Occipital Skin Fold

Q: Dr. Eppley, i have an occipital fold that I would like removed. I am a 62 year old (hx Type II, obesity) I have a large protruding skin fold at the occipital part of my scalp. I find it extremely bothersome. I’m not sure there is a bone protrusion or just a fold of skin cause I can grab the darn thing between two fingers. I want to get rid of it. I have photos that I can email separately (took them myself and aren’t great quality, but you’ll get the idea).

A: Thank you for sending your excellent quality pictures of the scalp roll on the back of your head. This is a common location for such a scalp skin roll. It can certainly be excised with the aesthetic tradeoff of a fine line scar as its replacement. (occipital skin fold excision) This can be performed as an outpatient procedure with minimal recovery. In the properly’ motivated’ patient it could even be performed under local anesthesia. (although it does not have to be)

Occipital skin fold excision is done by cutting out the redundant skin fold and putting the scalp back together in a more flattened contour. When performed well it can be done with a fairly minimal scar.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana