How Can My Wide and High Cheekbones Be Reduced?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have high and wide cheekbones and the zygomatic arch flares out to the side. I am a Caucasian male and noticed this is a very uncommon surgery for my demographic to have done, as this is typically done on Asian patients with a different skull type than what Caucasians have. I would like to leave the part that flares out reduced so that my cheekbones don’t go out to the side, but the front pillar / main cheekbone is left alone and remains high up.

A:Regardless of one’s ethnicity all that matters is what does their facial skeleton look like and how can it be best addressed if it needs to be changed. High and wide cheekbones can occur in anyone. The proper approach is to get a 3-D CT scan to assess the shape and flair of the zygomatic arches from which cheekbone reduction osteotomies can be used to reduce it. The key question is whether posterior zygomatic arch osteotomies alone would be effective or whether it requires some anterior osteotomies as well. That is the type of information that a 3-D CT scan can provide.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Plastic Surgeon