Can The Facial Asymmetry In Plagiocephaly be Corrected?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have positional plagiocephaly on left side, which is not actually that bad but I can feel it and it affects my face, mostly nose and ears because the skull is like rolled on one side and so the bones on cheek and eye bones are more in front on left side. I would like to get my head more symmetrical but it is possible to get my face more symmetrical?

A: Thank you for your inquiry and sending your pictures. Plagiocephaly, otherwise known as cranioscoliosis, can affect the face (front of the skull) just like it affects the back. The displacement on the face is the reverse of what is seen on the back, meaning that the flat side on the back pushes the ear and face on the same side forward. Improvements can be made to the ear if it sticks more but you can/t change the anteroposterior of the ear on the side of the head as that is fixed by the external auditory canal. The more prominent cheek and lateral orbital rim/brow bone can be reduced and it is a question of whether the reduction of the bony protrusion that is possible is worth the surgical effort. To assess that issue a 3D CT scan of your face is needed to look and measure the differences between the two sides.

Lastly, the nose typically deviates away from the more protrusive side of the face of which traditional rhinoplasty surgery can bring the nose back into better symmetry.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana