What Is The Cost Of Temporal Muscle Reduction Surgery?

Q: Dr. Eppley, My temples bulge out too much and I know it is the muscle because it gets worse when I clench my teeth together. Is it true that the less your muscle expands and contracts when chewing, the thinner it is? If I use my mouth less will the muscle shrink? Is surgery the only method to reduce the size of the temporalis muscles? How much would the surgery cost please, and would the muscles be taken off by excision? What risks are involved?

A:  Like all muscles, size is somewhat dependent on use. But one would have never open their mouth again to have the temporalis muscle shrink in size.

The non-surgical approach to temporalis msucle reduction is Botox injections. It would require a series of Botox injections done 4 months apart up to a year to get teh muscle to shrink. Presumably this would be permanent but that is not assured.

The temporalis muscle is released from behind the ear and at the top of the skull,  4 to 5 cms removed and then retacked done through a vertical incision in the hairline above the ear. The only real risk to the procedure is in how much correction (reduction in convex profile) can be achieved. It does not affect mouth opening or movement. Its total cost for both sides is in the range of $6500.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis,Indiana