Can My Prominent Mastoid Bones Be Reduced?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I want to flatten to narrow my skull and have it more inward like normal skull. I had a children’s hospital provide me a surgery in my teens because my skull grew outward randomly on one side of my jaw and on the side of my head

I had another surgery over a year ago on the back occipital to reduce that bone, which helped me, but they weren’t able to do the mastoid around the ears because they didn’t have the proper scan and didn’t wanna risk damage to air cells I believe.

A: The mastoid bone is thin as it is largely composed of air cells. Whether a reduction effort is worth it depends on the thickness of the layer of bone over the air cells. This requires a 2D CT scan to make that determination.

Having done mastoid reductions numerous times that experience indicates that some reduction of the mastopid prominence can be achieved but usually not a complete flattening of it.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon