Can My Hair Transplant Strip Harvest Scar Be Used To Placed A Custom Skull Implant To Treat My Plagiocephaly?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am enclosing some photos of myself to share what I consider my issue with what I believe is plagiocephaly.. My questions are as follows what would be your guidance and technique to help me find balance in my forehead and face. With the right side being more pronounced and bulbous would it be to build up to that half or would it be to contour down to my left side shape. My other question is I already have scars from hair transplants on the side and back of my head could these existing scars be used to perform needed surgeries. I will be making a video consultation with you soon and hopefully arranging surgery to help with this issues that have troubled me for most of my life. . I thank you for your time and your kindness.

A: In the treatment of plagiocephaly, in which one side of the forehead is protrusive and the contralateral back side oif t6he head is flat, the appropriate approach is forehead reduction and back of head augmentation. In answer to specific questions about this approach:

Your strip harvest scars provide convenient access for the back of head augmentation. While the loss of scalp from the harvest makes the volume of augmentation a bit more cautious, your back of the head augmentation does not appear to need a great deal of volume.
For the forehead, while augmentation is always easier and more predictable because it uses an implant, it would in you create a frontal bossing appearance so it is not the correct aesthetic choice. Forehead reduction poses challenges in terms of incision location and in how much reduction can be obtained, but its general concept is the better one. A 3D CT will allow for better assessment of the difference between the two sides and it is very possible that a combination (reduction one side and augmentation of the other side) approach may also be best.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon