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Forehead Reduction with Dr. Fleming Was One of the Best Decisions of my Life!
I was born with a very high hairline. Over the years, I learned to style my hair down so it would hang over my forehead and most people would never look twice. But I was always unhappy when it was windy out, I went swimming, or my hair would get messed up. I always assumed it just "had to be that way" and never realized there was any good method for fixing it.
In the past few years, now in my 30s, I decided to look into options. I found forehead reduction and I was enthralled. I met with another surgeon first but found his attitude somewhat poor. He also tried to convince me to just do a "single stage" procedure that would only yield at most 2.5 cm reduction, which was not going to be nearly enough.
I next met with Dr. Fleming, and I was immediately happy with him. Dr. Fleming is an incredibly kind and caring man who is passionate about his work and making people happy. He was honest when discussing options and interested in my case. He answered all my questions and I never felt rushed. He treated me with respect. He has a good sense of humor and good personal nature. And above all else, he is probably the world's best and leading expert on forehead reduction surgeries.
Dr. Fleming helped pioneer the Fleming-Mayer flap and has performed various types of forehead and scalp reductions for decades. I have researched this field extensively and there is likely no other surgeon with the same type of expertise and experience he has operating today. The value of this experience cannot be underestimated.
Furthermore, he has assembled a fantastic team of support workers who are every bit as engaged in the process as he is. Sharon was wonderful in helping to co-ordinate my dates, payments, and keep in touch. Maria, his surgical assistant, was fantastic as well in talking me through the process and giving me guidance along the way. Because the whole team has so much experience with forehead reductions, they are all experts in the process.
I decided with Dr. Fleming to go for a two stage forehead reduction. He suggested, as I had noted, that my scalp was quite tight, and given my large forehead, a single stage procedure would not likely give me the amount of reduction I wanted. By implanting an expander first behind my hairline, and expanding it over the span of a few months to stretch the hair-bearing scalp, he could give me all the reduction I wanted during a second stage procedure to follow.
My first operation to implant the expander went quite smoothly. I was awake the whole time with just local numbing to my scalp. Dr. Fleming and Maria made sure I was comfortable the whole time. They even gave me extra blankets to keep me warm in the cold operating room. The pain after the expander was implanted was more than I expected, but not too bad really. The percocets worked fine and I was back to work in around a week. I had a 3" or so incision at my hairline, but since I wore my hair down anyway it was easily hidden.
After that, the next phase was to begin expansion. During this period, I had my dad inject 20 mL of water into a "port" under the skin connected to the expander at the back of my head. We would do this twice a week or so. The goal was to get to around 400 mL. Each time we would inject, it would feel a little tight for a day or two then I would feel back to normal. I ended up getting nervous near the end that I would not have sufficient expansion, so I went up to around 500 mL total volume. There is generally no harm in overexpanding, but if you don't have enough expansion, the final reduction can be limited.
The toughest part of the procedure was hiding the implant once it got past around 250 mL or so. I already have a big head, so it was tricky. Once I got to around that point, I began wearing hats to work. It was winter so I just started keeping my toque on. Or I wore a fedora. If people asked, I would either play it off, or be blunt and jokingly say, "I'm actually having some surgery to my scalp, so trust me - for now, it looks better this way." People are pretty polite nowadays and no one even asked me anything to follow up after that. But if they seemed concerned, I would say, "It's no big deal, I'm just having something removed, and then it will be fine. It's just not pretty right now, so I'd rather wear the hat."
By the end, the fedora worked to conceal the expander the best, although it was even lifting off my head a bit because I inflated the balloon so much. It was a huge relief to be done and know that it was finally coming out!
The final procedure went quite smoothly. I brought some Photoshops to my final pre-op, showing Dr. Fleming where I and my family thought the hairline might look best. He said he could make it happen and just suggested also some contouring to make it look more natural. This is one of the things I love about Dr. Fleming. He doesn't adamantly tell you what you should or shouldn't do. He tries to help you reach what you are hoping for yourself, and guides you to make good decisions in that regard.
When I had my bandages removed a day or two after the surgery it was quite a shock. I almost passed out lol. This was partly because I had gotten so used to having the balloon in, it looked like half my head had disappeared. My head was also a bit swollen and the stitches of course weren't pretty. And I had never seen my hairline look like that before. It was all a bit overwhelming. Dr. Fleming and Maria reassured me that everything was normal and looked good. By a few days later once I could wash the hair out and really get a sense of it, I agreed wholeheartedly! It was fantastic.
The transformation was truly amazing. It changed my entire face and proportions and brought my features into much better balance. The hairline and jawline set the frame for a person's face, and when one aspect of that is out of balance it can throw everything else off. All of a sudden, I looked good with my hair up, or back, or parted, or anything at all. Every hairstyle I tried looked good.
I followed Dr. Fleming's advice to use Aquaphor on the incision while it was healing initially. Then I switched to silicone scar gel in the months that followed. For the first few weeks, I had to wash it very gently in a bath tub as the whole head was very sensitive and I didn't want to tear the skin at the incision. Over time, the sensitivity decreased though and normal sensation has slowly returned to my scalp.
I'm now at around 10 months post op and I am extremely happy. I have a dense, thick, and strong hairline. My hair is now something that gives me pleasure every day instead of being an annoyance. I received more compliments on my hair in the first few months after the procedure than I have for any other physical attribute in total over my entire life. Some of the types of comments I received were typically:
"Wow your hair looks really good like that!"
"You look like a rockstar!"
"I am so jealous of your hair!"
"Wow sexy hair!"
"You look like Antonio Banderas!"
etc. (it went on and on)
No one knew I had surgery except my family, since no one else ever saw my hairline before. It doesn't look like I "had surgery" either, because the hair all perfectly matches in density, color, wave, and style. This is the advantage of a forehead reduction vs. a transplant. A transplant will never be able to get more than 50% of the density that your natural hair has, and it will never match the texture and direction of your natural hair. A forehead reduction on the other hand will always keep everything matching perfectly.
After all that surgery, Dr. Fleming did such a nice job that all I have left is a tiny scar along the frontal contour of my hairline that is hardly noticeable unless your face is pressed right up against it to pick it out.
Overall, this surgery with Dr. Fleming was one of the best decisions I'd ever made in my life. I wish I had done it when I was younger. I think I would have had a lot of fun in my 20s doing all sorts of crazy hairstyles. But I guess now I just have to make up for lost time. :)
I would strongly recommend a forehead reduction with Dr. Fleming if:
- You want the best and most experienced surgeon for this procedure.
- You want a surgeon who is caring, compassionate, and dedicated to giving you the result you will be happy with.
- You are a man or woman born with a high hairline or big forehead.
- You are not suffering from male pattern baldness, or if you are, you have it under adequate control with effective medications and it is not progressing (if you are balding and get this procedure, it will not stop the balding process so it is not a solution for that).
I would absolutely give Dr. Fleming and his staff 5 stars for the experience (or as many stars as I am allowed). My experience has shown that plastic surgery, when done well for the right patient and right condition, can improve quality of life and make people happier. That's what Dr. Fleming has done for me. I am incredibly thankful for his work, and I will always be grateful.
In the past few years, now in my 30s, I decided to look into options. I found forehead reduction and I was enthralled. I met with another surgeon first but found his attitude somewhat poor. He also tried to convince me to just do a "single stage" procedure that would only yield at most 2.5 cm reduction, which was not going to be nearly enough.
I next met with Dr. Fleming, and I was immediately happy with him. Dr. Fleming is an incredibly kind and caring man who is passionate about his work and making people happy. He was honest when discussing options and interested in my case. He answered all my questions and I never felt rushed. He treated me with respect. He has a good sense of humor and good personal nature. And above all else, he is probably the world's best and leading expert on forehead reduction surgeries.
Dr. Fleming helped pioneer the Fleming-Mayer flap and has performed various types of forehead and scalp reductions for decades. I have researched this field extensively and there is likely no other surgeon with the same type of expertise and experience he has operating today. The value of this experience cannot be underestimated.
Furthermore, he has assembled a fantastic team of support workers who are every bit as engaged in the process as he is. Sharon was wonderful in helping to co-ordinate my dates, payments, and keep in touch. Maria, his surgical assistant, was fantastic as well in talking me through the process and giving me guidance along the way. Because the whole team has so much experience with forehead reductions, they are all experts in the process.
I decided with Dr. Fleming to go for a two stage forehead reduction. He suggested, as I had noted, that my scalp was quite tight, and given my large forehead, a single stage procedure would not likely give me the amount of reduction I wanted. By implanting an expander first behind my hairline, and expanding it over the span of a few months to stretch the hair-bearing scalp, he could give me all the reduction I wanted during a second stage procedure to follow.
My first operation to implant the expander went quite smoothly. I was awake the whole time with just local numbing to my scalp. Dr. Fleming and Maria made sure I was comfortable the whole time. They even gave me extra blankets to keep me warm in the cold operating room. The pain after the expander was implanted was more than I expected, but not too bad really. The percocets worked fine and I was back to work in around a week. I had a 3" or so incision at my hairline, but since I wore my hair down anyway it was easily hidden.
After that, the next phase was to begin expansion. During this period, I had my dad inject 20 mL of water into a "port" under the skin connected to the expander at the back of my head. We would do this twice a week or so. The goal was to get to around 400 mL. Each time we would inject, it would feel a little tight for a day or two then I would feel back to normal. I ended up getting nervous near the end that I would not have sufficient expansion, so I went up to around 500 mL total volume. There is generally no harm in overexpanding, but if you don't have enough expansion, the final reduction can be limited.
The toughest part of the procedure was hiding the implant once it got past around 250 mL or so. I already have a big head, so it was tricky. Once I got to around that point, I began wearing hats to work. It was winter so I just started keeping my toque on. Or I wore a fedora. If people asked, I would either play it off, or be blunt and jokingly say, "I'm actually having some surgery to my scalp, so trust me - for now, it looks better this way." People are pretty polite nowadays and no one even asked me anything to follow up after that. But if they seemed concerned, I would say, "It's no big deal, I'm just having something removed, and then it will be fine. It's just not pretty right now, so I'd rather wear the hat."
By the end, the fedora worked to conceal the expander the best, although it was even lifting off my head a bit because I inflated the balloon so much. It was a huge relief to be done and know that it was finally coming out!
The final procedure went quite smoothly. I brought some Photoshops to my final pre-op, showing Dr. Fleming where I and my family thought the hairline might look best. He said he could make it happen and just suggested also some contouring to make it look more natural. This is one of the things I love about Dr. Fleming. He doesn't adamantly tell you what you should or shouldn't do. He tries to help you reach what you are hoping for yourself, and guides you to make good decisions in that regard.
When I had my bandages removed a day or two after the surgery it was quite a shock. I almost passed out lol. This was partly because I had gotten so used to having the balloon in, it looked like half my head had disappeared. My head was also a bit swollen and the stitches of course weren't pretty. And I had never seen my hairline look like that before. It was all a bit overwhelming. Dr. Fleming and Maria reassured me that everything was normal and looked good. By a few days later once I could wash the hair out and really get a sense of it, I agreed wholeheartedly! It was fantastic.
The transformation was truly amazing. It changed my entire face and proportions and brought my features into much better balance. The hairline and jawline set the frame for a person's face, and when one aspect of that is out of balance it can throw everything else off. All of a sudden, I looked good with my hair up, or back, or parted, or anything at all. Every hairstyle I tried looked good.
I followed Dr. Fleming's advice to use Aquaphor on the incision while it was healing initially. Then I switched to silicone scar gel in the months that followed. For the first few weeks, I had to wash it very gently in a bath tub as the whole head was very sensitive and I didn't want to tear the skin at the incision. Over time, the sensitivity decreased though and normal sensation has slowly returned to my scalp.
I'm now at around 10 months post op and I am extremely happy. I have a dense, thick, and strong hairline. My hair is now something that gives me pleasure every day instead of being an annoyance. I received more compliments on my hair in the first few months after the procedure than I have for any other physical attribute in total over my entire life. Some of the types of comments I received were typically:
"Wow your hair looks really good like that!"
"You look like a rockstar!"
"I am so jealous of your hair!"
"Wow sexy hair!"
"You look like Antonio Banderas!"
etc. (it went on and on)
No one knew I had surgery except my family, since no one else ever saw my hairline before. It doesn't look like I "had surgery" either, because the hair all perfectly matches in density, color, wave, and style. This is the advantage of a forehead reduction vs. a transplant. A transplant will never be able to get more than 50% of the density that your natural hair has, and it will never match the texture and direction of your natural hair. A forehead reduction on the other hand will always keep everything matching perfectly.
After all that surgery, Dr. Fleming did such a nice job that all I have left is a tiny scar along the frontal contour of my hairline that is hardly noticeable unless your face is pressed right up against it to pick it out.
Overall, this surgery with Dr. Fleming was one of the best decisions I'd ever made in my life. I wish I had done it when I was younger. I think I would have had a lot of fun in my 20s doing all sorts of crazy hairstyles. But I guess now I just have to make up for lost time. :)
I would strongly recommend a forehead reduction with Dr. Fleming if:
- You want the best and most experienced surgeon for this procedure.
- You want a surgeon who is caring, compassionate, and dedicated to giving you the result you will be happy with.
- You are a man or woman born with a high hairline or big forehead.
- You are not suffering from male pattern baldness, or if you are, you have it under adequate control with effective medications and it is not progressing (if you are balding and get this procedure, it will not stop the balding process so it is not a solution for that).
I would absolutely give Dr. Fleming and his staff 5 stars for the experience (or as many stars as I am allowed). My experience has shown that plastic surgery, when done well for the right patient and right condition, can improve quality of life and make people happier. That's what Dr. Fleming has done for me. I am incredibly thankful for his work, and I will always be grateful.
Provider Review
Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon
416 N. Bedford Dr., Beverly Hills, California