Skull Reshaping for Children and Teens

Skull reshaping surgery, otherwise known as skull contouring or back-of-head augmentation is an aesthetic craniofacial surgical procedure. For children and teens, skull reshaping is sought after to change the shape of the skull to give it a more aesthetically pleasing appearance.

The reasons why parents may seek skull reshaping for their children or teens is often due to congenital skull shape abnormalities such as:

• Flattened or assymetrical occipital bone (back of the head)
• Front of the skull or forehead assymetries
• Obvious high spots, lumps, or sharp ridges
• Depressions, “dents”, or hollows
• Too narrow or too wide head shape

Skull reshaping in children and teens is more typically understood as craniofacial surgery. A form of surgery originally intended to serve children and young adults with congenital deformities of the head and face. This is a distinct field of surgery that specifically deals with changing the structural foundations of the face and skull by altering the facial skeleton.

Craniofacial surgery is comprised of several complex surgical procedures that treat a variety of craniofacial syndromes:

• Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate
• Craniosynstosis
• Hemifacial Microsomia
• Treacher Collins Syndrome
• Orbital Hyperteloris
• Orbital Dystopia
• Tessier Facial Clefts
• Plagiocephaly (Flat Head Syndrome)

We cannot answer this question until we ascertain what kind of craniofacial condition your child has. Please call our office to make an appointment and we will be able to help you make an informed decision.

Craniosynostosis is a congenital syndrome wherein one or more of the fibrous sutures (fibrous joint) in an infant’s skull prematurely fuses by turning into bone (ossification). This inhibits ability of the skull to grow to normal size and proportion, causesing the growth pattern of the skull to change resulting in an abnormal head shape and abnormal facial features.

For information on traditional skull reshaping for infants, please refer to our craniosynostosis page.

• Skull reshaping and augmentation – main page: read all about skull reshaping and augmentation
• Skull reshaping revision or correction surgery: about 15% of all skull reshaping is revision surgery wherein we correct a previous surgeon’s work.
• Skull reshaping recovery timeline and tips: Even though skull reshaping (back-of-head augmentation) seems like it would be a major operation, recovery time can actually be quite rapid compared to other aesthetic craniofacial procedures.