Limb Lengthening Forum
Limb Lengthening Surgery => Limb Lengthening Patients Experiences => Topic started by: Purrrfection on July 13, 2015, 12:07:38 PM
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Hello everyone!
Last month I started my limb lengthening program with Dr Jamal in Kiev. Dr Jamal likes to operate on the legs separately, about 2 weeks apart as to allow some recovery time. I've just finished my second operation (with a slight delay) and now i'm on my way to finishing the lengthening phase for both legs! I still feel a little dizzy from the anesthetic just now, but I'll start a proper diary with a full account of my experience so far. Please feel free to ask me any questions in the mean time and nice to meet you all! ;) x
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Hello everyone!
Last month I started my limb lengthening program with Dr Jamal in Kiev. Dr Jamal likes to operate on the legs separately, about 2 weeks apart as to allow some recovery time. I've just finished my second operation (with a slight delay) and now i'm on my way to finishing the lengthening phase for both legs! I still feel a little dizzy from the anesthetic just now, but I'll start a proper diary with a full account of my experience so far. Please feel free to ask me any questions in the mean time and nice to meet you all! ;) x
wat r ur stats
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It's awesome to see a diary from a Dr. Jamal patient here, I was seriously considering him. The only downsides are that he subsantially increased his price and the unstable situation in the ukraine.
What's your starting height and what's your goal?
Cheers!
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Thanks! My starting height was 5'2 (155cm), and I would love to be anywhere in the 60's club. I was on a budget also so I saved up working whatever jobs I could - waitress/barista/ and by some amazing luck - flight hostess for Virgin Atlantic where the minimum height is 5'2! (I had so much fun!) Basically, I did a tonne of research for about 2 years and decided to go for Doctor Jamal who I spoke to for over 6 months about the possibility of doing it in Kiev. I was also worried about the price hike but I believe he's currently setting up his own practice, and he allowed me to have the operation on my budget (yay!).
P.s yes totally - i'm surprised there aren't more diaries coming from Doctor Jamal. But I can confirm i'm having similar experiences to that of Emanuel and Ocean. Couldn't have a more caring doctor <3
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femurs or tibias?
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Okie, so here is the start of my LL journey in Ukraine!
As mentioned earlier, after deliberating for more time than I care to imagine about which doctor I wanted to go with, I finally chose Dr Jamal to do internal femurs. I arrived at the airport where I was greeted by a friend I made on AirBnb who offered to host me for a few nights (which turned into an indefinite period, still here as I write). I arrived using Wizzair (a super cheap European flight company) at Zhulyany airport which is quite central in Kiev so the taxi ride was only around 3 dollars (USD) to the center. One thing you've got to love about Ukraine, everything is so sooo sooooo cheap here. I heard the average salary here is around 400 USD a month! And of course, even I can appreciate how stunning the girls are here...like woah....
So first impressions so far so good. The next day I met the doctor, and it was as if we've known each other for a while already (I guess I plagued him with questions on Skype for 6 months). He asked if I wanted to Ukraine a bit before the surgery, but I wanted to get the operation over and done with.
My Airbnb host was such a sweetheart and offered to support me whilst I was going through surgery and was right beside me when I woke up from the operation.
The first few days I had to get a few medical tests, blood tests, x-rays etc.. but soon enough I was in the operation theatre under the bright lights with a tube inside me and five nurses looking at my oh-so-nked self.
The general anesthesia was injected, and I was out like a lightbulb. I do remember managing to count up to... 6? (Anyone actually managed to reach 10 once they've been injected?)
I woke up really stiff, and my tiny little arms were shaking a little, and I remember needing water soo badly. The nurses turned down my request for any liquids, instead I had to make do with a moist cloth over my dry lips. Not going to lie, it wasn't the best feeling. Thankfully my host was beside me to sneak me some yogurt to make the taste of anesthesia go away.
Not much to say after that, I had dreamless naps throughout the day and slept until the doctor came to visit the next day. He made me stand saying it's important to get the blood flowing and movement in my joints. It was a challenge but I did stand 'tall'!
Not soon enough, I was out of the hospital and back in my foster home. It's really lovely here, I'll put up some photos, but I'm beside a lake where my host paddles his boat in the evenings and quite a few other young professionals live here (ages around 25-30.) I'm really glad to say i've met them all, and during the days, I spend my time in the communal garden socializing, having BBQ's and watching the pet ducks play with each other. It sounds amazing, and it really is. The people are much more open minded than I thought, and with the recent legislation on Gay marriage in the US, it's been discussed quite a lot here and other than a little indifference, it's met with support. Take that Russia! :D
A small side note about safety, Kiev is absolutely safe. The Aussie embassy rates it as a low threat in Kiev, but obviously don't go to places like Crimea or Donestk, which is actually really far away since Ukraine I think still the biggest country in Europe.
I'm clicking around 1.5mm a day. I'm only starting to feel the burn now that I'm past 4cm. The medication I receive are injections or pills - called Ketanov or Dekselgene.
The new Jamal nail require you to do some quasi-elaborate foot movements so you don't get any accidental clicks, and so far, i've just been clicking my way to happiness. Obviously I have aches, but during the day, I get by without medication and take a pill.... or an injection at night if I want some crazy dreams.
Some CONS: the food here takes a little getting used too if you're not used to eating Borsche all the time. To me it can taste bland, and the food chains like dominos, pizza hut taste different and are no where near what they are back home. But it's OK, I'm eating healthy and lost some weight already.
Major PROS: the people! (and the doctor of course) but it really gives me an incentive to use my crutches ever day and go out into the garden to meet people chilling out eating and drinking. Of course I don't drink (I tried the vodka once), but my regeneration is strong because of it. I'm not stuck inside the house, if I am, I do some work on the computer, but I always have people knocking on my door telling me to come out for something that's happening.
That pretty much sums it up! I'm still not getting away with the traditional aches and pains of LL, but I bypass most of it with the new Jamal nail and by doing internal. Almost feels like cheating compared to you brave folks doing external - I'm really in awe of you guys and won't dare to compare it to my aches.
I'll keep everyone updated as I approach the end of my lengthening phase, and will do my best to keep up with all questions. So please shoot if there is anything you want to know or if i've missed anything out. For any price related questions or medical, probably best to wait for the new website I think he's releasing soon. I'm really lucky I can just give him a phonecall anytime and he visits me daily in the garden. (So if you have something dire you want to ask him, I can maybe pass the message on.)
I think it's time for dinner, (not borsche!).
Speak soon, everyone and thanks for reading if you got this far! xx
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Nice! How are the scars, does any show above the pants?
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Welcome to the forum, Purrrfection. Great first entry.
If you haven't done so already, take a look at this thread to see how you can insert pictures into your posts:
http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=2183.0
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Thanks guys! There is only a 2cm line on either side of my hips. Little scarring is one of my top priorities (trust me on this haha), and i'm not so bothered about these.
:)
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Doctor Jamal saw me walking around the house without crutches and his face was like this---> :o haha
The nail is fully weight bearing so I hope it will be okay! ;D
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How much have you spent roughly?
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oooer...I guess with rent, flight, food, assistant (someone to help with cleaning, cooking, and injections), and of course some fun stuff like wine and food for BBQs for new friends ::) around 50k. I did a bit of travelling around Europe as well before ;D My poor bank account :(
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50k all in for an internal weight bearing nail is cheap! How do you distract?
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Do you feel any sensitivity in your hip area? Jamal's new nail greatly resembles the original Bliskunov nail shown here, correct?
http://imgur.com/B8gds42
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I'll try and ask the doctor to explain the difference before I write anything here... because I honestly don't know that much ;D
To be honest, I didn't really feel that much in the hip area and just thought it was the incision/wound pain at the beginning! It went away pretty quickly, but now I realise what the tingly sensation was in my hip now.... :o
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Ahh soo excited! I just visited Doctor Jamal's new recovery resort for his patients. It's situated also beside a lake and the outdoor area is much nicer than the place I'm at now. It's also cheaper so I've asked if I can move in asap. Hopefully I can get my own room by tonight or tomorrow. The place has even got a boat! :D x
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Tnx for sharing your journey here:)....I was planning on going with Jamal, but Emmanuels non-union and other patients bad consolidation, put me off...Hope yours will turn out great:)
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Hey Purrfection- read your diary and enjoyed it. I had few email exchanges with dr. Jamal last year. He does seem very caring doctor.
Hope things works out for you. Good luck mate!
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Hmm.. Does anyone have the links to Emmanuels or I'm guessing Ocean's links where it refers to non-union? And it would be great to know if they are okay now. Thanks guys! X
P.s Ive almost finished 6cm and was walking around reaaaally well yesterday. I noticed i had a little duck ass, but I got rid of it like a nazi in inglorious basterds :p
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Okay, i got off my lazy duck ass and did research. I read through the whole of Emanuels diary again about consolidation and i thought i would quote this:
Re: Emanuel - Internal Femurs - Dr. Jamal - 2013 - It's time to go to war!
« Reply #298 on: March 15, 2014, 09:39:56 AM »
Reply with quoteQuote
First, thanks for the good wishes and nice words!
They have helped!
The first good news came on wednesday, when the x-ray of my right leg was taken one day before my departure to Kiev. It showed clearly better callus than in november. I will upload the xray when back in germany (cant do it now because i dont have my laptop here in Kiev)
Then, yesterday Dr Jamal did a ct scan of my legs. It showed that at a minimum I have small bone cells (osteoblast) everywhere, so in that sense the bone is already connected (in a weak way). According to Dr Jamal I have normal bone regeneration, but with the difference that it is very slow.
To speed it up I am getting a treatment now. Dr Jamal knows about my currently bad financial situation and still prepared that treatment for - I think it shows what a caring doctor he is.
I am getting injections 3 times in the next weeks. The first pair of injections I got yesterday. What they did is: taking blood from me, put it into a centrifuge to filter out the plasma, then this plasma got mixed with some growth factors and injected into the problematic bone area. Hope that will help Smiley
Furthermore, the ct shows that a screw in my right leg is broken. Apparantly, I am walking around with a broken screw since 1 month. It must have broken in my superman reha session in the swimminghall. It is no surprise that I had all that pain lately. The screw will be exchanged on monday.
I am very happy that I came back to Kiev. Normal orthopedics, that dont have a clue of LL, just cant help you. To be fair, it was really difficult to see that broken screw even on the ct. After Dr Jamal showed it to me, I still had to look 2 more times to see it!
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From reviewing his entire diary, it seems this is a case of bad genetics unfortunately which no doctor can do anything about. What is being done is bone regeneration boosting injections which are really expensive and a bone graft surgery which is all being done for free by Dr Jamal. In fact, all complications are dealt with properly and for free. Emanuel states more than once he is still grateful and sees Dr Jamal as a very caring doctor. In my case I had the opposite problem where I didnt lengthen for 2 weeks and my bone regenerated too quickly meaning it had almost fused and I needed an operation to break them apart again. Luckily though i managed to avoid this by getting 7mm done on the spot.
Dont know which is worse: slow regeneration or regenerating too fast needing another osteotomy op :/
One of my parents must have been a salamander :o
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Jamal is probably the most caring CLL doctor and the fact that all the complications are included in the price package is just awsome. One of the negative is that there are not many patient diaries on him, the only one is Emmanuele. Ocaen and Alhian stopped posting when they stopped lenghtening, so Emanuelle is the only one we have as reference when it comes to consolidation-phase. I`ll hope u will keep on posting through your consolidation:)....Btw will u let us know when Jamal will launch his new website, the one u mentioned before:)
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Hello Chsn!
I've just finished completed my limb lengthening journey! No more click-click-clicks for me, thank goodness!.
I just want to say a big thank you to Dr Jamal just now before I write up a full account of my experience later on today or this week (I'll try and do it today). There were some tough times where I cried like a girl - literally, and woke up in a panic during the middle of the night. I once misplaced my pain medication and it was really late, around 3am, and I was desperate, so I rang doctor Jamal (really not that brave I know) and I wasn't expecting anything...
He told me on the phone (in a really sleepy voice - kinda cute haha) that it was good I called him and he will be over immediately. Not only did he bring pain medication, he brought some tea and some really tasty snacks to make me feel better knowing I probably had the midnight munchies. He stayed with me for a while to keep me company and went through everything about where my pain was coming from and if I needed more re-assurance, he would take me for a CT scan.
That's the kind of doctor he is, he doesn't patronize you telling you just "everything will be O.K", he takes the time to properly explain everything, and really does live up to what he says by taking you for CT scans - which are far more accurate and expensive than simple x-rays. I asked about consolidation from a few other patients experiences here before, and he really took the time to explain what happened and how rare this occurrence was. He clarified "those rare cases were not a case of non-union or non-consolidation, it was just far slower than normal and needed time. However, in those cases where patients psychological state requires them to have peace of mind, I am more than happy to give them a bone graft to make them feel safe and help improve the speed of regeneration."
And of course, this is all for free.
My consolidation was the opposite story meaning I almost had to have another operation to stop the bones from fusing too quickly. But Dr Jamal came every day and managed the situation and we got through it without any problems.
On a final note: I got to celebrate by having a BBQ at the new Jamal recovery centre which looks STUNNING for all you future LL patients! I'm so jealous I didn't get to stay there, the place in general is damn gorgeous. There's an exercise bike right next to the lake which I would have been DESTROYING everyday if I was there! I would have legs of steel - or titanium ;)
xx
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Nice, congrats on ur LL! You have some pics of the new place?
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I should add, I do wonder if he can keep up this level of care that I had if he gets more and more busy. This will probably happen as the word gets out about this hidden gem of a doctor. I admit I was really lucky with the timing since i'm guessing he had only me and a couple of other patients, so he could be so generous with his time. Also, he gave me the old price of 40,000 USD for the operation, and I know prices have gone up since, and I do regret having asked for a discount since he basically helped me out with far too many things and I felt I asked him for too many favors. What does this forum think about what a limb lengthening doctors responsibility encompasses? Perhaps their duties are not within a normal doctor's boundaries... do you think it goes into the realms of emotional support or support as in knowing you can call them at anytime - including the middle of the night? I know it sounds silly, but this is a psychological battle more than anything, and it seems the doctor I really needed was more a psychological one. Having that feeling that I knew I had a caring doctor who I knew would not hesitate to be there for me anytime, and anything that would happen would get sorted out immediately at no extra cost was beyond anything I could have asked for to get me through this journey.
I'll stop rambling now :p
xx
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G-man, I keep forgetting to take photos! I'm so sorry - BUT, I saw them taking a few photos for the new website. I'll ask the Doc when it's all rolling out!
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Okay this is awesome, I got Dr Jamal on Whatsapp!!! Didn't quite manage to convince him about Snapchat... ;D
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Hmmm. There is no pictures at all.
Fake diary?
It's the worlds most easiest thing to take a picture and upload it today so there isn't really any excuse.
People want to see - why even write a diary? There are lots of picture free diaries out there, and for nothing.
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Urghh sweden! I'm still wrapped up in bandages from my last operation. Give a gal a break...jeez
Y'all get yer photos ;) x
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Nice to see u update again! :)...It sounds like Jamal took really good care of u, and I guess he and his nail cant be blamed for what happened to Emanuel.
I who just counted him out as one of my candidates for surgery, but tnx to your diary his back in as 1 of 4 pics:/....How was Jamal with painkillers, in Emanuel and Oceans diaries he was very conservative about giving Tramadol for example, was he the same with u?
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Hi Chan! Yes, I never got Tremadol as Dr Jamal told me they are very strong and the side effects are too risky. I got a treatment of Deksalgine and Ketanov, @emannuel, did you get the same??
Personally I thought they were enough as i never really had too much pain, apart from my knees in my right leg. Oh god that pain was so annoying. >:(
Internals are a lot easier than externals so I guess that's why he will use weaker less risky painkillers:)x
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Internals are a lot easier than externals so I guess that's why he will use weaker less risky painkillers:)x
But I heard that the pain for internals is generally more intense? Individuals vary a lot though
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Very likely this is a fake diary. I doubt leg lengthening is as easy and cheerful and she made it sound to be. You could be leading people to ruin.
if you are real, please post proof.
if you are fake, please stop.
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Very likely this is a fake diary. I doubt leg lengthening is as easy and cheerful and she made it sound to be. You could be leading people to ruin.
if you are real, please post proof.
if you are fake, please stop.
I know a lot of people here have silly quotes in their signatures, but even her name, the tag under her name and quote feel really set up to me. Like she's really screaming "Leg lengthening is awesome, DO IT ASAP!!!!!"
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Guys - this is nonsense. Number 1: i am not obligated to post ANY pictures of myself, and number two: I dealt with my lengthening With a positive mindset. I have always been a bit of an optimist, and it's not been totally sunshine and rainbows, BUT, i have had a positive experience overall. The photos dilema comes from mainly men who have less reservations of showing their scars than women i guess.
I do have scars, and i will carry them forever. My future partners will question them no doubt and it is up to me if i want to explain - or not. I have no problem with dating shorter men so there is that possiblity they might know about this operation and this forum and be able to find my diary - which might be a little embarrising for me. So please understand my hesistance - i think i will post photos because if i were in your shoes, i would want to know what the scars look like (for all you more supportive people out there who I thank).
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Sixsixmonster, what you said about my tagline makes no sense. Anyway, limb lengthening is awesome and is such a godsend for people who suffer from height neurosis.
And for heavans sake, 6 foot 6 isnt that tall. Get to the gym and do some weights if you don't want to look like a bean pole. Proportions you can fix by getting off your bum, height - you can't.
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Sorry to attack, not trying to be rude, just stating my opinion.
Also my situation has more to it than just height.
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I am sure you can understand why many of us would think this is a fake diary and I hope you know we are not here to get you.
why don't you tell us how we can varify this is a real diary vs a fake diary? if you truly don't care about us knowing whether this is real or not then you truly should not be here.
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I must say it is a bit disheartening. I seem to be getting allegations of fraud because I won't put up photos of myself and having trying to stay positive throughout this experience. ::) :(
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Some parts are hard and I did give up everything to do this operation - alone without telling any of my family because it can be embarrasing. I do care about the veracity of my diary and want to really say i felt supported through this whole journey. Also, I am planning to post photos soon, but i really don't want to feel like i'm doing it out of pressure - i want to post them because i want to share and help future folks like myself. X
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Interesting diary.
Wasn't really aware of Dr Jamal before this, certainly not that the nails are weight bearing?! Considering getting LL done in a year or so, I've been debating between Drs Guichet/ Birkholtz/ Monegal but based pretty much on this Jamal seems like a potential decent shout, given price, weight bearing and by the sounds of it pretty good care and I'm currently learning Russian, so that would be my cover story sorted! Dare say I might chuck 1,001 questions at you in the future if you don't mind :-X
How have you found being in Kiev by yourself? Any idea why the legs are done two weeks apart?
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Hiya Nightwish! I really had no trouble being in Kiev by myself. I made a friend on AirBnb and my host really helped me out. Also, I found it quite easy to meet people in Kiev since the locals seem to always be interested in practising their English with foreigners and learning about where you come from.
Dr Jamal does them 2 weeks apart because this means your healthy leg can support the other leg whilst it is recovering and by the time you do your second leg, the recovered leg can support the newly operated leg. This way, you can keep on walking. I personally asked mine to be done at the same time but he said this causes too much trauma for the body and he likes to keep everything low risk. I guess it's cheaper and more convenient for him to do them at the same time, but he prioritises safety first which was is I felt confident being with him.
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where are the pics women? yes the pics i am talking about ! unless we see the pics sorry we cant believe this dairy
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Glad things are going well so far for you, and that you've got a positive attitude! I plan on getting it done next year!
How much do you want to stretch to? I am 5'7 and a half (171 centimetres). Nobody thinks I am that short and thinks that I should not get this done. I am going for around 5-5.6 centimetres.
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Hi Purrfection,
how is your recovery going ? Please post an honest update even if you are not comfortable showing pictures for privacy. I am very curious, especially since you have lengthened very fast (~ 6 cm in 1 month) and wondering how are things with you.
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Is this diary real? how can one person do 2 mm a day? 😒
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Hmm.. Does anyone have the links to Emmanuels or I'm guessing Ocean's links where it refers to non-union? And it would be great to know if they are okay now. Thanks guys! X
P.s Ive almost finished 6cm and was walking around reaaaally well yesterday. I noticed i had a little duck ass, but I got rid of it like a nazi in inglorious basterds :p
Are you ok?
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Updates?