Will Forehead Augmentation Make My Overall Face Look More Balanced?

Q: Dr. Eppley, In the process of researching procedures on skull reshaping, I found and read your entries about skull reshaping/reconstruction on exploreplasticsurgery.com. I have an interested in getting a procedure done. My head is shaped like a triangle. The width and length of my forehead is very small. My overall head is small compared to my body as well. It is only approximately 18 cm long and I am approximately 171 cm in height. For the reason that my temples are so extremely narrow and my forehead is so short I am not able to fit sunglasses or hats. There are no hairstyles that flatter my face. My facial features are not without flaws, but my biggest flaw is the size and shape of my head. My main goal is to have an ample size forehead and head overall. I am aiming for my head to be in proportion with my body and my forehead in proportion to my face. If possible, I would like my head built out at least 2 inches.

In addition, I am in the processing of inquiring about Invisilign to have my overbite fixed and widening of my jaws. I am not sure if I need maxillofacial surgery.

A:  In looking at your pictures, I can see that your forehead is narrow in both height and width. I can not tell much about your head size with your hair. One concept to understand is that you can not built out our head by two inches. The scalp will simply not allow for that amount of bone expansion. From a practical and cost standpoint, the idea of making one’s head size bigger in a circumferential fashion should not be considered. That takes an inordinate amount of cranioplasty material. What is practical to consider is forehead augmentation/expansion, building out the forehead with cranioplasty material through a scalp incision. That will help improve the very visible non-hair bearing portion of the skull (forehead) in its relationship to the rest of your face.

In regards to the need for maxillofacial (orthognathic) surgery, you first need an orthodontic work-up. You do not yet know whether your bite can be fixed by orthodontics or a combined surgical-orthodontic approach.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana