What Skull and Face Reshaping Procedures Do I Need For Improved Craniofacial Symmetry?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am a young man with symptoms of moderate plagiocephaly. The left-back side of my head is flat, the left eye and cheekbone is slightly higher and more prominent, my right eyebrow is lower and the eyelid sags heavily compared to the left, my right ear is pushed outwards and pulled back compared to my left one, and my jaw is wider on my right side. I noticed this completely about a year ago but most of my life I have felt like there was something off about my face. I’ve never been “bullied” by my appearance but I’ve been told from friends that I have a weird head or crooked eyes. Most people probably don’t notice right away but I feel like it is holding me back from completely enjoying my life and being content with my appearance. For example I cannot wear glasses because they look crooked when I put them on and I’m afraid to get a haircut because it is very noticeable how much larger the right side of my head is than the other. 

A few potential surgeries in helping my appearance maybe be augmenting the left back side of my head, reducing some of the thickness on the right side by burring the bone and removing some temporalis muscle, adding prominence to my right cheekbone and filling out my left jaw. I’m not looking for perfection, but I feel that adding and taking away from the right spots and micro-adjusting my features would help me look a lot better. 

I’ve done quite a bit of research on my condition but I cannot find any clear answers on what would help me. I would greatly appreciate any input you have on how I could improve my facial balance and asymmetry and bring out the natural good looks I believe I deserve to have.

A: Without seeing pictures of you I could not make any specific recommendations, but all the face and skull procedures you have mentioned are classic ones for correcting craniofacial plagiocephaly issues. (crooked face and skull) Occipital augmentation of the flat side of the back of the head and burring reduction of the contralateral protruding side of the back of the head are good skull reshaping options. Unilateral cheek augmentation and unilateral jaw angle augmentation are good facial ershaping options. Since you have identified those areas they would undoubtably all be collectively beneficial for improved craniofacial symmetry.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana