Should A Cranioplasty and Rhinoplasty Be Done Together Or Separately?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have some questions regarding cranioplasty, rhinoplasty, and septoplasty. I have a form of craniosyntosis and my skull has indentations that could be improved by a cranioplasty, I also have a severe deviated septum and crooked nose that needs correcting by having a combination of rhino/septoplasty. Insurance will cover the procedures for my nose to get corrected. I believe I have seen somewhere on your website where someone asked a question similar to this, and you said something along the lines of it is ideal to get the cranioplasty and rhino/septoplasty all done at once. That probably is not a possibility in my case, because getting my insurance to cover the cranioplasty is going to be difficult, so I am going to have to put that off for now until I have the money to get it done.  

My questions are:

1.Would it be OK to get rhinoplasty/septoplasty done before getting a cranioplasty? 

2.Or is it better to get the cranioplasty done first? 

3.Or does it not matter at all in which order I get these procedures done?

Thanks

A: In answer to your questions:

1) Insurance may cover the septoplasty portion of your nasal deformity but not the rhinoplasty portion.

2) Insurance will not cover any type of cranioplasty for skull recontouring. Indentations of the skull are not a medical condition but a cosmetic one.

3) The order of septorhinoplasty and cranioplasty is a matter of personal preference. There is no medical reason as to how they staged or in what order.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana