Temporal Reduction

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interested in temporal reduction surgery.  I was wondering if a complete reduction of my temporal muscle (including the non skin bearing part) was possible? And if so would it only require a surgical procedure? Or also a botox injection on top of that? Thank you very much for your time.

A: When you speak of complete temporal reduction of the muscle I am deducing from your description that you mean both the anterior and posterior temporal areas. The anterior temporal region is the skin bearing portion of the temporal muscle to the side of the eye that extends a few centimeters back into the temporal hairline. This temporal area can not be reduced surgically due to its thickness and location. It is treated by Botox injections to shrink down its size. The posterior temporal region extends behind the anterior area the whole way to the back of the head. The larger by surface area but thinner posterior temporal muscle area can be surgical reduced very effectively. Thus, surgical temporal reduction refers to the posterior area  above the ears while injectable temporal reduction refers to the anterior region closer to the side of the eye.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana