Can Cranioplasty Correct Scaphocephaly As An Adult?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am a 24 year-old male seeking help and guidance about my head shape. I have caphocephaly which was untreated from childhood and now as an adult I find the appearance of my head very troubling. I am concerned in particular about the temporal hollowing and frontal bossing of my head shape. Is there something that can be done about this?

A: As you have well described, you have a classic case of mild to moderate scaphocephaly with bicranial narrowing from front to back with a midline ridge. While the bone can not be changed at this point, there is room for substantial cosmetic improvement through cranioplasty techniques. I envision a cranial reshaping procedure in which some of the midline ridge from the forehead is reduced but, more effective, would be augmentation in the parasagittal areas from the forehead to the top of the head. This would produce some greater width or roundness to your forehead and frontal skull. Due to the volume of material needed, I would use PMMA for cost purposes. This would need to be done through a bicoronal incision in the hairline. The temporal narrowing could be partially improved by either extending the cranioplasty into the upper temporal area or placing temporal implants in the subfascial plane.

While you can not completely correct the skull and forehead narrowness, substantial improvement can be done which would be enough to no longer be seen as having scaphocephaly.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana