Can I Get Forehead Reduction and Temporal Muscle Removals At The Same Time?

Q: Dr. Eppley, i’ve always struggled with my appearance simply because of my high hairline and my wide forehead. kids used to call me an alien in middle / high school. i really want to get a forehead reduction along with a bilateral posterior temporal muscle reduction.

A:  Forehead reduction in you poses some unique aesthetic considerations. With a high frontal hairline and a wide bony forehead and large temporal muscles you have astutely pointed out that the two are linked. You can’t change one without changing the other…meaning if you lower our hairline your forehead will look even wider due to the width of the bone and the width of the temporal muscles. Conversely if you just reduced the temporal muscles the hairline would look even higher.

As a result a frontal hairline advancement needs to be combined with a reduction in the width of the bony forehead (which can be done through the hairline incision) as well as temporal reductions done through postauricular incisions. (posterior temporal muscle removal, anterior temporal muscle transposition)

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon