Can My Bulging Forehead Be Made Flatter By A Shaving Procedure?

Q: Hello Dr. Eppley, I am a 24 year old male. I wanted to ask a question concerning forehead recontouring. I dislike my big forehead as it sticks out. I want to make my forehead smaller and flatter. I see you perform surgeries such as burring the forehead bone down. My problem is the slope of my forehead above the eyebrow area. I have attached a picture for you to get a better opinion. Do you think this surgery is possible for me? Please and thank you.

A: Thank you for sending the pictures. I can see exactly your forehead concerns. There is a bulge that starts above the brow area and extends upward, stopping short of your frontal hairline. There ius no question that can be made more flat by burring. Probably at least 5mms to 7mms can be reduced down into the diploic space to remove this bulge and make your forehead more flat rather than bulged. The only issue is one of the incisional access to do the forehead contouring procedure. It is no more complicated than a traditional open browlift procedure. That means there would be a fine line scar inside your hairline from the incision needed to turn down the scalp flap. You have good hair density presently it is just unknown, like any male, what the future may hold for your hairline. The scalp scar would be the trade-off for a flatter forehead.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana