What Can Be Done To Recontour/Reshape My Forehead?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have been looking at your web site for over a week now and I believe I have finally found a perfect plastic surgeon for my problem with my forehead. I’m 58 years old in fairly good health. I’ve had car accident long time ago when I was about 20 years old, which left a scar running vertically in the middle of my forehead. It looks like a thick vein coming down in the middle of my forehead. Also due to scarring (swelling like) there are 2 shallow bulging just above both of my eye brows. What do you think needs to be done to make for a smoother and level forehead?

A: It certainly sounds like you have a depressed scar that runs down the middle of the forehead, which is not surprising with long scars that run perpendicular to the relaxed skin tension lines in the forehead. The smaller two bulges to which you refer could be either your native brow ridges (which have become more prominent due to the depressed scar/bone) or they may be extra bone formations. (periosteal reactions to the original injury) I would have to see photographs to answer that part of your forehead issue better. But let us assume this is what the forehead issues are. In this case, a scar revision of the entire forehead length can be done and the bony prominences reduced through this open exposure. It may also be necessary to do a little buildup of the bone underneath the scar will a little bone cement to help make the bony part of the forehead smooth across the original injury area.  (forehead contouring) But this would await what is found during surgery.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis,Indiana