Can My Brow Bones Be Reduced And My Hairline Lowered At The Same Time?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have an weird forehead. It has that I mainly have a brow as a man and it also has horns (exotosis) I was wondering if you do such surgery to fix this/shave down my skull to get me a desired smooth forehead as a female should have. I also have a high hairline so I’m wondering if you can pull it down. How old do you have to be? I know 18+ but the skull doesn’t finish developing until what age? I am 20 so I don’t know if I am old enough yet. Also, can both surgeries be performed at the same time?

A: The skull is largely finished developing by one’s early teens, it is the facial bones below it that continue to develop until the late teens with the mandible finishing complete growth around age 21. Therefore, at age 20 you can have frontal/brow bone reduction without any concerns about growth implications. The only issue is how much the brow bones can be reduced given the frontal sinus which lies underneath it. That could be determined before surgery by a simple lateral skull film. The hairline advancement/vertical forehead skin reduction is done through a pretrichial incision. This also provides the exposure needed for the forehead and brow reduction so, by necessity, these two procedures would be performed at the same time.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana