Is A Custom Skull Implant with 5/8″ Thickness Big Enough?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I wanted to follow up if there are any planning images to be shared so far ? As you know I recently had my stage 1 scalp expander put in and I’m eager for the design process to unfold. Furthermore, when I spoke with Dr. Eppley in person, he mentioned the goal of us is about 5/8″ of protrusion, it seems really minor from a dimensional perspective. For previous patients such as the attached, it seemed more of a drastic change like closer to ~1″? Am I correct to make these assumptions?

A:These are partially incorrect assumptions. Skull augmentation is mainly about volume displacement rather than one specific linear measured point. Think of your head as a balloon and not a ruler. It is a large curved surfaces area rather than one flat surface. Thus skull implant designing is guided by implant volume which does come from its shape and various thicknesses. But in the end the volume that the scalp can contain (in your case the tissue expander) will determine the maxmum projection of the implant. To provide some insight in thar regard a one inch or 25mm thick implant would probable be an implant volume of 300 to 325ccs. 5/8s of an inch or 14-15mms would be in the range of 250ccs.

Dr. Barry Eppley

World-Renowned Plastic Surgeon