Category: plastic surgery case study | skull reshaping

Plastic Surgery Case Study – Small Custom Occipital Skull Implant

Background: Aesthetic skull deformities occur in a very wide degree of severities and presentations. While many think that such skull shape issues are probably large and obvious, I have found that some are quite small and often obscure to the casual observer. But to the patient smaller skull defects can be just as disturbing as Read More…

Plastic Surgery Case Study – Hydroxyapatite Cement in Pediatric Skull Reconstruction

Background: Skull defects occur in children for a variety of reasons. But one of the most common causes is early surgery for congenital skull deformities. When reshaping large portions of the skull their complete healing depends on the natural osteogenic capability of the underlying dura. This is usually very robust at very young ages but Read More…

OR Snapshots – Scalp Tissue Expansion in Aesthetic Skull Augmentation

Expansion of the scalp through inflatable devices (‘balloons’) is a well established reconstructive technique. Originally developed to treat lost or missing soft tissues (skin), increasing the size of the surrounding tissues to stretch out and cover what has been lost is the fundamental concept of tissue expansion surgery. Such a concept works best in the Read More…

OR Snapshots – 3D Forehead Reconstruction Implant

Forehead reconstruction encompasses a variety of inlay and onlay bone procedures. Reconstruction of full-thickness frontal bone defects most commonly occurs from either neurosurgical procedures where a craniotomy bone flap has been lost or from skull bone loss due to trauma. While replacing the lost bone can be done by using the patient’s own bone, this Read More…

Plastic Surgery Case Study – Male Occipital Knob Skull Reduction

Background: The occipital bone of the skull is the very back part that is shaped like a dish and covers the occipital lobes of the cerebellum. Near the bottom of the visible occipital bone is a series of curved horizontal lines known as the nuchal ridges onto which are attached various ligaments and muscles. In Read More…

Plastic Surgery Case Study – Large Custom Skull Implant Replacement for PMMA Cement

Background: Many areas of the face and the body can be augmented for aesthetic purposes. While the skull is not usually perceived as also be able to be enlarged, it can be done as well. The tightness of the overlying scalp is more restrictive than other body areas so there are limits as to how Read More…

Plastic Surgery Case Study – Occipital Knob and Roll Reduction

Background: The back of the head is not usually given much thought as it not seen by most people including the person themselves. But in today’s world where many men now shave their heads, the entire shape of the skull takes on greater aesthetic significance than ever before. A smooth shape of the skull is Read More…

OR Snapshots – Two-Piece Custom Skull Implant in Large Skull Augmentations

Skull reshaping using implants is the only effective method for augmenting head shape. While certain bone and muscle removals can be done for more limited skull reductions, skull augmentations can produce much more dramatic changes. In essence, the stretch of the scalp is far more permissive than the thickness of the skull bones. In very Read More…

OR Snapshots – The Macroporous Custom Skull Implant

Custom skull implants have become a reliable and safe method of various types of skull augmentation. Made from the patient’s 3D CT scan, they cover the desired skull surface with a precise fit and a smooth outer surface that blends well into the surrounding bone/muscle areas. The most careful judgment has to be made in Read More…

Plastic Surgery Case Study – Combining Custom Skull Implant withSagittal Ridge Reduction for Major Head Shape Change

Background: The shape of one’s skull is determined by numerous factors. But the most important two are the cranial sutures and the underlying expanding brain. The sutures permit the growing brain to increase in size without constriction by a tight overlying ‘bone box’. These sutures are strategically placed to allow a circumferential expansion of the Read More…