Temporal Artery Ligation

Q: Dr. Eppley, I had contacted you months ago inquiring about temporal artery ligation. But I had to reconsider that procedure because the artery on my left side now appears when doing physical activities or with heat but not as bad as the right. And even down the middle of my forehead. So now I was wondering if you do fat transfers to the entire forehead and if you thinks this could help with my appearance. It seems that I suddenly have lost fat in my forehead which is making these arteries appear worse.

A: Fat transfer is not known to be an effective treatment to camouflage prominent forehead arteries and veins. While this seems like it would work, it does not in my experience. This is because it is difficult, if not impossible, to put the fat on top of the arteries. Rather it ends up going around them and does not result in decreasing theie visibility. Temporal artery ligation is the best approach for prominent arterial vessels of the temporal and forehead area. It is also far simpler as it directly treats the problem…the vessel themselves.

Temporal artery ligation is usually done under local anesthesia using small 5mm incisions to isolate the arterial branches and tie them off.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana