How Effective Is Skull Reshaping Surgery?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I’m currently struggling with a flat back of the head and a small head too. Can skull reshaping surgery be done on me to add any implant to mainly the back and top parts of my skull that would give me a decent sized head that is also well rounded ? How effective is this surgical procedure and what are the possible negative effects of any implant on my actual skull?

A: Skull reshaping (augmenting a flat area) can be done to almost any part of the skull and its limits are based on how much the scalp can stretch to accommodate the volume of augmentation. Based on what one’s expectations are, it can be a highly effective procedure. I would have to see some pictures of your head that show the flatness and then do some computer imaging to see if what skull augmentation can do is sufficient. It is always important before surgery to find out if the changes meet a patient’s expectations and to determine how much volume is needed to create that augmented effect.

There are no known long-term effects of the materials used in skull augmentation as it relates to the bone or the overlying scalp tissues. Bone resorption is not known to occur nor is scalp thinning over it.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana