Can I Get My Frontal Bossing and Occipital Protuberance Reduced?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I don’t like the protruding forehead/frontal bossing and the prominent occipital protuberence… if they could be rounded a bit i hope it wud do a good job in both shape and reducing size. Thank you

A:Thank you for sending your pictures. The question is not whether the occipital  prominence and the frontal bossing can be reduced… as they can. The most important issue is surgical access to do so. Typically the occipital prominence is approached placing asmall  horizontal incision on the lower end of the occipital bone at the bottom of the prominence and this heals extremely well. The frontal bossing of the forehead is usually approached with a frontal hairline incision which also can heal very well. The other option is halfway between the two with a long scalp incision from the top of one ear to the other to approach both areas. Besides the undesirable length and location of this incision it also does not provide the best access to the occipital prominence.

Both procedures can be performed during this same surgery under general anesthesia. The exceptional prominence reduction is first done in the prone position and then you would be turned over while asleep to do the frontal Boston reduction in the supine position.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon