Can My Clavicles Be Lengthened by 2cms Per Side?

Q: Dr. Eppley, Saw an article of one of your clavicle widening cases. Are you still realizing this type of surgery? I’m interested in this surgery and would like every detail. My clavicle length currently is 16-17cm each side, I’d like to get up to 2cm each

A:Thank you for your inquiry and sending your pictures. Unlike clavicle reduction surgery for shoulder narrowing, clavicle lengthening surgery poses more challenges in terms of the amount of bone length that can be achieved due to the attachments of the soft tissue shoulder girdle. As a result I have found that 15 to 18 mm per side is the maximum that can be achieved safely and effectively. The soft tissue attachments of the shoulder girdle will simply not allowed the bundling to be pushed any further than that. As a result patient selection for clavicle lengthening is much more restrictive than that it is for clavicle shortening. While I have done hundreds of clavicle reduction osteotomes I’ve only done less than 10 clavicle lengthening osteotomies.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Plastic Surgeon