Can My Temporal Depression After A Craniotomy Be Fixed?

Q: Dr. Eppley I had head trauma four years ago which required a  temporal craniotomy. As a result I have temple hollowing on my left side due to losing the fat during the craniectomy, so now I am left with a dent on the side of my face that is very hard for me to look at when I have to look at myself in the mirror.. 

I am trying to find someone that can help me fix this problem. I happened to stumble across the skullreshaping.com website and it looked like exactly what I could use for my temple hollowing. I am 100% recovered from my accident and I have been so for multiple years.

A:Thank you for your inquiry and sending your pictures. This appears to be a classic temporal depression after a temporal craniotomy of which a major component of it is likely loss of the temporal muscle volume. It is possible that it also represents the depression of the craniotomy bone flap which would be important information to know. That being said, it can be corrected but understanding whether the deficiency is more bone or soft tissue based is an important treatment consideration. A 3-D CT skull scan will answer that question definitively as well as also provide the platform on which to build an implant which would be the most successful method of temporal depression augmentation given your surgical history.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon