Occipital Skull Reduction Surgery

Q: Dr. Eppley, I first wanted to thank you for the detail that you’ve provided in each of your case studies. They are extremely informative. 

I had a few questions regarding the Occipital Skull Reduction case study (https://exploreplasticsurgery.com/case-study-occipital-skull-reduction-2/) 

I am in a very similar situation as the subject of the case study, except that the sides (more like, upper corners) protrude as well, and my overall head size is probably larger. 

I am currently in my early 30s. I have very slight thinning on the crown, but my hairline has receded a decent amount. I plan on getting a hair transplant (FUE not a strip, so there will be no strip scar) for the hair line within the next year, perhaps prior to undergoing skull reduction surgery. 

I believe I may have communicated with several years ago. At the time, you were very straightforward that there would be a very noticeable scar resulting from a reduction surgery, and compared it to a strip surgery / hair transplant scar. Is that still the case? I read a case study you posted on March 25, 2018 (https://exploreplasticsurgery.com/making-pleasing-scalp-scars-aesthetic-skull-reshaping-surgery/) regarding scars, and it seemed very promising. Have there been new developments, or are the scars still expected to be very noticeable? 

For instance, how noticeable is the subject’s scar in the Occipital Skull Reduction case study? I would wear my hair around the same length. 

Also, if I were to just flatten the top without doing anything to the back or sides, were would the incision need to be? 

Lastly, what would pricing be for a similar operation as the one in the case study? Thank you in advance.

A: Good to hear from you again. In answer  to your occipital skull reduction questions:

1) Any type of skull shaping surgery should be done before hair transplantation procedures.

2) The incision used for many occipital reduction procedures are far shorter in length and lower on the back of the head than the traditional strip harvest scars for hair transplantation. The length of the scar is related to how much skull reduction  needs to be done in terms of location and surface area treated. Without knowing this exact details int your case I can not comment on what your scalp incision would be in terms of length.

3) I will have my assistant Camille pass along the cost of the surgery to you later today.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana