Can The Bony Prominence Behind My Zygomatic Reduction be Further Reduced?

Q: Dr. Eppley, last year I had zygomatic reduction in Korea. There was an incision in my sideburn and in my mouth, where they cut the bone and moved it in. I am happy with the reduction, but the part of my cheekbone that is posterior to the sideburn incision (toward the ear) still sticks out, since only the cheekbone anterior to the incision was moved in. Is there a way to reduce the remaining cheekbone that is right in front of the ear, posterior to the sideburn incision?

A: To determine what is possible, I would need to see a 3D CT scan of your face to determine what the altered anatomy now looks like. But in most cases either an additional osteotomy behind the old one or a burring reduction of the protrusive tail of the zygomatic arch attachment to the temporal bone can be done.

Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana