How Can My Head Shape Be Improved?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I wanted to inform myself about what you can do aesthetically to a skull. I am a 28-year-old man. I was born with a broad skull, or in medical terms, brachycephaly. My question is: what can I do about this later in life? I would like to have surgery. The reason is that this condition weighs heavily on my mental well-being. I don’t go out much anymore because I’m so insecure about it. I used to be able to partially hide this with long hair, but I started losing my hair a year ago, and it’s no longer hideble. My head is spread out to the sides and my head is flattened at the back Attached is a photo of what my skull looks like. I hope to hear from you. Thank you in advance! 

A:Thank you for your inquiry and sending your pictures. You have a classic case of aesthetic brachycephaly with a flattened back of the head with a  widened parietal – temporal sides of the head. The most practical procedures for improvement would be a custom scholar implant for the back of the head and reduction of the sides through a temporal reduction procedure. Ideally you would like to reduce the temporal– parietal bony eminences as well  but I don’t think that aesthetically justifies a  vertical incision over that area. The temporal reduction procedure is essentially scarless within an incision on the back of the ear in the crease.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon