Brow Bone Reduction

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am well from my brow bone reduction procedure. I am doing well. Again, overall pleased with the outcome of my procedure. I do hope I am not asking too many questions, but I am curious about something.  Is it possible to have the plates and screws removed from my forehead? If so, would this require the same type of incision as my prior procedure, or could this be done with a much less invasive incision? There is a palpable bump where the screws and plates are and if they can be removed with a minimally invasive procedure, I would consider that. Basically, I don’t want to go through the same recocery I went througn before.  If the plates and screws are still necessary for support, then I will not do it, but if they have done their job, and it is ok to have them removed, then I will consider it.

A: In answer to your after surgery brow bone reduction question:

1) The plate that was used has a very low profile, less than one millimeter. Thus it is not yet clear that the palpable bump to which you refer is the actual plate. I would need to see a picture with the area outlined on your forehead to match up to the intraoperative pictures to determine if what you are feeling is the plate.

2) The fixation plate should not be removed \before six months after surgery two ensure as much bone healing as possible.

3) Depending on how you define a minimally invasive procedure, the central part of the incision would need to be opened and an endoscope used for access to visualize the plate and screws and remove them. This is not close to what it was before but it does require a central endoscopic dissection.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana