Will I Need A Scalp Tissue Expander for a Large Skull Implant?

Q: Dr. Eppley, Greetings, regarding Skull/Head Augmentation, is the 1st-stage expansion required for all of the surgery methods or only a few when it’s for large implants ? From what I have understood the 1st-stage expansion alone would help to be able to get bigger implants such as 200cc to 350cc ? So the 1st-stage expansion could help someone with a tight scalp to get a bigger implant that he could naturally have without the expansion ?

To have an idea – what is the equivalent in thickness (in mm) of a 200cc & 350cc implant?

A:Your concepts about the need for a first stage scalp expansion for implant volumes greater than 150ccs – 200ccs is correct. While the surface coverage area is one of the most important aspects of a custom skull implant, and I obviously don’t know what your surface area coverage needs are, it is not possible to say exactly what thickness any implant would be at those volumes. But it is fair to sat it is likely any implant projection thickness over 15mms.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon