Can You Please Answer These General Skull Reshaping Questions?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in learning more about cosmetic skull reshaping procedures. I’ve been researching options for correcting certain head shape irregularities and would greatly appreciate your expert guidance.

Specifically, I am looking to address:

      •     A sloped forehead that I would like to make fuller or more vertically aligned.

      •     A flat back of the head that I would like to augment for a more rounded appearance.

I have a few key questions regarding the procedures:

      1.    Safety: How safe are these types of skull reshaping surgeries? Are there major complications to be aware of?

      2.    Risk Minimization: What steps do you take to minimize surgical risks or complications (e.g., infection, implant shifting)?

      3.    Materials Used: What materials are typically used for forehead and occipital augmentation, and are they permanent?

      4.    Cost: Could you provide a general cost estimate for both forehead reshaping and back-of-head augmentation?

      5.    Scarring and Healing: Where are incisions made for these procedures, and how visible are the scars over time?

      6.    Suitability: Are there any specific factors (head shape, scalp flexibility, skin condition, etc.) that would impact candidacy for this procedure?

I’m very serious about pursuing this and want to ensure I’m well-informed before taking the next step. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your response

A:Thank you for your inquiry and sending your pictures. Based on these pictures I can see the flat upper back of your head but I can make no comment on your four head since it is not included in the pictures. In answer to your specific questions:

1) Skull shaping surgery is as safe as any other aesthetic surgery.

2) While all surgery has inherent risk I have never yet seen a skull implant infection or have an implant move or shift. This does not mean these postoperative events could not happen just thought the risk profile is obviously very low.

3) All custom skull implants are made of a solid silicon implant material to structurally permanent and can undergo no amount of degradation.

4) Cost estimates will be provided to you for a custom back of the head and custom for head implant.

5) The incisions used to place custom skull implants are very small compared to the diameter of the implants. An incision is placed at the bottom of the hair line for the back of the head and another small one behind the frontal hairline for the four head implant. While all incisions create permanent scars these have never been viewed as a significant postoperative aesthetic issue.

6) Given the areas of skull augmentation that you are considering there are no limiting factors that would not lead to a satisfactory augmentation result.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgery