Can Anterior Temporal Reduction Be Done After Posterior Temporal Reduction?

Q: Dr. Eppley, Thank you for your reply to my son regarding further head width reduction treatment He is extremely happy that you are able to carryout further treatments to enable him to look and feel better about himself and therefore more confident.

There are a few areas I am unsure about and so would like clarification on please. Previously you mentioned two options 1. Botox and 2. electrocautery surgery.The advisory treatment offered to him is ‘Temporal Reduction Bilateral, Anterior, is this the electrocautery surgery? 

Is this the preferred treatment for Nic as opposed to Botox injections? I assume this option has been chosen as he would prefer a more permanent result.

As he has already had posterior temporal reduction and now planning anterior surgery will there be any possible adverse long-term side effects?

How long will the immediate recovery period be before he will be able to leave your care and carry on with his journey?

I look forward to hearing from you

A: While Botox will likely create improvement in the fullness of the anterior temporal muscle, it will not be permanent. The thermal treatment of the muscle results in eventual partial muscle shrinking/atrophy which is permanent. I have done such anterior reductions on patients who have had prior posterior temporal muscle removals and there have been mo adverse functional effects from doing so. Like the last surgery he will be able head home on a similar time frame. While the immediate postoperative swelling is very similar the effects of muscle atrophy take much longer to see than muscle removal. The muscle shrinks down over a period of months after the surgery so getting to the final outcome requires more patience.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana