Skull Reshaping

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am interesting in a skull reshaping procedure for a flat side to the back of my head. In my pictures you can see the difference between the two sides of the back of my head. I want to see if you could make the smaller side of my head (left side) look the same as the bigger side (right side). My ear on the flatter side also sticks out nore. Even though it would cause me to have a large looking skull I wish to find a sense of normalness.

A: Thank you for sending your pictures. You have a classic case of plagiocephaly with left occipital flattening and contralateral right frontal flattening. (cranioscoliosis) The skull reshaping treatment for it is an occipital augmentation on the flatter side. The protrusive ear can be set back in a more traditional setback otoplasty with conchs-mastoid sutures. I assume when you mean ‘make the smaller left side of my head look the same as the bigger right side’ you are referring to using a standard/semi-custom implant or bone cement to do so. I think I would use one of my preformed occipital implants that I use for plagiocephaly cases. It is not as perfect as a truly made custom implant from a 3D CT scan but it can make for a major improvement and lowers the cost of this skull reshaping surgery somewhat.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana