Skull Reshaping

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in adult skull reshaping surgery. I am 26 years old and just realized that I have a scaphocephaly. My head looks more or less normal from front view but extremely terrible, big and large from the side. My parents refused the surgery when I was a baby. I have always been complemented by this malformation. 

Today I want to know if the surgery is still possible? I thank you in advance for your reply.

A: Congenital craniosynostoses, like sagittal or scaphocephaly, is commonly treated as an infant where the bone is removed and rehabbed. This works well as an infant because the bone is very thin, easily removed and can be reshaping after surgery by the growing brain. That window of opportunity for that type of surgery passes with in the first two years or so life. As an adult scaphocephalic skull shapes are treated by sagittal ridge reduction and a custom implant to build up the deficient parasagittal areas. I would need to see some pictures of your head to determine if this might be an effective skull reshaping approach for you.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana