Your Questions
Your Questions
Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in skull reshaping. I am a 25 year old male that has suffered from an odd shaped head. Its wide on the sides and irregular shaped on top. For years I’ve had a great insecurity every time I looked in the mirror. I have tried many different hairstyles to hide my head shape but none work for very long. I just feel like its the only part of me thats incomplete and if i have it fixed i will be so much happier and confident. I am determined to have it fixed even if i have to do it myself. I have attached a few pictures of my head.
A: What your pictures show is that the shape of your head is due to a minor variant of sagittal craniosynostosis. This is why the shape of your head has a sagittal ridge or crest from front to back and is a little elongated. Accompanying this is a parasagittal deficiency, which with the sagittal crest, gives your head a peaked or more triangular shape. The typical skull reshaping strategy is to burr as much of the sagittal crest as possible and buildup the sides to create a less peaked and more rounded skull shape.
While this is surgically possible, and a major improvement can be obtained, this has to be done through an ear to ear scalp incision. This must always be considered careful in any man who shaves his head.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana
Q: Dr. Eppley, I’m a 21 year-old female with a frontal bone that is raised higher than the parietal bone in my skull which appears to be flat. I’ve developed really bad anxiety over the issue and refuse to wear my hair in any other hairstyle than a bun on top of my head to conceal my odd head shape. I have also developed really intense habits over the years which include examining my head side on in mirrors up to twenty times a day, taking photos of my head regularly, and constantly touching my head and I really wish to be rid of this paranoia and live my life without worrying about what my head looks like. I’ve considered looking in to getting some form of implant inserted over the parietal bone on my skull to raise it higher than the front region and I was wondering how much this procedure would cost, what risks are involved with this procedure, and what materials are used as a form of implant and do they pose a risk of rupturing? Thank you in advance for your help, I really appreciate it.
A: Skull augmentation of the parietal/occipital bone can be easily done. Please send me a few of the pictures you have taken so I can see exactly the area and how much augmentation needs to be done. This is skull augmentation surgery done with materials like PMMA and hydroxypatite bone cement that are placed and molded on top of the deficient bone area. These materials are solid and will never rupture or become displaced. It is actually a very straightforward procedure and it is just a matter of getting the right volume in the right area to create the desired effect. It does require a incision somewhere on the scalp to achieve it but for women with good hair density this is never a scar problem. It is done as an outpatient procedure under general anesthesia. The recovery is very quick and you would be fully functional in just a few days.
Once i receive the photos so I can assess the problem, then we can provide a cost for the skull augmentation procedure.
Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana