Can My Brow Bones Be Reshaped Further?

Q: Dr. Eppley,  I am a 22 years old male and am interested in the orbital reshaping/brow bone reduction process. I had a procedure done a year ago, it was a frontal sinus reduction. This procedure didn’t really accomplish much. I didn’t stress to the doctor the type of results I was after. I guess looking back, I have myself to blame. I have attached pictures which show most of what I’m unhappy with… the somewhat uneven/large orbital rim. I would like to smooth that down to create a simple and more attractive looking eye area.

A: Thank you for sending your pictures. Knowing that you went through a major frontal sinus reduction procedure, there must have been some miscommunication as to your outcomes. While I don’t know what you looked like before, my assumption is that what was achieved was some high frontal sinus/brow setback. But you were as much interested in the lower frontal and lateral setback as well. In your previous procedure, do you know how it was done? Was the bone taken off and put back with small plates and screws, wires etc?? That may have an impact on how well further reduction can be by hardware being in the way, scar tissue, etc. There is also the issue of how much bone along the orbital rim can be reduced without entering the frontal sinus. This is the value of the frontal sinus osteotomy technique which overcomes this limitation. Orbital rim reshaping/brow bone reduction is more of a burring technique although some features of an osteotomy technique can be incorporated into it.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis,Indiana