Limb Lengthening Forum
Limb Lengthening Surgery => Limb Lengthening Discussions => Topic started by: AM_R on December 28, 2015, 07:15:48 AM
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I am wondering,how accurate are the fitbone clicks to the actual gained height?
People who tried fitbone, did your clicks calculation match the bone gap in the xrays?
If not, how much was the difference?
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Some patients told me it's innacurate (if you do 8 cm, you get 6 or so).
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If you'll excuse me, I'd like to share a more educated answer.
There are three reasons for inaccurate gains:
1) The external transmitter is not placed correctly onto the receiver underneath your skin.
You get a stethoscope to use on your leg when distracting to hear the Fitbone motor. When the transmitter is not positioned correctly, you can hear that the nail doesn't do a full rotation per electrical pulse. The transmitter also recognizes weak turns and does not register it on the machine. For example, you might hear 9 pulses, and the machine reads 5.
2) Muscle resistance
Known issue with motorized internal nails, ISKD, Fitbone, Precise
3) Defective nail/Defective Transmitter
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The Precise nail has the same issues.
1) You may not achieve the full amount lengthened per cycle if the ERC machine is not positioned directly above the magnets inside the nail. The ERC machine has a penetration depth of 3 inches. You may have inaccurate gains if you place the ERC machine in the wrong position or do not apply enough pressure to the thigh to be within the 3 inch range, given all the muscles surrounding the femur.
2) Muscle resistance
Check out Plzen's diary, at one point he was doing 2mm distractions with PreciseII but didn't gain that amount.
3) Defective nail/Defective ERC Machine
Here's a study done on the Precise I: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24758320
The reliability of the PRECICE system is comparable to that of other intramedullary lengthening devices such as the ISKD. The motorized external remote controller and its application by the patients is a weak point of the system and needs strict supervision.
Given both options, I would go with the Precise II. I think it is the better and more accurate nail overall. I have heard slightly more people complain about Fitbone gains vs Precise II gains, though it is hard to determine the exact reasons for failure or the amount missing per mm turned.
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I want to mention that it is difficult to measure amount gained in an X-ray due to its optical magnification issue. For example, a 6cm gain on screen may be less due to 7-10% magnification--heard this from Baumgart and other doctors.
If Bohemia, or other Fitbone users who achieved the full 8cm and also wrote down how much they lengthened per day, then we can have a better answer.
My distraction rates are mapped onto an Excel spreadsheet, but I'm not even halfway done with this phase. I'll be able to share my stats when I finish.
Cheers
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This is another reason I'm glad I picked Dr. G. With clicking, you actually get a bit more than what you click. I actually think I'm somewhere between 7-7.4cm, when I stopped clicking around 7. My height increase seems to be about 7cm (based on evening height, and Dr. G measured me in the late afternoon and another doctor did the same early evening). I think you lose a few mm due to the angle of femurs, but it's mostly negligible.
If only there was such a device for tibias. One of these surgeons needs to come out with an easier way to do tibias, or at least make them heal faster. Then I'd 100% be heading for tibs (already strongly considering it for 2017 or 2018, as I'm only about 70% recouped what I spent on Dr. G).
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Question about Fitbone. I'm researching this w/ Dr. G and read on Paley's website how Fitbone and Alibizza, no longer used, cannot reverse lengthening if there is some complication...or slow it down. Is this a scare tactic to sell PRECISE only or is there validity in this? It kind of worried me. Thanks
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Fitbone cannot reverse lengthening. It isn't a scare tactic from Precise. That's right.
Besides Fitbone fails very frequently. Some patients say it doesnt allow to get the full desired amount when it works and in some cases it fails from the very beginning.
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Happy new year for you too, musicmaker.
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Aturro, Baumgart's patient, says that fitbone is inaccurate too. Many people agree.
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I told you all Fitbone wasn't reliable
http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=3043.0
Premature walking can be the cause for screws getting loose. You didn't post that in the forum but many of you had this problem. I know for sure.
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Fitbone not accurate
http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=2618.93
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Yeah. screws can get loose when you walk. But you like doctors who say to patients to walk in the very early stages and that could happen with them too. It is a risk that you have with this surgery. Like many others. But by the moment im walking carefully and with no problem.
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It's not the same. Guichet nail is the only one which allows early weight-bearing. His patients can walk because the nail allows them to walk. The screws are very thick and powerful.
If you use Fitbone, you can't walk in the early stages of LL because screws get loose and there is a high risk of accidents and malfunction of implants. You have the same problem with Precise but Fitbone is riskier.
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This is another reason I'm glad I picked Dr. G. With clicking, you actually get a bit more than what you click. I actually think I'm somewhere between 7-7.4cm, when I stopped clicking around 7. My height increase seems to be about 7cm (based on evening height, and Dr. G measured me in the late afternoon and another doctor did the same early evening). I think you lose a few mm due to the angle of femurs, but it's mostly negligible.
If only there was such a device for tibias. One of these surgeons needs to come out with an easier way to do tibias, or at least make them heal faster. Then I'd 100% be heading for tibs (already strongly considering it for 2017 or 2018, as I'm only about 70% recouped what I spent on Dr. G).
Wait a minute, Precise doesn't work in tibias?
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Yes it does