surgeries have ever been done. Here in the U.S. metal iliac crests are not an FDA approved device. (and may likely never be approved as a cosmetic implant given the low demand for it) No U.S. orthopedic manufacturer will even make it as a custom implant because it falls outside of their FDA reconstructive implant approvals. As a result I have designed ultrafirm solid silicone iliac crest implants as an option here in the States but have yet to actually implant them in a patient to date.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome). because of this, my head from front view looks wide and makes it impossible for me to wear caps. I want a little parietal bone reduction on the sides above my ears only… No matter how little it can be trimmed, i will appreciate that. Please i need your help urgently as this is bothering me a lot. 

A:Thank you for your inquiry. Parietal bone reductions are done through a small vertical incision over them. The maximum amount of bone thickness is always removed which is in the 5 to 6mm thickness range.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I had a surgery, dermal graft and testicle implants but it didn’t work. I lost part of the dermal graft because one got infected. Regarding implants… I don’t like them because they’re too small and I can see 4 testicles as I have too much skin. So I would like “the bigger the implants” you can put (7.5 or even 8cm if it was possible) Because I have a lot skin and I would like that new implants to hide my real testicles. In fact, I don’t mind if my scrotum is tight or if my testicles go to up due to new balls. I like that. Don’t worry about that.

A: Thank you for sending your pictures. I would agree that 7.5cms size implant replacements would likely push your natural testicles out of the way and make them less visible. The current implants you have are too small and have done what I would think would have happened…show all 4 of them.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapols, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley,After a few months after my buccal lipectomy I am thinking I want to reinsert fat back into my buccal area. Just not satisfied with the look, my face just looks too skinny.  I probably just should’ve went with the buccinator myectomy and perioral mound liposuction initially, can’t change the past and can only move forward.  My question is how to reinsert fat back into the Buccal area and how many ccs of fat is needed to fill the area back up properly? Thanks

A: There are two ways to restore buccal fad pad volume which is in the 2cc to 3cc range, fat injections or the insertion of en bloc (solid) fat graft back into the buccal fat pad space. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Usually the latter is more effective as it puts the volume directly back into where it was initially removed.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, Is sliding genioplasty an option to improve jawline/chin structure? I don’t want to have more major jaw surgery, since I don’t have the ability to take that much downtime off work. Also, I have no bite problems and no sleep issues. If sliding genioplasty is an option, I would be interested to see how much it could potentially help. 

Thank you in advance!

A: Thank you for your inquiry and sending your pictures, You are correct in that short of a major lower jaw advancement a sliding genioplasty would be the correct procedure not a chin implant. The chin bone needs to move as far forward as possible, maybe even being a jumping type of genioplasty to maximize the forward movement and avoiding adding any vertical length to the chin. This would have the same aesthetic effect as moving the lower jaw forward with the exception of the position of the lower lip and the depth of the labiomental fold. (which can only be improved by the lower jaw advancement since these are teeth-based positioned structures) I would also do liposuction of the neck to enhance the effect of the chin advancement.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana

Q: Dr. Eppley, I might be interested in the bicep implant. Maybe you can give me some more information on cost and if there are any scars after the surgery. 

A: Thank you for your inquiry. There are two approaches to the placement of a bicep implant, on top of the muscle under the fascia (subfascial) or under the muscle on the bone. (submuscular) There are advantages and disadvantages with either implant location. There are also different incision locations between them as the subfascial technique puts the scar high up in the axilla and the submuscular technique puts a small incision in the inner arm area.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana