Can The Back of My Head Be Built Up Like This?

Q: Dr. Eppley, Is it possible for you to reshape my skull with an implant or permanent injectable filler? My head is flat at the crown and from most angles looks like I'm missing a part of my head. Instead of the typical incline from the brow to crown, mine does  the opposite. It serves to elongate my lower face, throwing my facial proportions off balance. And as my hair is quite fine and rather volume-less, the way my hair frames my face, particularly when it's loose, is most unflattering.This is by far my main body issue concern and upsets me constantly. I can't seem to get past the frustration and I know it's in part because I can't hide this inside baggy clothes or some constant disguise. If I could ignore it, I'm sure I could forget it. But I can't ignore it when I have to look in the mirror each morning and do my hair. And then go out into the world feeling horrid.  Here are some pics of imaged results that are my ideal. Would this be possible to achieve?

A: What your concerns are and are demonstrating is occipital augmentation and is the most common location for skull augmentation. Flatness at the back of the head is the number one cosmetic skull concern that I see and treat. The important question for every patient is how much skull augmentation can be achieved and is what is possible worth it for the surgical effort for the patient? What you are showing as your ideal result with computer imaging is exactly how I would have imaged it based on what I know is possible based on my own experience with this form of skull reshaping. That is a very realistic and expected result based on how much the scalp can expand to accommodate the expanded underlying bony contour.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana