Your writing's entertaining to read.
Good luck Unicorn
We are bound to see each other someday :). I am in London now, prepping for the surgery. Fillipo is awesome!
Sigh...Unicorn, I wish you the absolute best of luck (not that you need it with Dr G. ;) )...but I will never understand how petite women feel the need to do this. We find you petite ladies super hot you know! But to each his/her own!
Sigh...Unicorn, I wish you the absolute best of luck (not that you need it with Dr G. ;) )...but I will never understand how petite women feel the need to do this. We find you petite ladies super hot you know! But to each his/her own!
Haha! But people walk into me like I were a fire hydrant... :D that's how short I feel. I've followed your entire journey, real impressive stuff!
Yeah I know very petite women (5'0" and under) still face discrimination in the workplace (in corporate/finance/law-type firms, at least)...but they do NOT face discrimination in the dating world. They can date short and tall men alike (although we know, they are usually the first ones running for the super tall men...not saying that Unicorn does that, but we know MANY short women do that).
But as I said, to each his/her own. Our bodies, our lives, our money!
I like petite men, can't deal with guys who are too tall - perpetual neck ache! Also, it sucks to never have eye contact :)
I also look very young for my age, so if I walk into a meeting room, clients usually take one look at me and yell, "Coffee please!" :'( :'( :'(
Some updates...You are so well prepared, Unicorn! I wish I had ordered a height-adjustable hospital bed. The mattress that I have is so soft and with one end elevated my sleeping was terrible. Good luck to your LL!
I've met up with Doc G a second time for another 1.5 hours where he described all the risks involved and I had to sign a million docs.
His homework list which I've just completed (phew!) - all of it took about 2 weeks :
- Blood tests (serology, coagulation, blood group, blood count, ESR, CRP, liver tests, CTX, Alc Phosphatases £180/NHS)
- Pre-op cardiological ECG report (NHS)
- Pre-op dental report (£60)
- Bone densitometry (full body, hip and spine) £450
- EOS 3D Body xray (anterior-posterior, lower limbs) £330
- Psychiatric consultation (1hr) £350
- Daily supplements of folic acid and ferrous sulphate
- Motivation essay (yes!)
- Surgery understanding questionnaire (where he asks me to lists all the possible complications/risks by each category like bone, venal, arterial, tendon, ligament, muscular, blood, possible infections, scarring, limping, amputation, septicaemia, bone grafting, non-consolidation...etc. It was like studying for my driver's license albeit for a guaranteed car crash/hospitalisation/rehab!!!)
- Daily 2hr personal training (1hr cardio, 1hr alternate upper body and lower body muscle training)
- Daily practice usage of crutches £36
He has given me a list of pre and post-operative medication and supplements to purchase. I'm also interviewing live-in nurses for a month post surgery to help, found possible 'special care' food catering and finally, handicap cab service to help me get to my daily rehab training. I've ordered a hospital bed that's height adjustable, raised toilet seat with arms, sports shoes with easy velcro access, lots of anti-oxidant supplements and tons of movies/books on Kindle/laptop. I'll note my full list of meds later :)
That's it for now! In the meantime, I'm hanging out with his patients at the gym and learning first hand from them. Everyone's alive and kicking (no pun intended of course 8)), and I'm really grateful to be training with his personal trainer Filippo, who is caring, babysits everyone, goes beyond his call of duty to solve ANY issues, and connects current and future patients together in a 'graduating class' so that we all learn and support each other. I can see the motto, "Together, we stand taller..." :)
Am really happy with this setup, gives me something to look forward to everyday, PLUS I've shedded 5lbs and begun to have a rockin' body and buns o' steel 8) Too bad, it's destined for Doc G for now.
Yours is Sep? Good, we can keep in touch :) Training 2-3 hrs these days
Here’s my complete list of supplements/meds from personal research (I'm not a doc, so pls use with caution. I'm not advocating that you take all, as they might not be effective or clash with each other. I'm just merely listing all the various helpful elements).
Also, great article on bone healing : http://www.betterbones.com/bonefracture/speedhealing.pdf (http://www.betterbones.com/bonefracture/speedhealing.pdf)
PRE-SURGERY SUPPLEMENTS (60 days)
Ferrous sulfate 80mg x 60 days (1x morning)
Folic acid 5mg x 60 days (1x morning + 1x noon)
ANTI-OXIDANTS
Acai berry
Chia seeds
Flaxseed oil
Vitamin E 800-1200mg
Lycopene
Alpha lipoid acid - wound healing and nerve pain
Coenzyme Q10 <1200mg (mitochondria)
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY
Vitamin C 2000-4000mg
Omega 3 fatty acids (salmon oil)
Quercitin 1-3g
Proanthrocydins
Bromelain (pineapple)
Arnica root
Trypsin - absorb protein in blood
AMINO ACIDS
Lysine - calcium absorption and tissue regeneration
Arginine, proline, glycine, cystine, and glutamine
MINERALS
Zinc - wound healing, osteoporosis, muscle cramps
Copper
Calcium Hydroxyapetite + Vitamin D
Phosphorus
Silica
MORE VITAMINS
Vitamin K
Vitamin B6
PAINKILLERS
8hr release acetaminophen (Tylenol) 650mg every 4 hours
Codeine 30mg
Oxycodone
Oxycontin
Dilaudid
Lyrica
Tramadol 37mg
BLOOD THINNER
Heparin
RELAXANT
Diazepam, lorazepam, clonazepam
TOPICAL APPLICATION
Alternate warm and cold compress
Diclofenac/ketoprofen gel
Methyl salicylate gel
CONSTIPATION
Prunes
Dulcolax
SLEEP AIDS
Anti-histamines : hydroxyzine, benadryl, chlorphenaramin
Ambien
LIVER CARE
Castor oil warm compress on liver
Dandelion root tea (2 litres daily)
Liver armour
Probiotics
OTHER
Bovine colostrum (wound healing)
Solcoseryl (wound healing)
Collagen
Non-denatured protein whey
OSTEOPOROSIS PREVENTION
Oestrogens
SERMS
Bisphosphonates (alendronate, risedronate, ibandronate, zoledronic acid)
Strontium ranelate
Chondroitin sulfate
Glucosamine
TO AVOID
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers (delays fracture healing):
Aspirin
Ibuprofen
Indomethacin
Etodolac (Lodine)
Meloxicam (Mobic)
Nabumetone (Relafen)
Naproxen (Anaprox, Naprosyn)
Dr.G actually prescribed aspirin for us to take twice a day since the 10th day after the surgery.
Hey Unicorn
It was great to meet you. I can see you having less pain due to your ridiculous flexibility. How did you get your blood tests and ecg on the NHS?
I am going to start training with Fillipo soon, so see you around :)
Hi unicorn,
thanks for shapring your diary!
What do you or Dr. G. mean by saying: "Was told that if strength difference is significant btw both legs, higher risk of fracture."
I mean there is a fracture, right ;)
Oh ok I understand. It's very interesting that dr Betz doesn't require even one single point dr g. does.
Looking forward to your next steps.
are you saying that there is an individual who had 5 cm of lengthening in only 1 month?
given it's femur and only 5 cm it should conservatively consolidate in 2 more months, maybe 3 months if slow... that would be 3-4 months in total for full consolidation from time of surgery, am i correct?
So 3 inches in femurs is good with internal nails, congratulations Unicorn888.
I don't know anything about ratios and proportions. Is anyone an expert? My measurements (apparently done correctly by my physio therapist from hip bone to soft knee to mid ankle bone) currently are :
Thigh length : 48.5cm
Shin length : 34cm
Total leg length : 82.5cm
Inseam : 74cm
Sitting Height : 84cm
Wingspan : 161.5cm
Total Height : 158.5cm
Does anyone know what these numbers mean? Whether I'm currently shorter or longer than usual in femur or tibia and how much I can lengthen without proportions going out of whack? I might be a circus freak, but don't wanna look like a merry widow :'(
Thanks! 8)
I have one question, if you do 7 cm on femurs it would be 6.5 in reality due to inclination?I think it depends from person to person.
Your wingspan usually matches your total height or surpasses it. Once you start lengthning your total height will surpass your winspan but don't worry,it won't be by much.
I'm looking at your inseam and sitting height and, if you're a girl, leg lengthning will definitely suit you. Let me tell you that women with long legs are very sexy, specially with long femurs. You may be LL to be taller and end up taller and with better proportions, that would be awesome ;)
Are you sure about doing 7-8cm?
wow...very well-prepared. just don't take the supplements altogether at once. cycle them. eg, take set A on Monday, set B on Tuesday.. etc.. if you take them together, chance that body might get used to it and stop producing its own stuff. so have supplement-free rest days. I was on a supplemented regime but I healed the same as normal individuals, so I don't think the supplements actually help. or maybe cause I was taking NSAIDs.
You sound very prepared and organized. Looks like you've done everything possible to be ready!
Good luck to you.
Dr.G actually prescribed aspirin for us to take twice a day since the 10th day after the surgery.
How's your rate of fusion? Because I heard that the faster it fuses, the less clicks, the more painful, right?
Shouldn't we click more if the bone is healing faster? I mean, otherwise it would fuse before you reach your desired height. Right?
Hi NoRegrets,Hi you,
I haven't started but I understand that lots of clicking in the beginning, and as one passes 4cm-6cm, clicking slows down and bone is fusing, apparently tighter to click then and can get painful.
I'll definitely share what I do. Did my last workout today. Was coached on using Riser Walking Frames, all Doc G's required exercises and stretches to do at home.
At 9am the morning of July 25th, I get a call from Guichet saying that he didn't have my dental exam. I had sent him everything by email, handed him test results when I saw him in person and emailed the entire set of results to his physio, Filippo, as well. I said I've done all his tests and I'll reprint hard copies of everything before surgery and hand it to him AGAIN!You'll be alright :)
I didn't even know which hospital to go to, Filippo (physio) told me Nottingham Place, so I went at 10am to check in. My name was not on file, they had me wait for an hour while they scrambled around to get me registered. I think paperwork is not Guichet's strong suite.
Then, I get another call from Guichet saying that he didn't have my complete payment. I said it was wired last week and he said he didn't see it and that he had to cancel my surgery. I was starting to stress out and called my bank. They couldn't retrieve nor issue a wire transfer receipt/confirmation since I did it online (how stupid is that? who knew?) but wrote me 2 emails confirming that my money has been transferred. Guichet said 2 patients had not paid, so he wasn't taking any chances.
He told me to bring him the balance of £40k in cash to 30 Devonshire St, and he will refund me my wire when it gets through. But I had already checked into the hospital and had my butt peeking out of my gown by then. By this time, I was starting to panic. He said he had other patients he was seeing before my surgery, and will walk over to confirm my test results and last minute paperwork (really last minute!).
It was already noon, and my surgery was due to start at 2pm. He came and gave me more paperwork to sign and complained that that my dental results were not complete etc etc etc. Then he asked me for the cash, and I said I already wired him. He said we had a deal, that I had to bring cash otherwise, he can't trust my word about the wire transfer. I tried showing him my online banking and the emails HSBC sent me. He went livid and stormed out of the room. Guichet called me from downstairs saying that if I agreed to pay £24k to cover my hospital stay/surgery/contingency by credit card, he'll take the risk and surgery could proceed (we were missing some £30k). Thank goodness, I was able to charge that amount to my amex without any fuss.
He came back again at 2pm saying that he's just finished his consultations and prepping the other 2 candidates for Tue and Wed's surgeries. I'm sure he was missing paperwork for them too. He told me the operating theatre has just been freed and that they're cleaning now, wished me good luck and that he had my guichet nail in his backpack. He was in a good mood by then. I asked him if he had anything to eat since he was running around like the mad hatter. I was starting to get worried. He said he had a snack!
I took one more betadine scrub shower before walking down to the operating theatre. There I met his anesthetist who told me that Guichet is hyper and thrives on adrenalin. He functions best this way, he said. The doc is a genius, just wait and see. But I was really stressed out by then, I was just growing numb from the sheer shock of it all. I asked if the spinal morphine injection was going to hurt and he said he'll give me an IV diazepam to relax me before that happened. All went well, IV went in, diazepam really chilled me out (I felt like I was in Fiji under a coconut tree) and the spinal injection was a mere sting.
Wooosh I woke up and it was laaaaate! Around 9pm and everyone's gone or I'm dead...
JWell, you forgot to say " Please, be gentle ".
When I first returned to my room, I was in great form. The anesthesia made me itchy (or maybe because my skin is sensitive to hard detergent) but I had NO PAIN. I was able to pull both knees to my chest and monkey around. I was ecstatic! It ain't so bad after all, you pussies!
Then as 10pm crept up and the anesthesia wore off, I started feeling heaviness in my leg like you've hiked 12 hrs and tried to lie down, when elephants came and had a grand picnic sitting on your legs, then gradually climaxing to LEGS ON FIRE! I felt every millimetre of nail cast inside my bones, I was crucified! It hurt and I could not hold it in, I started moaning aloud waaay into the night (bad porn style) and nurses gave me rounds after rounds (of 4 hours) of Tramadol 100mg and Codeine drips. I didn't sleep a wink as I couldn't move my body without my femurs erupting and spitting molten lava. Finally, around 6am, I dozed off in exhaustion and woke up 60 minutes later.
J+1
I had zero appetite, the painkillers didn't make me nauseous, which is good. 3 bites of breakfast, 5 bites of lunch etc. I was just looking forward to more painkillers and counting down to the end of each 4 hour segment.
Filippo came to visit and tried to get me to do a leg lift on my own, I was howling when he made me move an inch. He said I had to hop on that bike soon or else I'll be in more pain later. I tried, but I couldn't do anything. I was petrified!
Here I am, lying helplessly with 2 broken legs, nails all over my bones, screaming in pain, and I had asked for it. I had no right to complain or let loose a whimper. I spent the day just trying to survive, blankets tugged up to my chest, embracing my pain. I couldn't listen to music nor watch tv. Everything was blurred by pain.
Then, the nurse asked me to pee. Another mountainous challenge, took me 15 minutes to raise my ass high enough to slip the bedpan under me and about 40 minutes to feel the rush of relief! (it was an Olympian feat) Every tiny movement hurt. I couldn't touch an eyelash without feeling pain shooting down my hips. So I thought, staying ABSOLULTELY still was best. No movement, no pain. I lolled off gently.
I was suddenly jolted awake by a pair of hands violating my legs. Guichet sidled up from no where and yanked my legs HIGH and tugged them against my chest (he reminded me of Freddie Kruger). I screamed like I've never screamed before. He then twisted them left and right to click them 3 sets for me. Went over to the other side and did the same. Then he said, let me watch you! Arrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhhhhh! I wished I had tears to cry but I was dehydrated from porn acting. I pleaded for my life, "please mister"... and he started screaming, "you said you were strong and capable, and now you're surrendering at the first sign of trouble". He made me do scissors leg lifts and knee tugs high high in the sky. I hadn't had time to form a tear when he disappeared into the hallway.
Had another 2 bites for lunch, kept check on my painkillers, pain still existed but I was doing his 200 reps of exercises and stretches and 2 hours of cycling. An active leg is a painless leg :) That's my motto from now on.
Unicorn, first, I am so very sorry that you are going through this amount of pain. Your diary is incredibly inspiring, and quite frankly eye opening. Many of us, perhaps me included, think about this procedure at a surface level and may not be prepared for the reality of what such an invasive surgery will mean for us.
I am visiting Dr. Guichet in London shortly. I would love to meet you in person, assuming you are amenable, to get a first-hand account of your experience. Hopefully by then, you will be taller, pain-free and on your way to recovery. Please feel free to PM me and let me know if there is anything you need while I'm in London. I'm staying for approximately 10 days.
My regards,
--jbc
Agreed with eating especially protein for soft tissue regenaration.
Keep tight and remember that worst pain is probably behind you.
I actually imagined the whole thing... dafuk is wrong with me.
Hi Unicorn,
3 weeks ago i was exactly in the same situation. The Hospital is a moment you can't never forget, it is nightmare. Dr G came to visit me and also clicked my legs 3 times in 10 sec but no maccaron for me...
Be prepared to be on different pain for all the month, people said that usually the 2 first weeks are the hardest but in fact all the month is very painfull and the lack of sleep is mainly the biggest trouble of the process.
Hope that you will be fine with your clicks cause it's a problem for many patients, some of them can't do it alone and must have someone to hold the leg high to do it.
Keep strong, YES WE CAN
Taka
Hope that you will be fine with your clicks cause it's a problem for many patients, some of them can't do it alone and must have someone to hold the leg high to do it.
I actually imagined the whole thing... dafuk is wrong with me.
Lol, so did I!
She's a good writer, it's easy to do that I guess. I even imagined her getting chased by a dinosaur. (T-rex, for the record)
Anyway, good updates Unicorn! Hope you're feeling better now.
Dear Guichet's spank slave,
What is your ideal height for a woman? I mean, what height would you like to be if you could simply wish for it?
Easy, 5'6"Awesome, you'll be only 1 inch away from it and thats barely noticeable! ;)
wow, sorry this happened.
But did you really break your nails? Isn't that an emergency? I don't understand why you went to the gym if you broke your nails.
and what is the "60 day's time" about? ???
Sorry that I'm such a drama queen.
Hell, you better start practicing some pick up lines with the boys. fk it, you won't need pick up lines, they will be all over you.
J+14
Another today insisted on dropping his trousers to proudly show me his scar (and boner 8) ok, kidding kidding, bad joke!) and I showed him mine ;)... amazing how much technology has evolved. Mine's no longer than 5cm max..
You showed him your boner? :o
And it's no longer than 5cm max. Ask Guichet for tiny frames to lengthen that too.
Question regarding your pain levels: immediately post-surgery, you were, from what I read, in quite severe pain. Would you say that has definitely lessened, and if so, in what ways and what regions? I'm really glad that it doesn't hurt to click, and grateful to you for providing a frank and forthright accounting of what going through something like this really means.
J+16
Height Gained : 2.79cm / 161.29cm
I'm not tired of lengthening yet, I'm inspired by the height I'm attaining, it's unimaginable even if I don't feel any taller at all.
I seem to have underestimated LL pain.
I have personaly seen 9 year old kid with ilizarov frame on his femur(he got it like 1-2 weeks ago) and he barely cared at all.
Why isn't there a sleeping medication that puts you out for 6-8 hours? 3 seems like a cruel joke.
It's UNBELIEVABLE, the length of my scar is 3cm. How the hell did he insert the rod? I was telling a friend... "Doc G must have shoved it up my ass" and my naive and gullible friend replied, "wow, today's technology is amazing!" ::) ::) ::) Doc G should lengthen her cerebral cortex.
Hey unicorn. Hope you're doing well.
I wanted to ask you....are you lengthening continously or are there breaks in between ? If you take breaks, how many days do these breaks last and why did you have to take them?
Unicorn, if you are willing: tell us about your "next"...what do you keep nearby that we wouldn't have necessarily considered. And you were going to list items/paraphernalia in order of usefulness.
I go in for my femurs on Aug 25 with Dr. Paley. I think that puts you about 2 months ahead of me
Thanks for all updates
Mark
I arrive in London on September 11, and meet with Dr. Guichet on September 12 or September 13. Will you still be in the hospital at that time? Would love to meet you and your merry band of financiers :).
Unicorn, you're 162cm right now? Did i read that correctly? that's 5'4" ... i have to say (and I have nothing but encouragement for you), maybe you consolidate both legs now? See how you feel about being 5'4" and come back to Dr. G in a year or not at all? Just a thought.
I can only speak for myself, but I'm sure there are loads of other men on this forum reading your posts thinking: "Hmm...ex gymnast, well-read, good-writer, clear English wit...what's she doing this for? " That's one man's opinion anyway.
Mayor Mark
Unicorn, you're 162cm right now? Did i read that correctly? that's 5'4" ... i have to say (and I have nothing but encouragement for you), maybe you consolidate both legs now? See how you feel about being 5'4" and come back to Dr. G in a year or not at all? Just a thought.
I can only speak for myself, but I'm sure there are loads of other men on this forum reading your posts thinking: "Hmm...ex gymnast, well-read, good-writer, clear English wit...what's she doing this for? " That's one man's opinion anyway.
Mayor Mark
I disagree.
Although I don't get why a 5'2 woman would want this(then again, you're a 5'9 male and you want it too) now that she has spent all that money and put in so much effort, she shouldn't go back with 3.5cms.
Rooting for you, Unicorn.
Hi Unicorn, I've been avidly following your diary and I'm so gutted this has happened to you. I'm a fellow 5'2-er, and even to woman height absolutely matters, even if you have everything else in life. Doing one leg at a time now does seem like a good option, but I can't help but wonder how it would affect your walking?!
Keep us updated, we're all here for moral support!
I get it...i really do...the the coxswain metaphor makes a lot of sense. Although doesn't the coxswain get to steer the boat?
(https://atthebuzzerpodcast.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/cantstand.jpg)
My friend, sorry for you but Guichet will help you out of it. If you had gone to the Spanish doctor you would be the new musicmaker, still wheelchairbounded after 2 years. She had iatrogenic fracture too, a very bad one and she lost what she had gained. Then multiple corrective surgeries but it didn't work. She had pseudoarthrosis and multiple misalignments, then failure of several implants... It is the worst case in LL history and it started like yours. There are several women with problems in LL, even with PAley who is so good. Thanks god you have chosen the best of best in Europe.
It has something to do. Musicmaker's ordeal started this way: fracture some weeks after surgery due to eggshell fracture during surgery, not fall like the doctor likes to say. I want to prevent Unicorn. She should be alert not to become the new musicmaker, but I know this won't happen because Guichet is an expert. I am sending my best wishes to both Unicorn and Musicmaker not the doctor.
Hi Unicorn,
Sorry to read about your complication. At the same time i like your humorous writing style. I have 1 question: where exactly is your fracture, and didn't you need a surgery to fix it?
Unicorn, here's a fundamental question (veteran LLers feel free to chime in): what is the go-to physical activity when not in PT? Walking in a pool? Stationary bike? Assume yoga isn't doable. What is the go-to?
Mayor Mark
Unicorn, here's a fundamental question (veteran LLers feel free to chime in): what is the go-to physical activity when not in PT? Walking in a pool? Stationary bike? Assume yoga isn't doable. What is the go-to?
Unicorn, I'm very sorry to hear about the fracture but glad that you have a path to healing. Has your pain lessened?
That's very helpful for future patients. Thank you :)
or even a hollow sore where the gap is.
Yeah I took a crap in a tupper ware container.
Hey Unicorn! Hope you're doing well. What do you mean by 'hollow sore'?
Unicorn888, I'm sorry to hear your bad luck, but I'm glad that you quickly got it out of your mind with your usual humor. Most people would probabky have stopped lengthening in your state. You're really a very tough girl!
I'll leave Milan and go back home in this weekend and I probably will not come to the forum at least for a while. I hope things get better for you. Good luck!
Unicorn, I am still unable to understand what caused this "gradual" fracture for you. You're a petite woman (at least pre-op) and I can't imagine how this happened. If you posted x-rays that would be great too.
Also, I have never heard of anyone having to be made to wait for such a long time for the bone to heal and then begin distraction again. What would the risk be if you corrected the alignment, re-inserted a nail and began extending it right away?
Unicorn. Could you tell me the complete price for this procedure. It says on Dr.Guichet page that it costs 65.000 Euro. More or less and to have that budget avaliable. I am getting a loan from my bank tomorow. And i need to know the amount i need to take out. Also do the price include staying at his residence. Or do i have to pay for my stay there. Thank you
Many think "why a woman should have problem with height"?
Your diary is very important to me, it gives me the aspiration, confidence and hope that I will be at your place, sooner than later. Also, I must to congratulate your great english (that I wish I had) and your great sense of humor. You're clearly a very smart woman. Good luck,and take care.
I have never heard of anyone having to be made to wait for such a long time for the bone to heal and then begin distraction again. What would the risk be if you corrected the alignment, re-inserted a nail and began extending it right away?
Unicorn, its so funny you lived in the same building as Natalie Portman. I like her a lot. Was she nice?
In general Petite women are so cute. I want to protect them. I like women your old height like Natalie portman herself
I respect you a lot though. You were very brave when you decided to do this surgery to be respected at work. I admire you too.
I hope you are doing well.
Oh, about the questions I have, some of them came to my mind.
I'm not in my best shape. I'm very skinny, but I have a very sedentary life, I spend too much time sitting in front of the pc, so that I have also developed back pain and slow blod circulation. Do you think that, if somebody is not trained to any workout, it will take more than 1 month of pre-op to develop the right conditions for the operation? Also, if one has a back defect such a lordosis, because of the much time spended seated, do you belive the dottor require the problem to be solved first, in oder to start the lengthening?
Finally, what about dental examination? I know it is to prevent bacteria infections during the operation, but I wonder if I should to go to the dentist to assure I'm caries free and maybe do a dental cleaning.
Oh damn, 2 years is not acceptable. It will already take years before I have the money to get operated, I cannot think to wait others more years. I need to lengthen as soon as possible, cause it is fundamental to me to restarts my life. Do you have tips to speed up the training process? Maybe start using the cyclette at home from now on? He says is better to have 1 month of pre-training,but since you said is is not suffient, should I count 2-3 months of pre-training, and so prepare for a bigger budget? Cause I would prefer to do the training with Guichet trainers, in Mylan; as I will more motivated under tthe trainers and the doctor's watch.
Also, for the psychological part. I don't think anybody in the world is more motivated than me, to reach this goal. I'm not scared of any pain, the pain will make me happy, because it would mean I'm realizing the dream of my lifetime. But I'm scared that he could think I'm weak because I allowed my height to prevent me from having a social life. Do you think, that insisting on the fact lengthening is important to me, and I'm willing to endure all the pain of the world to reach it, will be enough to convince him that I'm psychologically strong enough for the operation?
Thank you, you're helping me so much to remove my doubts. I'm so unflexible right now, that I know if did the operation right now, I would have load of complications. The cybex you're talking about, is it the test in the sport centre, Guichet require you to do before meeting him? The reason I would prefer staying in Mylan for longer, even if it requires more money, is it because with trainers I would be more motivated and do the exercise better. Otherwise, do Guichet's trainers tell me which exercise to do at home? For the exams, is it better to start doing them about 1 months before the cibex test, so that they will not be too old when I take them to the doctors? Anyway, thanks again, and good luck.
why do people use clicking nail when magnetic nail is available??
i saw doctor section and there are quite cheap doctos with precise nailing.
why do people use clicking nail when magnetic nail is available??Basically
i saw doctor section and there are quite cheap doctos with precise nailing.
Basically
Guichet nail = full weightbearing but you have to do those clicks
Precice II nail = not full weightbearing but lengthening is super easy
But for a person like me, whose weight varies around 55 kgs, I get the best of both worlds right? Hahahaha!
Ok, ok, I still haven't cried yet. The way I see it, my classmates both have stopped early as they cldn't deal with the pain (and guys, I'm telling you MANY TIMES again, don't UNDERESTIMATE the pain. It's not the clicking, it's your BODY dealing with the ordeal and all the side effects, and your soft tissues, muscles stretching, over medication, immobility etc etc etc, and rebuilding of muscles and flexibility).
After how much lengthening did they give up? At what length does the pain start becoming that bad?
Pure curiosity: Why 7cm?
To preserve privacy, it's not LL but initial health issues that contributed. Not enough fat.
I was more about stopping at 6cm but whatever.
Just be careful, listen to your body and know the limits. Good luck.
I'm really thin too, so I'm quite concerned now. How does not enough fat affect you? Do you think I could make it to 5.5-6?
Good to hear from you again. It seems that you're back on track and have overcome your setback. Hang in there, you're almost reaching the finish line.
hi unicorn sorry to hear about your complication, but glad to hear you are ok! you're a tough cookie and stick to your goals as long as the doctor says it's safe to do so. hopefully it will just be a small setback for a lifetime of height gain when you look back on it later. hang in there!
Because my G-nail was clicked to 3cm before I got my bone fracture (it was like a tyre puncturing, I lost the 3cm length gained). So the G-nail has only 7cm more to click (it comes at 10cm max). So I'll match my good leg to 7cm and be happy.
The other alternative was, doc removes the G-nail and inserts a new one with a new 10cm length. But it's a more complicated, invasive surgery than I want to handle.
And I saw the xray of the shaved bone and new nailing - it's perfect! He actually corrected my curved femur for free. Like LL comes with free bow leg or pigeon toe or limb difference correction :)
I think 7 cm are very fine for you cute girl! :D :D
Was correction totally free? Or did you have to pay anesthesia and hospital fees?
Would you like to post Xrays?
how do I do it, can I send it to one of you to host it?
That first image is painful just to look at. Ouch. The x-ray after corrective surgery looks great though. Glad he took care of it for you.
Guichet did a perfect job. Perhaps you had the same initial problem than Musicmaker (eggshell iatrogenic fracture caused a larger fracture) but Guichet is an expert surgeon and he could fix it. MM's case was a disaster. She needed at least five surgeries just to fix that leg. In cases like yours you can see who the good surgeon is.
You took the best of decisions. Congratulations
Perhaps Ghichet is a moneymaker as other LL surgeons but he has better bedside manners than others. I'm sure he didn't call you his bitch or motherfker like the Spanish surgeon with his male and female patients alike, Cooper, Musicmaker and the teenage patient. That kind of 'humor' (as they call it now) is unacceptable in this profession.
He's a genius surgeon, but boy, bad bedside manners! He told me at first to exercise more and increase my clicks! It was 6 days before discovering it was a fracture and not fast bone consolidation!
I told him I was in deep pain and that I needed a morphine patch. He's like, "No! 10 more clicks for you per day!"
And I did finish all the clicks + 10, but they took like 6 hours and the sound was not a CLACK anymore, it was like breaking a KitKat in two :'( :'( :'( To this day, I don't know how I survived those 6 days!
This is Guichet in a nutshell.
(http://s6d2.turboimg.net/t/29869218_Guichet.jpg) (http://www.turboimagehost.com/p/29869218/Guichet.jpg.html)
Six days with that fracture sounds awful. Do you think having been through that that the rest of your lengthening days should feel easier as compared to lengthening before the fracture occurred?
I hope nothing happened as I kept both legs straight and they are fully weight bearing but the PTSD is definitely still haunting me :(
Being scared is normal just don't let it control you.
And hey, if i ever meet you i will buy you an ice cream.
Don't be afraid! You're in good hands
I will buy icecream for you too! 8)
As a fellow 5'5 i welcome you in the 166cm club.
Good luck with your next surgery, hope it will be less problematic than LL.
I'm glad to read you're better. Can you explain why do you need to re-broken the leg? Due to language barriers I didn't fully understand the problems you have had. Also, have you had stretch marks problem? You know, that's a big complex for us women. Even if the operation doesn't leave many marks, the natural stretching can ruin the skin anyway.
Hey Unicorn! In your posts above, you said that Doc G said that if you want to click all the way to 10 cm, you must get a new nail, because its already clicked to 3 cms, and there's only 7 cms left.
What if the same complication had happened when you were at 5 cms? You would have then HAD to get a new nail.
Would he have charged for the new nail?
Also, if anybody knows, can the same thing happen when you use the Precice 2? Would they make you pay for a new nail? And if yes, would that be full or half price considering that there's only one leg?
So, you have plenty of time in front of yourself, before completing both legs. It must to be very stressfull, but it's worth it at the end. We must to always remember that a complication can really posticipate things by a lot of time. So, planning for a bigger budget is essential, especially if we don't have the fortune to stay in our home during the lengthening. Renting, training and complication cost can really put the prices over the top. Can you tell me if you're a paying a big monthly amount for training with guichet's trainers or the complication is giving you a discount pass? I had never heard about your disturbe. Having no wrinkles is like every woman dreams, but if this is because of a disease doesn't sound very appealing. I don't get why you say, you had to get another nail to gain more than 7 cm. Does a nail have a maximum predetermined lengthening level, you can't go beyond of it?
Thank you very much for your help. Yes, you're doing one leg at time, which means double the time. You should be done in 2 months or 3. I remembered it wrong. The additional cost of the training is only for the pre-training. The post-op is included into the price. This makes things far easier. Keep up the good work. You're doing a great.
Unicorn, do your think most people could do 3 inches and look well?My personal opinion is yes, but I am not a patient yet
Yes, but ANYTHING can happen during LL. It is a dangerous and serious procedure and EVERYONE wishing to undergo needs to understand the risks and consequences.
Whether it is due to my eggshell fracture at initial drilling that led to a fracture later which prevented me to lengthen, or whether one lengthens both legs and encounter issues with one leg later... it's all a roll of the dice! Many LL'ers encounter different leg lengths towards the end and have to adjust.
Both our legs are different, left and right, and every individual is completely different. None of my 7 classmates have exactly identical issues... it boils down to genetics, lifestyle, discipline, attitude etc. In fact, most people are born with different minor leg length disparities or have pelvis tilts of various degrees.
Of my classmates, one had osteoporosis but doc prepared him with a lot of supplements for a year, another had thin bones and had to prepare ahead of time as well... and they still went ahead and completed. I on the other hand, was the ideal candidate with thick dense bones from years of professional gymnastics, and am very flexible. Yet, I'm the one with a fracture and complication.
But don't forget, I have little to no lengthening (I didn't say post-surgery) pain, no stretching pain, no soft tissue pulling pains. I was able to click until the end with ease whereas most people encounter lengthening pains at 4cm on.
One thing is sure... bones will heal (and then they might not, like non-union issues). Genetics count, so going to a credible doctor and getting a realistic consultation of whether you're a good candidate for lengthening (or rather, bone breaking and healing) is IMPORTANT.
Finally, get a good doctor who can FIX. And have good materials, and understand that whether it's g-nail, precise, fitbone etc. Anything can happen... hence, the high risk of LL.
Hence, for me... again, LL is 90% will/mental power. Need to have a POSITIVE attitude no matter what. We will succeed! There is a plethora of potential complications out there x100, hence, it's best to be aware of them, but not to be enslaved by the fear of them. Getting by everyday, seeing improvements in your legs, strength and body changes are in itself rewarding enough to overcome obsessing over what can possibly go wrong next.
Hey unicorn, I've been following your thread for a while now and I have to say out of the many posts I follow you have a very charismatic personality, and you're pretty damn awesome - not to mention brave! Thanks for having the time to post your journey :)
I hope you don't mind me asking some questions (if they're too invasive you don't need to answer)
How can I increase the density of my bones?? (I lacked a lot of vitamins as a child, hence why I'm so small and I do not drink a lot of dairy until quite recently)
Like what should I eat, exercises and so on. I do not plan on having the surgery soon until 4-7 years from now unless I win the lottery so I do have quite a lot of time to prepare.
I've heard that it costs roughly 50-60k for each bone (so 60k to do femurs, and then 60k for tibias) Is this case true as I am looking into doing both my Tibia and Femur around the same time.
Also, if and when you recover could you state how well you can walk/what exercises you can do when you've fully healed? I wish to be a paramedic when I'm older so I'd need to know how this surgery would effect me work-wise.
I wish you the very best for the rest of your recovery dude :)
What's the longest lengthening upon graduation among you and your classmates?
Hey Unicorn hope you're doing well,
sorry to hear what happened for your left leg, is it your fault or the nail was weak?
is lengthening 8 cm required two surgeries?
how much does the surgery cost?
How can I increase the density of my bones?? (I lacked a lot of vitamins as a child, hence why I'm so small and I do not drink a lot of dairy until quite recently)
Like what should I eat, exercises and so on. I do not plan on having the surgery soon until 4-7 years from now unless I win the lottery so I do have quite a lot of time to prepare.
I've heard that it costs roughly 50-60k for each bone (so 60k to do femurs, and then 60k for tibias)
Is this case true as I am looking into doing both my Tibia and Femur around the same time.
Also, if and when you recover could you state how well you can walk/what exercises you can do when you've fully healed? I wish to be a paramedic when I'm older so I'd need to know how this surgery would effect me work-wise.
Guichet does not recommend doing both segment at a same time, he said its longer recovery and double pain
Hi Kaiser,
1) The nail did not bend or break. My bone cracked like an eggshell at drilling and it became vulnerable. It fractured without any accident, just regular movement. The nails are still in perfect condition, that's why Guichet did not remove it but repositioned it lower so that when my fracture is fully healed, I can start clicking again :)
2) No, lengthening up to a maximum of 10cm requires only 1 surgery (the insertion of the G-nail) unless you have complications like myself (a fracture) which needed (1) the nail to be repositioned AND another surgery (2) to rebreak my femur so that I can start clicking again. Also, for those who wish to remove the G-nail in 1 to 2 years, you need another surgery. That's why it's super important to budget around potential complications as it can take more than just 1 surgery to complete your lengthening.
However, to answer your question, only 1 surgery is required to insert the G-Nail :)
3) The pricing varies but do count £50k and above just for the lengthening alone (I think with my complication which also includes 2 more surgeries, more tests, more meds, more helper time, more transport costs etc, I'm coming close to £80k now):
INCLUDES
- Bi-weekly consultations with Guichet
- Daily physio
- Isokinetic training/treatments
EXCLUDES
- Pre-operation tests
- Post-operation tests (each x-ray is approximately £300-400)
- Pharmaceuticals
- Accommodation
- Treatments (ie. chiropractor)
- Food
- Transportation
- Helper
- Removal of nail (later)
what a professional answer, ok may i ask you 1- the fractured happened in your bone or in the device itself?
2- should you hire a helper or you can manage yourself alone? 3- how the helper cost?
4- this question make me like crazy, how much is the surgery itself in Milan, is it 45000, 50000 or 65000 Euros, i always here a different answer?
i hope you recover very well, god bless
1- the fractured happened in your bone or in the device itself?
The fracture happened in my bone (nothing was wrong with the device).
2- should you hire a helper or you can manage yourself alone?
NO, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to manage on your own the first 2 weeks. You can hardly move. So everyone who came for surgery finally understood that they needed a helper for AT LEAST the first 2 weeks post operation.
3- how the helper cost?
It depends on what level of helper. There are professional nurses and there are also, just 'babysitters'. It's really up to you to negotiate.
4- this question make me like crazy, how much is the surgery itself in Milan, is it 45000, 50000 or 65000 Euros, i always here a different answer?
I would say at least 65,000 euros for the surgery + post-op PT + Guichet time, EXCLUDING all I had listed before.
thanks for the answers, at least 65000, "at least" word would kill me hahaha, about the helper i don't want a professional one just a normal one you know how much it cost?
and what about your surgery whats the update?
Expect to pay between £500-1,000 per week for a helper. But it is also possible to get a cleaning lady to help you clean your house and prepare some meals for £10-15/hour.
I just had my xrays done today, and so far we can see bones forming on both legs and fracture. So, I'll continue doing physio everyday and learn how to walk without crutches on my right leg. For my left, the bone has to heal first, before we rebreak another part for clicking/distraction.
Be careful and ask Dr Guichet about putting your full weight in one leg it seems like putting your weight 2x on one leg, am not an expert but just worry about this situation.
about the cleaning lady, can i make her my helper lol?
what about the hotels, cheap one with Wifi does Dr Guichet helped you with a cheap accommodation? how much it may cost?
take care you're in a very safe hands
Also do you know for how long Guichet will be in work as I have considered just doing my femurs for about 5-6 cm and just dealing with the fact that my femurs will be looking about 3-4inches longer than my tibias.. But it doesnt look too bad as Asians typically have smaller tibias anyway
Hope you've had a good day today :)
I can understand, I was trying to do the proportions thing with photoshop and honestly the elongated ones looked a lot more natural than my actual legs (they look so stubby)
Do you know why Guichet doesn't do tibias, and also if you don't mind me asking why have you chosen that now is the right time for you?
He said it takes more than a year for recovery and more complex than femur (two bone should be broke)
I'm trying to look for other doctors that do tibias on here but so far I've only got a diary of external tibia by Dr.sarin. does you or anyone know other doctors with good reputation that do that do tibia and their prices?
I can understand, I was trying to do the proportions thing with photoshop and honestly the elongated ones looked a lot more natural than my actual legs (they look so stubby)
Do you know why Guichet doesn't do tibias, and also if you don't mind me asking why have you chosen that now is the right time for you?
Hey Uni where are ya? its been a long off, am start thinking about your situation
So you are taller than me now, i feel betrayed.
Well quality of the photo is moderate but the scars are barely seen so that's pretty nice.
Good luck with further healing.
do you go to a chiropractor also for your legs? Is it part of the regimen?
Putting aside the complications, how does it feel to be 167cm? :)
Really, put aside the complications, as if they are just some sort of minor inconveniences on the path to getting taller.
Ok dude, way to keep your eye on the ball here. Yeah, never mind the multiple surgeries and potential life long pain and complications, I just want to know what it's like to be a little bit taller. Wow!
Really, put aside the complications, as if they are just some sort of minor inconveniences on the path to getting taller.You are trying too hard there.
Ok dude, way to keep your eye on the ball here. Yeah, never mind the multiple surgeries and potential life long pain and complications, I just want to know what it's like to be a little bit taller. Wow!
Your story is so assuring. Even with complications, everyting can end well if you're in good hands. Don't you do training every day with Guichet's trainers, or you're spending your time mostly at bed reading and watching series, while your leg is healing?
You have a long and very beautiful leg.
Hey Unicorn, it's been quite the journey eh.
Putting aside the complications, how does it feel to be 167cm? :)
April 2017? Why so much time? Your leg hasn't healed yet? So, you are disciplined enough to train alone. I don't think I would being able to do it. For people who need trainer support, they need to go to the gym, twice at day, morning and afternoon, right? They practically spend all day with trainers?
Unicorn you say it's worth it because you are in a good situation in life and Guichet is going to solve your problem soon but I would like to ask you a question.
What would you say if you had lost your job because of this or your husband had left you or you lost all your savings and had to get a loan? Would you say it's worth it? I have some cases in mind. Emmanuel lost 4 years of his life as a cripple. He had to visit multiple doctors in Europe and spent all his savings. Musicmaker lost her job and she has been 2 years wheelchairbounded. She will probably have permanent sequels after many failed surgeries and even if her legs are longer now she has ugly scars (not worth it for a girl if you are average height like she was). Crimsontide's girlfriend cheated on him and made fun of him as a cripple and he is thinking about amputation nowadays because he can't stand his lack of function. This is depressing. Why are some people so mean? A guy from old board went to Russia. He was an engineer and lost everything after complications in his surgery. All these people have had lots of surgeries and they think LL is the worst decision they have taken in their life. I was discussing all these cases yesterday with some people in the forum and I would like to know your opinion.
I would like to have LL but I have a girlfriend, and a good job and good savings and I'm afraid of getting not fixable complications and loosing everything in life.
Unicorn you say it's worth it because you are in a good situation in life and Guichet is going to solve your problem soon but I would like to ask you a question.
What would you say if you had lost your job because of this or your husband had left you or you lost all your savings and had to get a loan? Would you say it's worth it? I have some cases in mind. Emmanuel lost 4 years of his life as a cripple. He had to visit multiple doctors in Europe and spent all his savings. Musicmaker lost her job and she has been 2 years wheelchairbounded. She will probably have permanent sequels after many failed surgeries and even if her legs are longer now she has ugly scars (not worth it for a girl if you are average height like she was). Crimsontide's girlfriend cheated on him and made fun of him as a cripple and he is thinking about amputation nowadays because he can't stand his lack of function. This is depressing. Why are some people so mean? A guy from old board went to Russia. He was an engineer and lost everything after complications in his surgery. All these people have had lots of surgeries and they think LL is the worst decision they have taken in their life. I was discussing all these cases yesterday with some people in the forum and I would like to know your opinion.
I would like to have LL but I have a girlfriend, and a good job and good savings and I'm afraid of getting not fixable complications and loosing everything in life.
Unicorn you say it's worth it because you are in a good situation in life and Guichet is going to solve your problem soon but I would like to ask you a question.
What would you say if you had lost your job because of this or your husband had left you or you lost all your savings and had to get a loan? Would you say it's worth it? I have some cases in mind. Emmanuel lost 4 years of his life as a cripple. He had to visit multiple doctors in Europe and spent all his savings. Musicmaker lost her job and she has been 2 years wheelchairbounded. She will probably have permanent sequels after many failed surgeries and even if her legs are longer now she has ugly scars (not worth it for a girl if you are average height like she was). Crimsontide's girlfriend cheated on him and made fun of him as a cripple and he is thinking about amputation nowadays because he can't stand his lack of function. This is depressing. Why are some people so mean? A guy from old board went to Russia. He was an engineer and lost everything after complications in his surgery. All these people have had lots of surgeries and they think LL is the worst decision they have taken in their life. I was discussing all these cases yesterday with some people in the forum and I would like to know your opinion.
I would like to have LL but I have a girlfriend, and a good job and good savings and I'm afraid of getting not fixable complications and loosing everything in life.
The people who have had the life ruined, probably they have done tibia, which is riskier than femur and it takes more time to recover;
Unicorn you say it's worth it because you are in a good situation in life and Guichet is going to solve your problem soon but I would like to ask you a question.
What would you say if you had lost your job because of this or your husband had left you or you lost all your savings and had to get a loan? Would you say it's worth it? I have some cases in mind. Emmanuel lost 4 years of his life as a cripple. He had to visit multiple doctors in Europe and spent all his savings. Musicmaker lost her job and she has been 2 years wheelchairbounded. She will probably have permanent sequels after many failed surgeries and even if her legs are longer now she has ugly scars (not worth it for a girl if you are average height like she was). Crimsontide's girlfriend cheated on him and made fun of him as a cripple and he is thinking about amputation nowadays because he can't stand his lack of function. This is depressing. Why are some people so mean? A guy from old board went to Russia. He was an engineer and lost everything after complications in his surgery. All these people have had lots of surgeries and they think LL is the worst decision they have taken in their life. I was discussing all these cases yesterday with some people in the forum and I would like to know your opinion.
I would like to have LL but I have a girlfriend, and a good job and good savings and I'm afraid of getting not fixable complications and loosing everything in life.
Yo, are you LLuser1? ::)
No I'm not Lluser. Tibike stop that paranoiaI was being ironic. It's pretty obvious you're LLuser. Btw, its a bit too late to deny it because your past posts are a copy paste of LLuser's.
I have no medical background, but I doubt that tibia lengthening, of its own accord, is riskier than femur; quite the contrary I think.
No doubt there are more horror stories coming from tibia patients on these forums, but I rather think this is due to their having chosen the least expensive route, which more often than not entails an outdated ilizarov in countries with (generally speaking) less than ideal standards of medical care
Tibia is riskier than femur cause the tibia has little muscular mass. There is a reason why Guichet requires you to grow your muscular mass, and it is because more mass, it lowers the pain and the complications , as it is like a protection surrounding the bones. Years ago I thought I would have done the tibias, I feel lucky that I didn't stop searching and ended up discovering Guichet operation; even if it much more costly than the tibia operation I thought do, it is also much safer, quicker and leaves far less marks. A complete different world.
I'm no expert either. I asked Guichet whether he'd do tibs when I first had my consultation and he said it was riskier because it involved 2 bones being broken, and the healing is much slower. Also, most docs only offer external nails, meaning you run the risk of open wound infections and they constantly need careful attention.
He said it's not worth it when you can do your femurs with one cut internally. That's his 2 cents :)
Muscle mass is a benefit for internals, not externals. In fact, with externals, the less muscle the better (to an extent).
Nearly every journal I've read from those who have undergone the internal method describe intense pain. I went the external route (albeit the HEF) and never really experienced any sort of actual pain.
In addition to this, with externals, misalignments can be fixed in a matter of minutes.
I'll cede that internals provide a quicker recovery and less scarring, but they're not safer or more efficient by default.
You may be right about the pain. Though I've to say Guichet's pain management is none... :). He seriously prescribes 2 weeks of codeine and after that, we only get paracetamol. So you can imagine post op at the hospital, we get tramadol or codeine every 4 hours but definitely none of the 3-day epidurals that some docs give.
We know the rap by now, he says to everyone, "are you trying to commit suicide by... (insert your lame drug of choice that he no longer approves of).... codeine, sleep aids, paracetamol even calcium!!!"
You may be right about the pain. Though I've to say Guichet's pain management is none... :). He seriously prescribes 2 weeks of codeine and after that, we only get paracetamol. So you can imagine post op at the hospital, we get tramadol or codeine every 4 hours but definitely none of the 3-day epidurals that some docs give.
We know the rap by now, he says to everyone, "are you trying to commit suicide by... (insert your lame drug of choice that he no longer approves of).... codeine, sleep aids, paracetamol even calcium!!!"
Dont scare me, i need my Tramadol etc. Not going without it. Geting it of the black markeY if the hassle is to big. also do you know what you must bring with you on your consultation with Guichet? Is it blood test, X-ray (i've heard this is hard to get approval of).
And possibly Allergic tests.
Anyway if anyone know the essentials. Please write them down so i now what to get before setting the meeting up with him.
If it's your first appointment with Guichet, you just need to fill out, print out and bring it to your appointment:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3k4SvffTIpnLXpKUXdRcWMwaEE/view?usp=sharing
He's going to ask you to strip and measure you and take photos. He wants to see how flexible you are as it will determine how far you can lengthen.
The rest, you don't have to spend money on tests yet until you hear what your chances are first :)
Let me know if you have further questions, ok?
Hi, unicorn, sorry bothering you again :D Why do you mean by chances? How much you can lengthen based on your flexibility?Let's suppose one is not flexible enough to lengthen much, they train for months and their flexibility improve and then they're able to lengthen more, right? Isn't it the point whole point of training, improving muscle mass and flexibility?
Hi, unicorn, sorry bothering you again :D Why do you mean by chances? How much you can lengthen based on your flexibility?Let's suppose one is not flexible enough to lengthen much, they train for months and their flexibility improve and then they're able to lengthen more, right? Isn't it the point whole point of training, improving muscle mass and flexibility?
You said you used to do gymnastics. Were you flexible before that due to your EDS? Does EDS benefit in fact people doing LL?
I would say at least 65,000 euros for the surgery + post-op PT + Guichet time, EXCLUDING all I had listed before.
Expect to pay between £500-1,000 per week for a helper.
- Blood tests (serology, coagulation, blood group, blood count, ESR, CRP, liver tests, CTX, Alc Phosphatases £180/NHS)
- Pre-op cardiological ECG report (NHS)
- Pre-op dental report (£60)
- Bone densitometry (full body, hip and spine) £450
- EOS 3D Body xray (anterior-posterior, lower limbs) £330
- Psychiatric consultation (1hr) £350
- Daily supplements of folic acid and ferrous sulphate
- Motivation essay (yes!)
- Surgery understanding questionnaire (where he asks me to lists all the possible complications/risks by each category like bone, venal, arterial, tendon, ligament, muscular, blood, possible infections, scarring, limping, amputation, septicaemia, bone grafting, non-consolidation...etc. It was like studying for my driver's license albeit for a guaranteed car crash/hospitalisation/rehab!!!)
- Daily 2hr personal training (1hr cardio, 1hr alternate upper body and lower body muscle training)
- Daily practice usage of crutches £36
In the old forum, at the end of the diary of Adidas2001 who lengthened 7cm with dr. Guichet, it's reported that the cost for nails removal is 13k-15k Euro. Is this cost still the same?
After 2 years you should also consider the costs for nails removal. How much is this nowadays Unicorns?
I would choose Guichet in Milan. I think it's expensive but less expensive than London. Can anybody confirm please?
I hope everything is going well for you Unicorn. I know you are busy and trying to heal so when you have a moment please respond.
I'm trying to figure out how much money I need to have saved for surgery with Dr. Guichet. I keep coming up with the figure of $90,000+ U.S. Dollars. Im basing this a lot on what you said plus my own calculations.
So as of today....
65,000 Euros = $70,500 U.S. Dollars for Surgery+PT+Check Ups
500-1,000 British Pounds = $630-1,250 U.S. Dollars Per Week for a helper
If I stay in London for 3-4 months (12-16 weeks) thats an extra $7,000-$15,000 U.S. Dollars for a helper on top of the $70,500 U.S. Dollars for surgery and PT.
This is where I really would like your input. How much more money should I factor in for accommodation, food, transportation, medication, and other miscellaneous items for 3-4 months living in London?
£55k for Guichet surgery, deposit, pre-op training and pre-op tests (if he doesn't change prices in 2017 that is)
£6k (£2k min per month) for 3 months' accommodation
£5k for transport, food, post-op tests, supplements and supplies (you'll be using Amazon a lot)
£1k for 2-3 first weeks' carer (should be enough)
£7k to £10k nail removal
So you have non union and need to do a bone graft... Hows that good news?
Niiiiiiice! Let's bash 'em while they're down, why don't you?Just ignore him like most of us all do.
Niiiiiiice! Let's bash 'em while they're down, why don't you?
bashing? You said you have non union and you might need a bone graft. How's stating my opinion about having what's considered a complication bashing? Should I tell you I am happy for you for suffering a non union that could potentially result in the loss of some of the height you gained? Should I clap for you for this? I am sorry that unlike the monegal patients (at least the new duo) I am not overly enthusiastic for having a complication.
anyway, hope you will get better.
Just ignore him like most of us all.
This guy TIBIKE200 is still here? I thought he made some fake user with fake story to convince himself that doing LL was a bad idea. Zero credibility whatsoever, in addition to being a know it all pseudo medical student.
bashing? You said you have non union and you might need a bone graft. How's stating my opinion about having what's considered a complication bashing? Should I tell you I am happy for you for suffering a non union that could potentially result in the loss of some of the height you gained? Should I clap for you for this? I am sorry that unlike the monegal patients (at least the new duo) I am not overly enthusiastic for having a complication.
anyway, hope you will get better.
From your reaction, its clear you are an unstable person (just like most llers when you think about it).
Hello, Unicorn. I'm very happy to see you posting again. I was starting to worry a little. You share a lot of useful info with us, you could easily not caring and dedicating your time to healing only. You're kind enough to share your experience and give hope and advices to the many others people who share your own great dream. Please, ignore any negative comments. We all know that this operation has risks, being positive and resilients is the only way we can survive it. Self-pitying doesn't solve anything. Because of my non perfect grasp of english, I'm having some difficulties understading the bone lack discussion. Have you had a bone reduction due to your fracture? How it happened? It seem strange the reduction would be so much, to needing a graft.
wow unicorn! nice to see you back... can you tell us what happened all this time??
Guichet seems to subscribe a lot of suplements, so he probably subscribed the amino acids lysine, arginine and glutamine.
If he did not you could ask him about it and read this article:
http://www.betterbones.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/speedhealing.pdf
I take all of those amino acids and seem to have very good bone formation.
Lysine:
http://www.myprotein.com/sports-nutrition/l-lysine/10529480.html?autocomplete=productsuggestion&settingsSaved=Y&shippingcountry=GB&switchcurrency=GBP&affil=thgemail&countrySelected=Y
Arginine:
http://www.myprotein.com/sports-nutrition/arginine-alpha-ketoglutarate-aakg/10529763.html
Glutamine:
http://www.myprotein.com/sports-nutrition/l-glutamine/10636931.html
I'm surprised your problem is with the lengthened leg, while the leg you was worried about, it's perfectly fine.Kind ironic. I can't grasp my mind on the bones disappearing. How can it be possible? I'm very confused at the moment. Regarding the blood low circulation issues, I know I've got this kind of problem because of sedentary lifestyle. The preparatory training could solve it, right? Which kind of complications could it cause during the lengthening?
If it were for me, I would go to Guichet tomorrow, but money are by biggest problem and I'm trying to overcome gigantic hurdles in order to reach a solution. I think that after all the problems I'm having to being able to do this operation, the lengthening part will be a piece of cake, complications included lol
Also, very happy to know that, as a female, I will have more problems. My usual fortune :D
Hi Unicorn! Glad to see you back!
By re-absorption of the bone, do you mean that you lost the height gained? What exactly does reabsorbed bone mean?
Hi Unicorn
I am a newcomer, please allow me to use poor English conversation with you.
Can you speak Chinese? It will make our communication easier.Your diary is very helpful to me.
Maybe I will meet you this year.
Well, if the low blood circulation is due to lifestyle, some month of hard training, will solve the problem. Working out improve the blood circulation. You're right about the fact we can't really know how our journey will be. We know when we start, but have no idea how and when we will be done. How tall was the 31 years old girl you're talking about? Do you often meet the others Guichet patients? Must to be nice to get to know people who are having your same experience.
Another thing that puzzles me is, how can your parents and friends not noting your legs aren't well? Have you made-up some incident story? XD
Wow.... but it is so nice to have you back among us... you have one of the best diaries out there... you mean classmates are finding new problems with the G nail everyday?? So what is Dr G planning for you right now? Wait more months before another surgery?
Hi everyone :)
As promised, here are all my xrays from the initial surgery until this week. I'll be going for surgery next Wednesday and Guichet's charging me £9k for it. So yes, he's a l'il blood sucker!
Anyways, I tried to preserve the quality of the images so that you can observe the calluses growing and bone consolidating - click to enlarge.
Keeping my fingers super crossed for Wednesday! 8) Hope you'll find this helpful.
RIGHT LEG
JULY 2016 (Guichet clicks 1cm during surgery)
(https://s6d4.turboimg.net/t1/32724401_16.07_-_Right.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/32724401/16.07_-_Right.jpg.html)
SEPTEMBER 2016 (Lengthened to 7cm)
(https://s6d5.turboimg.net/t1/32724403_16.09_-_Right.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/32724403/16.09_-_Right.jpg.html)
NOVEMBER 2016 (Calluses appear to have resorbed/less than October)
(https://s6d4.turboimg.net/t1/32724404_16.11_-_Right.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/32724404/16.11_-_Right.jpg.html)
DECEMBER 2016 (Calluses growing back - see the long smoky fingers?)
(https://s6d4.turboimg.net/t1/32724405_16.12_-_Right.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/32724405/16.12_-_Right.jpg.html)
JANUARY 2017 (Long smoky fingers reaching out to each other)
(https://s6d1.turboimg.net/t1/32724408_17.01_-_Right.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/32724408/17.01_-_Right.jpg.html)
LEFT LEG
JULY 2016 (Guichet clicks 1cm during surgery)
(https://s6d2.turboimg.net/t1/32724412_16.07_-_Left.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/32724412/16.07_-_Left.jpg.html)
AUGUST 2016 (At fracture, the lengthened gap collapsed)
(https://s6d1.turboimg.net/t1/32724413_16.08_-_Left.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/32724413/16.08_-_Left.jpg.html)
SEPTEMBER 2016 (After 2nd surgery, pin is nailed lower on a new site)
(https://s6d2.turboimg.net/t1/32724414_16.09_-_Left.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/32724414/16.09_-_Left.jpg.html)
NOVEMBER 2016 (Awaiting bone consolidation - still tiny gaps)
(https://s6d5.turboimg.net/t1/32724415_16.11_-_Left.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/32724415/16.11_-_Left.jpg.html)
DECEMBER 2016 (Consolidating)
(https://s6d1.turboimg.net/t1/32724416_16.12_-_Left.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/32724416/16.12_-_Left.jpg.html)
JANUARY 2017 (Consolidated)
(https://s6d5.turboimg.net/t1/32724417_17.01_-_Left.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/32724417/17.01_-_Left.jpg.html)
SURGERY - DRILLING AND OSTEOTOMY
(https://s6d1.turboimg.net/t1/32724500_Drill.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/32724500/Drill.jpg.html)
(https://s6d2.turboimg.net/t1/32724501_Break_1.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/32724501/Break_1.jpg.html)
(https://s6d2.turboimg.net/t1/32724502_Break_2.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/32724502/Break_2.jpg.html)
hi unicorn, also you recommend the PREGNANCY PILLOW £24.50 - U-Shape Body Support Pillow.... but is it ok for Dr Guichet to have his patients sleep in that position?? I mean on the side??
hi unicorn!!
really hope this is the end of the tunnel for you!!!
how long will be your LL this time?
At first I was pushing the doctor to try to do more like 1,1 mm per day. But then I understood, that not only do complications go up, but that by lengthening faster I am not generating more bone, nor tendons or muscles and that the total time until I am able to walk would be less by lengthening faster.
I know there are many different opinions, but I think usually it is the patients trying to push the speed, thinking they will be done faster.
This is what they say at the Beijing clinic:
http://www.leg-lengthening.com/More%20FAQ.pdf
Q: How long does it take?
For an increase of 5cm, healthy adult should expect the whole process to take about 3-4 months
from operation, to being able to walk again. Some people will take longer. For those who are
particularly fit, healthy and who can tolerate pain better, it may be possible to recover much more
quickly. Whilst the bone can regenerate at a rate of 1 mm per day, muscles, blood vessels, nerves
and tendons grow more slowly, and so a lengthening rate of 0.5 mm per day is recommended as the
maximum for a normal, healthy adult. Some doctors allow 1.00mm per day lengthening, but at this
pace of lengthening, muscle and tendon problems are common, especially with the knees and ankles.
(Opinion: We strongly advises against lengthening any faster than 0.6 mm per day).
Yup, agree with you both and Beijing statement. And it also really depends on the individual.
From knowing Guichet patients, I think if you're young and male, chances are you'll fuse quite quickly. So Guichet will lengthen quite fast to stop the fusion so that it becomes less painful. I know, counter intuitive, but I've seen it work perfectly.
In my case, because I'm old and female, in hindsight, me not suffering any pain at all was a sure sign that I wasn't forming bone and my soft tissues were not generating as fast or are stretched too thin. So going fast was not at all ideal, especially for females.
Also, I've seen in Guichet's patients, the ones who lengthened no more than 5cm healed very quickly/had full consolidation. They even recovered normal walking in a very short time (as little as 2 weeks). So my conclusion is, don't get too greedy with speed and length because the lengthened gap might not heal/consolidate later.
Anyway, my surgery got cancelled today, I cannot be more sad. I don't know when the next date is. I really thought I could get started on my last leg of this journey.
Have to focus on positive thoughts. Have just bought a place in London yesterday. Will spend all my time renovating/decorating house.
In the meantime, as usual, I love my lengthened leg and glutes. Totally Swimsuit Illustrated... just need to finish up this process :)
For scar healing, I found those Hansaplast, Cica-care scar gel silicone patches work like a dream. All my keloids and bumpy scars have disappeared and there's just some discoloring left which is fading every day. So that's a blessing.
Anyway, my surgery got cancelled today, I cannot be more sad. I don't know when the next date is. I really thought I could get started on my last leg of this journey.
That really sucks! I could imagine how badly you want to finalize the process, and now you have to wait again!
Hope your new home keeps you busy, so not to think about the unfinished leg.
Hi UNICORN, how are you, long time have see you update, just worry about you
For whatever his reasons were, he says now my new lengthening on my left leg (which has yet to begin still), will be doubly slower than my previous experience. So, it's either too fast or maybe being Asian, I'm a slow healer who'll not form bones quickly irregardless of how fast or slow I lengthened. Again, this surgery is sooo experimental and individualistic, it's hard to pinpoint what is exactly right or wrong, because everytime we think we chance upon a solid theory, someone else has a completely different experience.
I just met an Asian girl who broke her femur while playing polo. It took her 1.5 years to finally form bones and worst, her fracture resulted in one shorter leg, so she had to do some lengthening to regain her disproportionate leg.
So I can't tell. Neither can Guichet. He claims it's only happened to him one other time where a patient had one healed leg and one non fused leg. Whatever.
I keep getting banned from this forum with no end date. Whatever that means. So I can't log in most of the time.
I'm still overall happy with my choice to go with Dr. Guichet. But I agree, he is sometimes very hard to get in touch with, and if you're not one of his "current top priority/brand new patients," (and I'm very surprised to hear that you're having to wait, given your problems, you should be a top priority), you will often wait to hear from him. I think he's a brilliant man and a great surgeon, but sorta scatterbrain-ish. Oftentimes, very brilliant people are.
However, I will say...if Dr. Paley or Dr. Rozbruch offered a weight bearing solution where I could have been on crutches throughout the entire lengthening process, I would have gone with one of them (only because I'm from the USA). Dr. Rozbruch removed one of the screws from my femurs, and I have to say, he's very responsive and very easy to work with. Hoping he can help me with my knee pain (Dr. Guichet wants me to go to Milan to see him, but it's not exactly a hop skip and a jump, plus the cost - so I dunno).
I feel your pain. LL really does take forever. If I can resolve my knee pain, I may just leave the nails in. Now that the left screw was taken out, I have no pain at all on the left side, just the right knee pain (which I'm hoping to resolve).
Unicorn,I'm harsh not for the complication but for Guichet's dealing with that.
So sorry that you are still waiting for your leg to be resolved. Hope you have stuff to keep you busy and that you are not in pain.
Bodybuilder,
Are you not too harsh on Dr. Guichet? Every doctor can have such a fracture as the femur is always slightly bent. Even Dr. Monegal has a similar case with Musicmaker. In fact, it was that case that made him realize that it was better to insert the nail from the knee rather than from the hip to avoid too much curvature of the bone.
About fixing: I kind of think the best doctor to fix it is Guichet himself, even though I know that Dr. Monegal has also "fixed" complications of Guichet patients.
How the hell do you know if Guichet is dishonest , terrible of whatever? You only know one side and without any details. I love how those Internet warriors pretend to know everything after reading 5 post on this forum...
Helloworld inserting the nail by the knee doesn't solve the problem because you get permanent knee pain. You're saying Dr Monegal offers a miraculous solution Dr Paley, Dr Rozbruch and Dr Guichet couldn't think about? Come on! These world good surgeons avoid knee insertion for a reason and that reason is permanent knee pain. Many patients complain of knee pain 2 years after surgery. Hip insertion can cause problems in some cases as Unicorn or Musicmaker but they are one among one thousand and they have happened with women always. In general knee insertion is WORSE for men and women.
If I were Unicorn I would sue Dr Guichet for greed. If I were you and Musicmaker I would sue Dr Monegal and Fitbone. You've got them by the balls.
This is painful to read. It's even more painful to know that not only the doctor is avoiding you but that your mates aren't supporting you as well. It surely isn't the case here, my doctor is visiting me every day and his current patients who are now my friends will gather up to come to the clinic today to check up on me.I thought we were going to surprise you :-(
I thought we were going to surprise you :-(You can still surprise me in many ways ;D
Why has the post by Helloworld here been removed? Is there a hidden agenda in this forum? Whenever a Dr Monegal's patient posts something that demonstrates bad management it's deteled from the forum. Helloworld said I was right and then his post was deleted. Are you collaborating with this doctor?I wouldn't be surprised if something like that was going on 😒
Why has the post by Helloworld here been removed? Is there a hidden agenda in this forum? Whenever a Dr Monegal's patient posts something that demonstrates bad management it's deteled from the forum. Helloworld said I was right and then his post was deleted. Are you collaborating with this doctor?God, you're the most paranoid troll I've ever seen. You say Dr. Monegal in every post, you think of Dr. Monegal every day, you dream about Dr. Monegal, you breathe Dr. Monegal.
When people don't answer it's usually a bad sign
Hi Unicorn,
I am so very sorry to hear about your ordeal. I cannot say I know what you're going through, because I don't. I do know that there is an end in sight for all of this, and while you have gone through so so much, this too shall pass. In the end, you will heal, you will reach your desired height, and the weight will come off. Those are facts.
Keep your spirits up. You have my email address, I'm happy to lend a sympathetic ear anytime. You are incredibly strong-willed and determined. Look at all you've gone through, and you're still here. I have every confidence that you'll make it.
A though to consider: I realize that this may be more expensive, but have you considered performing the corrective surgery with either Dr. Paley or Dr. Rozbruch? At the very least, a second opinion may not hurt, and could very well help.
All my best,
-jbc
I totally don't understand why you're sticking with Guichet. From what you wrote it seems like the guy decided to make some big money on CLL and forgot he is still a doctor and ethics still apply to him. That part about him not providing a written confirmation of what he said reminded me about my doc who did similar thing. Everything verbal and then fees kept pilling up and also messed up legs.
Unlike you I was actually smart enough and change my doctor immediately when I came back to the UK.
This is important.The Guichet nail as well as Betz nail are crap Albizzia, doctors around the world dropped it because it was crap but cheap, cheaper than ISKD. They modified it, but it is still crap. The only reason why they still use it, is because its very very cheap so they will charge you £50K and make profit. The nail itself is not more than £10K.
If I was you I would tell him to get lost and speak to Birkholtz. Precise 2 is much better and the doc got nothing to hide since he is very active in this forum.
BTW anyone though why Guichet had to leave France? :D
Its not crap at all, it support full weigh barring and a great recovery. The problem here is why Guichet delayed the surgery that much, it suppose to be done long time ago. Precice technically better organized but take much longer to walk normally because its not supporting full weight barring. We feel sorry for this Unicorn, Can someone write whats exactly going wrong with her beside delayed surgery, i want to understand her case.
Hi UNICORN, be strong, we all will support you. By the way, you mention you lose the lenthen in you right leg, is that true, I think maybe you want to say your left leg
Your story is heartbreaking. Seems like you were at the top of the world and now it could seem like you are at the bottom!
But on the other hand you are still a Harvard graduate, an international person with a broad horizon, smart, a former investment banker, still speak 7 languages, and are probably wealthier than 90% of world population! So please see the great person you still are and the great life you can still have ahead of you.
Do not be ashamed of the decision you have taken. In fact, be proud. You did not accept the status quo and were daring enough go ahead. In fact, I was taking to another patient about it and we realised that most patients we have met are far from being losers and instead are highly intelligent, successful and entrepreneurial.
Hi Kaiser,
To state it dryly :
1) Eggshell fracture happened during drilling at initial surgery
2) 2 weeks later, that surface fracture actually cracked even though there was no fall or accidents. Guichet initially thought the severe pain was fast consolidation and had me take Naproxen to slow down healing and increase my click rate. That made everything worse because I couldn't find any clicks and was in severe pain over 4 days
3) I had lengthened to 3.2cm at the point, and that length was completely lost as the nails weren't holding my bone anymore at the bottom - so my bones crushed back together
4) Had a second surgery on September 1st where Guichet re-nailed the pins on a lower site closer to my knees and with larger older pins
5) I had to wait for all the fractures including the previous femur osteotomy to fully heal and consolidate before recommencing the lengthening process again
6) By end January, X-rays showed that all the fractures have fully healed and surgery can begin
7) Guichet cancels Feb 1st surgery last minute
8 Guichet reschedules 3rd surgery for April 18th in Milan
9) The new procedure is to remove the nail, break my femur and put back the nail, that way I can start lengthening
10) This time, he wants to lengthen over 4 months on my left leg vs 2 months on my right leg which might have been too fast and caused the non-union
11) Because the nail was lengthened to 3.2cm, the most it can lengthen now is 6.8cm. So I will always have a height disparity of at least 7mm. Guichet says that if I wanted a new nail for my left leg that has the 10cm settings, it will cost me a lot
12) In the meantime, my right leg finished lengthening at 7.2cm but it won't fuse. And it continues to click by accident even up to yesterday evening
13) During next week's surgery, Guichet will extract marrow from my hip and inject it onto the ends of my bones, hopefully to stimulate growth and fusion. He will also injure the ends a bit to create inflammation and healing
Hope this is clear.
Hey Unicorn thanks for the details, I hope the 18th April surgery will change everything and put smile on your face. Also i hope Dr Guichet will not delayed it again. I want to ask you Two Question,
Do you think Dr Guichet is a capable doctor and his nails is a strong and good nail?
Does other patients have a better outcome, but you were unlucky with the outcome? is it Guichet's fault when the fracture happened?
1) Is Guichet capable?
I think he is a brilliant surgeon and probably one of the best qualified out there technically speaking. However, you have to be very careful as he is also very disorganized, oversells his ability and is over confident. Always be weary of any doc who shows you miraculous success stories. Ask them about their WORST cases. Try to find out who they've swept under the rug. Don't be naive, thinking that bad things will never happen to you. You want to go in fully informed and prepared for every eventuality.
2) I think his nails are strong. But they're painful because you've to go through the physical and unnatural act of breaking your already broken legs 10-21 times a day, 3x a day for 2+ months. The trauma is beyond physical pain, it's mental anguish as well. For weeks after my lengthening ended on my right leg, I continued to wake up in cold sweat during my click schedule. I do think from reading other diaries that perhaps fitbone or precise is more supportable. But with the Guichet nail, it's like stick shift vs automatic. You can control every aspect of it whereas I understand the automatic ones sometimes stop functioning involuntarily or do not start at all.
The jury is out on this one but my right leg looks like there's valgus. It's curved outwards. When I asked Guichet, he said it's because I'm currently limping with a 7cm disparity, hence, it appears like valgus. I hope that's not the case because it looks bad right now. I look like one of those insects you crush but didn't die? And has broken legs sticking out at weird angles? That's me!
3) As you can read from the forum, they're other patients who emerged successfully. I was in contact with 8 patients who lengthened at the same time. They ranged from 1 teenager, and folks in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Their lengthening ranged from 3.5cm to 7.5cm. The teenager did exceptionally well and took no time to recover. The older ones suffered more pain and quit earlier. I was the only one with a fracture at surgery. So yes, bad luck for me.
4) Can you blame the surgeon if he causes a fracture when drilling? I don't know, maybe lawyers can answer this question. I think Guichet's fault might not lie in his technical abilities but his over confidence. My date was switched to replace someone else and he didn't have my data with him. He was severely delayed going into surgery and was frazzled. He even called me the wrong name and had the wrong birth date on my chart (imagine, I had to correct him while being strapped to the operating table). I think all these elements do play into the outcome of the surgery, as lightly and funny as I thought it was at the time. It's actually no laughing matter. He became more careful with the person whom I replaced, and gave her a double osteotomy because her femur was curved as well. So I was the first guinea pig and suffered for it - as they say, no good deed goes unpunished.
My advise would be, if the circumstances leading to your surgery is as chaotic and stressful as mine were, you have the right to call a stop to everything. Don't be naive like me, leaping on a prayer and hoping for a miracle.
Also, be vigilant with your follow up. Don't expect your doctor to look out for your best interests at all times. We were all very disappointed that he never had our results. His computer was always down, had IT issues, server issues etc. At any time, he never knew our achieved height nor even fusion rate. He is supposed to monitor closely, but I only realise this too late. He let me lengthen very quickly and ONLY in November (this is 2 months after I finished lengthening) does he show me my xray and exclaims, you've a fusion problem! This was when I realized how scary and precarious it has all been, and that I had entrusted my LIFE to someone I had met only thrice.
It's like naive people who think that their private bankers are spending every waking hour making money for their investments. Well honey, your investment banker is in St Tropez partying with models the moment your cheque cleared.
I saw many people said age matter with the surgery and give a better outcome which i don't believe. Teenagers and 20s should be the same at least there is no difference. As a patient do you think age really matter?!
Can confirm younger people have easier LLs. Mine was almost painless, so was Morrisette's and Asian123's, both under the age of 20 like me.
I'm very sorry to hear about your situation Unicorn, but you're still all those positive qualities you listed about yourself pre-LL. I hope you stop the self hatred and pull through. Easier said than done, I know, but regardless.
Unicorn, I am so sorry to hear about your experience. Even though I did my (mostly successful) LL with Dr. Guichet, I can't imagine what you're going through. I can relate in many ways, though. I agree with your general assessment of Dr. Guichet... he is brilliant and a great surgeon, but very disorganized, overconfident and somewhat arrogant at times. He definitely does not have a bedside manner, that's for damn sure. And the fact that he works in two different countries makes it even harder to deal with him. I would say if Precise ever comes out with a weightbearing rod, then it'll be a no-brainer to go to Dr. Rozbruch or Dr. Paley over him.
Hang in there Unicorn. You will get through this. I know you probably can't imagine that right now, but you will get through this.
Do you think early 20s and teens will do pretty good? Aiming for external tibia when Im 20/21.
That said, thanks also for putting some perspective on what I've gone through and my opinion of the doctor. Sometimes, I feel like I'm going mad because I'm soooooo angry and irritable all the time. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I don't get support from my doctor, I feel like I'm just a vulnerable prey to be picked on financially.
Unaided as in with the help of a walker/crutches? I hope this is normal. Btw how long do you reckon it will be before you can walk unaided?
Unicorn888 apply immediately for employment and support benefit, then housing benefit if you're renting. Also you qualify for Personal independent payments. You need to have some cash to afford proper food.
Ive been where you are right now(being in the UK and using NHS) and things will get better but don't lot lose motivation to get better!
You should sue this man . I now understand why he left france this man is a criminal .
I couldn't do that Doomsday even if I qualified. I chose cosmetic surgery voluntarily and I cannot deprive some other family with more serious problems from getting public support. This is fully my fault and I knowingly asked for it. So now, I've to bear the consequences.
Dr Guichet is then second Dr Monegal as Unicorn is second Musicmaker, but you should know Dr Monegal DID woke Musicmaker up in the middle of surgery to tell her fitbone failed during surgery and if she wanted to be exfixed and also she wasn't hospitalited because nobody paid the bills. Patients from 2015 were there and told me the poor girl was sent home crying in pain after major surgery. I don't want to hijack this thread but think about this. Both doctors seem to be greedy men who don't care about patients wellbeing. Main difference is Musicmaker is weaker and brainwashed by her doctor. I congratulate strong Unicorn and send all my regard to Unicorn and also to Musicmaker because she needs strength.
It really hurts to read your story, and I'm very sorry you had to go through that hell. Everyone wanting LL should read your diary, especially the taller folks, to see what it can entail.
My understanding is that you have a right leg that is lengthened by about 7 cm's but not consolidated, and a left leg that is still in the lengthening progress. So my advice would be to complete the process using the state health care system, AKA the NHS. Would that not work, since you currently have a leg discrepancy which is a recognized medical condition that is covered by your health insurance? This would allow you to be in the hands of doctors who are not greedy cosmetic surgeons and more importantly stay away from Guichet, who has proven to be a unethical POS. I strongly recommend taking this route.
And, as far as I see, you have previously been a very successful professional person, which means you already helped a lot of families in need of help, with your tax money. You fully deserve to use the services of the system yourself.
I agree with the general assessment that cosmetic LL surgeons regardless of who they are, how credible and talented - are all doing this as a business and seek max profits. Hence, when I cannot afford, NHS will be the best option if one of the orthos will accept my case. I'm starting the referral process right now and do not know how long it will take.
I've also looked into ESO and other welfare subsidies. Unfortunately, the wait time to receive anything is about 16-39 months :)
So that assistance is out too.
By the way, I'll try to continue updating you with my recovery journey so that hopefully, we can cross the finishing line together.1 cm in a day?
After the 165 clicks Guichet made me do over 24 hrs, my thighs started to blotch red, hurt and heat (erythema). Someone mentioned it might be because I stretched close to 1cm in a single day. Doctors at the hospital were afraid of infection or manifestation of my suspected blood clot.
Does anyone recognize this? Has it ever happened to you? See how it went from red blotches to darkened scarring after 1 week. It's still there and I don't know what it is.
DAY 1
(https://s6d1.turboimg.net/t/34897695_IMG_5594_copy.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/34897695/IMG_5594_copy.jpg.html)
DAY 7
(https://s6d1.turboimg.net/t/34897696_IMG_5880_copy.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/34897696/IMG_5880_copy.jpg.html)
It's funny how guichet pretends it's not his fault that your leg broke some time ago. As far as i know he used too think nail hence the walls of the bone where too thin and after applying pressure simply broke. That's why for example penguin got a smaller diameter precise 2, there is also Lee's patient with a smaller nail.
But during your recent surgery he put a smaller nail right? I hope there was no confusion this time.
What's the infection situation like? That's the scariest part. Everything else can be fixed (except for nerve damage which you don't have).
Nope, same 13mm. I already have 13mm on both legs from before and even if he wanted to give me an 11mm one (which he doesn't think is the correct one for me), he had to use a nail from a future patient in May.He couldn't give you 11mm since you femurs has been reamed for a 13 mm rod. It would be probably to loose or something.
What do you mean immediate mobility after anaesthesia?
If you mean that he forced you to walk then I believe this doctor is really dangerous and wants to torture his patients.
But I hope I understood wrong.
My God, Unicorn. I remember when I started reading your journal, you were so positive and hopeful, nobody could image you would have had such horrible experience. The risk of infection and amputation is my biggest fear, even biggest than death, I can't image how bad you felt; and the saddest thing, it's that you have nobody beside you. Your family, and in particular your brother, have been really horrible. Family is the only one always there, but I guess it's not always the case.
I don't want to sound selfish, but I'm glad I've read your story, so that now I know Guichet is a money-suk scum and I will avoid him at all cost.
I was so sure about him, if it weren't for your diary I would still thinking to choose him. Now I've decided to go with an italian doctor, Pili: he has experience and collaborates with another important doctor (Catagni). He seems more aimed at pathological cases, which means is not into this for money only.
Plus it costs far less than Guichet ( the difference is mainly in the preparation and physiotherapy, which aren't crazy-expensive as Guichet's), and, in case of complications, being italian, I'm covered by public healthy care.
I'll also make sure not to lengthen more than 0,50/0,60mm. The fact that Guichet makes everyone lengthen 1mm at day, not taking in consideration age and sxx differences, it's another proof of his incompetence.
I really wich you all the best. This experience will make you stronger and, after this, you will be able to overcome pretty much anything.
She means she walked with a walker after surgery. I for example waited for the second day to stand up because I was very dizzy with the anesthesia. At least even if the worst happen we can walk on crutches, unlike other nails which do not weightbear and if there is not enough bone formation you'll be stuck in a wheelchair. I think all nails should be weightbearing if Guichet nail can, then why not The others.
The left femur looks fine so you might keep clicking until you reach 7.5 cm but the right leg looks bad, there is no callus the nail holds the bone together. I think your ortho should make the decision whether you should stop lengthening your left leg and shorten the right one to match the left or find a way to get some callus on it. So they could remove both nails, shorten the right one to match the left and then install titanium nails and do bone graft again. I'm not a doc so it is my only assumption.
Apart from that I don't know whether there is any other option to help build callus.
If the first graft didnt work, external fixation is not am option? I dont know too much about this, but know that external fixation can compress the gap an create newplease stop posting total garbage...
please stop posting total garbage...Are you still angry? Why is garbage, maybe is not the common way of fixing nounions, but can be done, ll dweller.
Unicorn, I truly believe that you should stop lengthening your good foot at 5cm to finish it successfully and to stop be in pain and keep taking drugs.
Then you should compress the other foor at 5 cm, do a bone graft and see if it works. If still there is not callus, you should compress it at zero cm and when callus start to formate then you should slowly lengthen it too at 5cm.
There is no other solution for you. You just lose your time waiting for bone fusion with 7-8 cm gap! This can't happen.
Stop lengthening at 5cm on your good foot, which is a good gain, and then put all your effort to fix the non union. In the worst situation you'll fully compress it and then lengthen it again.
Everything can be fixed just find a good doctor and take out this bs nail that Guichet uses and then compress the bone.
Be strong, with a good doctor things will take time but for sure you'll be ok at the end.
5 cm is a good gain but I can understand why Unicorn88 isn't happy. Getting LL for 5 cm is hard, but this whole nightmare and all that money for 5 cm? I feel sad when I see people spending their whole fortunes like Unicorn, Musicmaker, Cooper, Masterhy.. only for some cm and having so bad complications.I believe that Unicorn is not happy with all she have been through.
Based on what I've read in this diary, Guichet is responsible for most if not all of your hardships. Of course, as LL patients we accept some risk and accountability but it seems like he took as much advantage of you as possible.
I'm confused about your current situation: are you going to click the shorter leg till it matches the gap of almost 10cms? I'm no doctor but that sounds like the worst possible thing to do considering the non union.
yeah there is some callus around the nail. Good news!if there is callus i really doubt NHS will be willing to do anything. You will have to wait for consolidation. If I was you I would try to find a way to get as much blood in that leg as possible. I'm not sure if you used to go to the gym but basically the more you train a muscle the more blood gets into it with nutrition and oxygen etc. Sometimes I used to get so pomped on my arms that i tought they gonna blow up(great feeling btw :D ) Buy a stationary bike and smash those legs on it. You're gonna lose weight and speed up recovery :D
Do you know the device called darma roller. Regeneration of skin.
Lol dont be mad. Maybe it would Work. Haha
I agree. You need to find a Dr.
(Shorten or compress the finished leg 2-3 cm. and then get some kind of graft or stem cell to regenerate.)
a doctor would know better Then My guss
Have you wrote Palay or some of the top doctors?
Please do it.
You're a beautiful woman Unicorn888 and you'll get out of this crap thanks to NHS. Your instagram account is a LL cautionary tale. Bad cases go out of doctors' control and they are so arrogant they can't admit they committed mistakes. I'd wish other patients were as open as you because everybody would know the truth about the surgery that made them disabled but they prefer keeping silent coz they're terrified or want to protect the doctor. Hope for better news soon.
Hi Unicorn! Have you tried bone stimulators such as exogen? I read somewhere that some of Paley's patients were doing it.
I leave an article about them: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2762251/
I don't know whether they will have a definite impact on your case, but I doubt it would hurt to try.
BTW you look very young in your photos. Not your real age at all, that is something you should be happy about. I have no doubt you will resume your old life after all this is over with one day. You are intelligent, attractive, and now even taller. I see no reasons as to why you cannot get married or have kids. I know ladies who had children at 40, 42. Or even adoption is possible. Either way you can fulfill all these things. So never limit yourself in this thinking.
Hi Unicorn,
Just read through your diary, I couldn't believe what I was reading tbh.
I'm no expert but it is mostly the pediatric orthopedic surgeons who do deformity corrections (lengthen, shorten, rotate bones) as children usually present with these conditions. I believe some of them also see adults to deal with these issues. For example, Dr. Paley and Dr. Donghoon are trained as pediatric orthopedic surgeons. The adult orthopedic surgeons trained in trauma, lower limb complex recon (guys that also do hip/knee replacements), and oncology also deal with deformities usually arising from trauma (surgery, accidents where bone not salvageable) but I believe their approach is to heal the bone first by shortening b/c you can still walk with a shortened leg. At this point, I don't know what your goals are but from my experience with tibia lengthening, when I asked the surgeon they told me it takes approximately 1 month/1 cm of lengthening tibia to union/heal. With so little callus and a 10cm gap with no reverse/shortening mechanism with the G-nail, it will take many months for consolidation while having an unstable base. I can only imagine the psychological/economical difficulties of healing that long.
It seems that you are a highly qualified professional with a harvard education. And too young to be throwing that away. If you cut your losses and if your ortho suggests closing the bone gap, it may take around 3 months for the femur to consolidate if you take the estimate for a new fracutre, and you would be walking pretty normally before that with equal leg lengths as you have maintained your muscle mass through regular exercise. You will have lost time, height, and money but none more going forward. The risk of more accidental clicks, infections, surgeries, procedures, and pulmonary embolism damaging your health and adding more time is frankly scary. Reducing to 5cm like others suggested also seems like an excellent option if this is possible, but I don't know how you can do this reliably in surgery; leaving a bone gap with a nonunion may be taking chances on its own. If height continues to be an issue, maybe you can consider surgery again way out in the future but with a smaller limit (probably 5cm max) on your femurs, and doing bone marrow right from the start. Doing more of this right now seems really difficult. And please please don't think of this as something you have to "beat" as you can't tell your body to grow more bone...
Another thing is the medication. When I was lengthening, I took tramadol on a regular basis. Only when I stopped taking them after lengthening that I realized, as an opioid, it was allowing me to feel almost zero anxiety about the passing time. When I came off I sort of woke up to the fact that all this time passed by in my life. Also, I was addicted to sleeping pills (benzodiazepines and imovane) when I was in my early 20's. I tried multiple times to quit, but only after ~2 years and going cold turkey for 2 weeks (when I didn't sleep at all) was I able to come off of them. Because the benzos also dampen anxiety, and when they come off the anxiety is worse, I made the mistake of lashing out and losing some of my friends. I am frankly scared of sleeping pills to this day for this reason.
Lastly, and this is my personal opinion, if having your own kids is what you want, you can plan to freeze your eggs and this will take some time pressure off and maybe change your decision about ongoing leg lengthening. Again, my personal opinion/observation, nowadays as men's appearance is mattering more and more and his financial abilities a bit less, if you go back to your good job and hire a personal trainer to get you a killer body I think that marriage is certainly not impossible (although I don't know your standards). If you are worried about your age, if you will consider guys who had prior marriage I think you will find yourself with options, especially nowadays when divorce is unfortunately very common.
I am wishing the best for you and hope to hear good news posted on your diary soon. Please remember to eat well (sufficient calories + lots of protein + calcium). Please consider telling someone, a family member; they will be angry at first, but in the end only family really can love you unconditionally and truly care. Please keep your optimistic outlook. Like old Mike Tyson said, after hundreds of millions of dollars, loss of his daughter, betrayals, etc etc, "As long as you are alive, you have a chance".
All the best and wishing you health.
you are 166 or 168 now ?
You made only femurs ?
Something like that. I've not bothered to track my height since the runaway clicking to 10cm came as an absolute shock. I'll post some before lengthening and post lengthening femur photos. That should be quite interesting to see proportion-wise.
And only femurs, internal nail. I'd never attempt anything like this again! :)
UNICORN if your longer leg is not clicking, in your case I would push and match it. lets us know what will doc from nhs say.
I hope you will actualize scars pictures
But at the moment it seems good
And please please don't think of this as something you have to "beat" as you can't tell your body to grow more bone...
Another thing is the medication. When I was lengthening, I took tramadol on a regular basis. Only when I stopped taking them after lengthening that I realized, as an opioid, it was allowing me to feel almost zero anxiety about the passing time. When I came off I sort of woke up to the fact that all this time passed by in my life. Also, I was addicted to sleeping pills (benzodiazepines and imovane) when I was in my early 20's. I tried multiple times to quit, but only after ~2 years and going cold turkey for 2 weeks (when I didn't sleep at all) was I able to come off of them. Because the benzos also dampen anxiety, and when they come off the anxiety is worse, I made the mistake of lashing out and losing some of my friends. I am frankly scared of sleeping pills to this day for this reason.
No offence but when I look at your previous life style I really think that for some limb lengthening is a first world problem. I did my LL right after University. I got even a loan to pay for the surgery. Now I look at you. Good looking , good job, good social life, stable finances. If i had all of that I would never done LL even if I was short as a man.
Damn I'm really glad you're being vocal about your experience. People should think twice before they get their legs broken.
LOL I just realised that your one dress is worth more than all my clothes xD
Not cool, dude. Yeah, Unicorn may have had a somewhat privileged life before LL, but one, she worked to earn it, and two, none of us is immune to severe complications from a surgery like this, even with a great doctor. I still think Dr. G is a great doctor, but he needs an attitude adjustment, I agree. Let's be real...do you think Dr. Rozbruch or Dr. Paley would do all the correction surgeries for free if they had complications? I think Paley even has it in his policy that you must pay out of pocket for all additional surgeries. Dr. Rozbruch is a lot nicer than both of the other guys (though I haven't met Paley)...but Dr. Guichet is still good.What's not cool ? I wish Unicorn recovery like everyone else but now she can do a lot of good by saying how complicated LL can be. Also stop implying stuff I didn't say. She fully deserved the life before LL through her hard work. I never suggested she doesn't deserve her privileged life. My point was that sometime we don't fully appreciate what we have until our life changes.
Hang in there Unicorn. Honestly, I would do whatever you can to recover as quickly as possible. Even if you only keep two inches, 5'4" is perfectly fine for a woman. These are your legs. Safety first.
What's not cool ? I wish Unicorn recovery like everyone else but now she can do a lot of good by saying how complicated LL can be. Also stop implying stuff I didn't say. She fully deserved the life before LL through her hard work. I never suggested she doesn't deserve her privileged life. My point was that sometime we don't fully appreciate what we have until our life changes.
Sounds like you had good luck finding that person. What is interesting is that she said there was another case of guichet. So besides using a expensive out of date nail guichet really is damaging multiple people with his lack of care.
It's good to hear things seem to be going in the right direction for you and you're being cared for by better people now.
Would it not be possible to "lock" the nail in your right leg, so that no more accidental lengthening is possible? Surely this leg must be in the desired length now, so that you can stop lengthening?
Also, did I understood correctly that your LL doctor (mentioning no names) is threatening you with lawsuits?
Guichet is one of the worst cases of LL doctors out there.
I knew it before Unicorn's experience
Guichet is one of the worst cases of LL doctors out there.
I knew it before Unicorn's experience but now it is time for the majority of people to know that this doctor is very expensive with an obsolete nail and lack of morals.
I really wish people be more careful in the future and not giving huge amounts of money to incapable and unethic doctors.
I really have to stop this because it is not fair for Guichet.Unicorn I understand that you don't want to write bad things about Guichet because you are afraid of lawsuits, although I truly believe that you should sue him for all that happened to you for which Guichet is the main respondible.
All doctors have complications and I know that for a fact because many of the patients who do not heal after years are in touch together, and we all come from all the various doctors out there.
I still believe Guichet is a good surgeon and like all doctors, he has his positive and negative traits. Simply idolizing some doctors while slamming others do not do justice to this forum and the effort LLers put in to enlighten the community.
I really hope this forum serves to open everyone's eyes that it's a highly risky complicated and painful procedure that can have terrible consequences (which is often under reported) and that one has to be very alert to the progress and treatment at every step and not naively leap on a faith and a prayer, like I did.
Unfortunately, no. My nail cannot be stopped nor reversed but it caps at 10cm. So I guess it'll eventually stop there. Don't know what the case will be for my left leg since there're calluses. I'm praying hard that the weight-bearing feature is like what it says on the tin.
And unfortunately, yes to your last question. Having that hanging over my head while struggling to lengthen is a fate I do not wish on my worst enemies. It's caused endless stress, sleepless nights, any knock on my door or phone call, and I jump. I'm just trying to survive, to find a way to walk and claim back my life.
I'm glad your case is now in the hands of an empathetic doctor, it will make a big difference to your support system unlike the lack of support and guidance you felt earlier. I think Guichet's problem may not be necessarily be technical skills but he lost simple empathy for his patients and forgotten what it truly means to be a doctor. He should not of cancelled/delayed your surgery just to book other ones in. That is ethically wrong and to threaten you with lawsuits when you are incapacitated and unable to work due to the fracture he initially had a hand in shows he is not thinking right either. Maybe if he had fixed you up sooner, you would of been on your way to recovery, find work, and later settle bills with him. Anyway, I don't want to distress you with my opinions on the matter, as you probably have already decided to come to terms with what already happened, so that you could heal. Most important is to work towards new solutions to optimal recovery.I think skills are one his problems, he has at least one more patient with nonunion after a long time, the another problem is that he is hungry of money, sorry but that is what I see, ah the beginning I thought he was very skilled, but no, he is not that skilled, that is the reason why he doesnt like to perform internal tibia lengthening, obviously external methods are better for tibia, but that tells Many things. I wish you get better And can resume your Life as soon as possible.
I hope your new doctor will help you shorten your gap to perhaps just 7 cm on each leg. Wish you the best.
Having had LL with him myself...I don't think Guichet is a bad doctor or surgeon. When I did my LL, I saw many patients who had fantastic results, including a guy who did 9cm in one go and was walking fairly normally about 8 months post-op. Granted, he was super young (young 20s), but he was doing fine. I saw many female patients who did really well, including two who were on their second femur LL (to re-break the femur, and get more height)! He has had many success stories, and I think is still among the best (Guichet, Rozbruch and Paley). I'm not sure about Rozbruch (but he removed a screw for me, and I love him personally), but I know Paley has been seen as arrogant and has had complications as well.
All that said...I definitely do think he is arrogant, impatient and disorganized/scatterbrain-ish. The main issue with him I think is that he operates in two different countries. I remember I wanted to stay in Milan, but after the pre-training, had to do the actual surgery and recovery/clicking in London. He visited me a few times, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel abandoned by him at times. I know I was under the care of the isokinentic center (and the doctors and PTs there were fantastic), but it wasn't the same not having the actual surgeon who did the surgery on you readily available.
I still don't regret going to Guichet. The weight bearing nail was what enabled me to do what I did and get back to work ASAP without effing up my career. However...if American doctors start using a weight bearing solution...then it would be a lot harder to recommend Guichet, unless one lives over near where he operates.
I said it once a while back and I'll say it again...LL is like a box of chocolates...you really never know entirely what you're going to get. The more prepared you are and the better doctor you go with minimizes the probability of issues...but never entirely. And people need to remember that. Some doctors are better than others, but no doctor is immune from complications, and sometimes patients themselves screw things up (which isn't the case of Unicorn, but just saying). You are never guaranteed an easy ride, and most doctors (including Guichet, who you have to give credit for the fact that he makes you read about the risks and really know what you're getting into) will straight up tell you this. Even Paley says to have like $30K extra saved in the event of complications/follow-up surgeries, etc.
I had a bad outcome and I met many people with bad outcomes and some crippled for life. Some of them don't accept it. I'm happy Unicorn888 is the good directionWho was your doctor? I think you should take the risk, Many people have good outcomes.
Guichet is spread thin so he caught the fracture late but if you look at her x-rays, you have to give him credit for not having to plate her or screwing her latter surgeries up further. His nail is another story and maybe should be discontinued from the pain and trauma it causes pts but I still believe he has too many yrs of experience under CLL to be a bad surgeon, that is what is meant "technically". He did afterall present her with a viable solution to the initial fracture after the problem was revealed. It just took him long to execute it, which is a bad judgment on his part. This doesn't mean I'm vying for anyone to hop onboard to do LL with Guichet or his nail, I don't think anyone with any ounce of sensibility and research will go to him after knowing what Unicorn had to endure in her journey.
I had a bad outcome and I met many people with bad outcomes and some crippled for life. Some of them don't accept it. I'm happy Unicorn888 is the good directionSo you actually are a real patient, realpatient?
So you actually are a real patient, realpatient?
Would you tell us which doctor?
You are talking a lot about Monegal, but it could not be him, because every person who had a surgery with him, talks very positively about him, including Musicmaker.
Come on helloworld, you and I both know that it's because Dr. Monegal doesn't allow his patients to speak bad of him in the forum.
This guy probably been in contact with L Luser. ;)
Come on helloworld, you and I both know that it's because Dr. Monegal doesn't allow his patients to speak bad of him in the forum.I am a Monegal patient and I am interested in knowing where you got this from. Sounds like LLuser bullcrap ::)
Internal femurs lengthening is one of the easiest surgeries an orthopaedic surgeon could do.
And still Guichet, who charges a tone of money for a robust nail, managed to screw many of patients and generally speaking he has maybe the most mediocre to bad results compared to any doctor who charges so much and does internals.
So how some people still believe he is a capable doctor, no matter which his morals are?
The problem with this dr is not only his lack of morals and his ridiculous prices, it is his mediocre skills too.
Generally, he is one of the worst cases of LL doctors taking in mind all these.
Noone should trust this doctor, for the money he charges there are plenty better options.
I am a Monegal patient and I am interested in knowing where you got this from. Sounds like LLuser bullcrap ::)
I don't want to betray the people who told me that because they still depend on Dr Monegal for various reasons. I hope people out there believe me when I said what I said because it's the truth. I know for a fact that there are various members in this forum (disregard the LLuser/realpatient/notimportant bullcrap) that also know about this. I am not lying to damage Dr. Monegal's reputation, but the truth is the truth.Now it even sounds more like LLuser bullcrap.
Now it even sounds more like LLuser bullcrap.
So you actually are a real patient, realpatient?The thing that Musicmaker speaks good for a doctor after a so bad outcome is a proof that Monegal manipulates what is writter here from his patients.
Would you tell us which doctor?
You are talking a lot about Monegal, but it could not be him, because every person who had a surgery with him, talks very positively about him, including Musicmaker.
As I mentioned from the beginning, I'm a nerd and a stickler for details. Here is a list of my complications :And all these from an "experienced" doctor who has some of the most expensive fees in the world.
1. Eggshell fracture on left leg during surgery
2. Left leg fractured fully 2 weeks later
3. Lengthened gap of 3cm crushed to 0cm
4. Non-union of the right leg
5. Nail breaks during 3rd surgery
6. Blood clot from marrow graft
7. Hospitalization for wound site infection
8. Runaway lengthening of right leg to 9.8cm (with non-union)
9. Left leg genu valgum (inward rotation causing knock knees)
Perhaps some or all above could have been prevented with professional vigilance. At a glance, you'd think someone made up a scary list to warn patients from going to back-alley facilities.
The thing that Musicmaker speaks good for a doctor after a so bad outcome is a proof that Monegal manipulates what is writter here from his patients.
I hate my ex doctor for doing atl to my legs and make me 5 years after to do another surgery to have normal sport abilities again.
If I was at Musicmaker's position I would hate Monegal for not having functional legs years after the surgery.
So Helloworld you and the patients who had good outcomes have every reason to write good words about Monegal. But patients like Mucikmaker have no reason and it is really suspicious that they talk with so positive words although they have terrible results.
I really can't understand it and makes me very suspicious about Monegal's case.
@pizzagate: with about the same money you can go in Rozbruch and Paley who are the best in the world. With less money you can go in Pili or Burkholz. Even Monegal and Betz are better cases imo although there are much contradictions about them.
In a few words, every doctor mentioned here (except Indian ones) who does LL is a better choice than Guichet imo.
As I mentioned from the beginning, I'm a nerd and a stickler for details. Here is a list of my complications :
1. Eggshell fracture on left leg during surgery
2. Left leg fractured fully 2 weeks later
3. Lengthened gap of 3cm crushed to 0cm
4. Non-union of the right leg
5. Nail breaks during 3rd surgery
6. Blood clot from marrow graft
7. Hospitalization for wound site infection
8. Runaway lengthening of right leg to 9.8cm (with non-union)
9. Left leg genu valgum (inward rotation causing knock knees)
Perhaps some or all above could have been prevented with professional vigilance. At a glance, you'd think someone made up a scary list to warn patients from going to back-alley facilities.
Late last year I went to see Dr. Rozbruch in New York to check on tibia. Immediately after reading x-ray he pointed out 3 major issues. 1) Provactum tibia bone curving 2) Fibula migrated up. 3) low callous and possible non-union 4) lost nerve on feet about 25% (not major but had to fix). Dr. R advised to fixed all three and his assistant wrote a note which I forwarded monegal right away. I asked precisely to Dr. R what can be done with him. The answer was reverse everything and put external fixator for tibia and small monorail for tibia and lengthen. I was devastated to hear that!
I emailed monegal and hoped he can correct the issue. But he denied any of that need fix. Similar response to Crimson: ‘everything is fine'... He also advised me not see any LL specialist. I told him ok. But I was not stupid.
Monegal Issues: 1) Dishonest: His manipulates deliberately and black mailed his patient to write good things about him and defend him as often as necessary. You cannot trust this doctor and his patient specially from Spain!!!... 2) Unethical: If you are not honest than you do not have ethics. Especially in this profession you want to go to doctor who respects patient rights, if something is not right than let the patient know and possible solution to fix. Just not to say everything will be ok. You need more time. ... 7) Forum: He is using forum to fish new patient and anyone raised flag he tries to shut him off either by himself or through his patient. He gets mad to his patient if anyone writes bad thing and continuously monitor forum thread. He probably spends more time in forum than any of us out here. ... 9) Complication: Almost all of his patient has some complications. Many of them cannot walk without crutches. Complications includes but not limited to premature fitbone fracture, fitbone malfunctions, loose screws, serious nerve issue, misalignment and unkown. Unknown are other complications which patient does not know because they have not seen other LL specialist.
Inexplicably Musicmaker thinks he's hot. 'Hottest guy in the forum' (her words). She's a love-blind puppet and can be manipulated. Other patients are also manipulated.Monegal is hot as ****. I'm a straight guy but I would pick Monegal over Musicmaker any day! I feel so manipulated, my fingers are typing on their own.
Come on helloworld, you and I both know that it's because Dr. Monegal doesn't allow his patients to speak bad of him in the forum.Musicmaker and I are good friends by now. And we share everything about LL experience with each other and she is saying in private the Monegal is best doc for LL.
I think the Monegal and Guichet debate is of no importance. Now that we have all the information on the table, each of us can reach his own conclusion. The result should be obvious for all so I won't write it.
I think what Unicorn does from now is what is most important. She is a great person who deserves the world! Eventually, all of this will be a bad story of her past and nothing more.
Maybe Guitchet is a good surgeon, but genius? Not even near, less than 2/100 of the population are that, he has an average intelligence. I like that he doesnt fall in love with his patients, but a little more empathic would help.
I agree Unicorn's diary shouldn't be polluted with the boxing match. We can open a new thread. From my experience the only thing I can advice is beware of charm for charm is sometimes false. Dr Guichet was harsh from the beginning. Other doctors can be charming at first and then turn to Mr Hyde and attack their own patients like Helloworld and Musicmaker who had their asses sold to German.Sorry, but I have to reply to this one:
Sorry, but I have to reply to this one:
Fitbone company Wittenstein gave me a replacement nail within 24 hours, and Dr. Monegal operated me free of charge and hospital was also free of charge.
The doctor then arranged for me to talk directly to the CEO of the Fitbone and I met him in Barcelona.
I'm making an effort to be fair and kind as I really do not intend to bash any doctors here.Yes, I dont like charmful doctors, almost everybody are hypocritical, that is the reason why I prefer that they tell me the truth without biscuits inside, I like that of Guitchet.
I agree that I'll take skills over charm any day.
And definitely integrity over geniuses...
Yes, I dont like charmful doctors, almost everybody are hypocritical, that is the reason why I prefer that they tell me the truth without biscuits inside, I like that of Guitchet.Guichet does not speak the truth. He is just a careless and money hungry doctor who stops to care for patients after they operate and take the money from them.
You never spoke with any. You're a 17 year old kid so stop talking like you actually know something lol.You are almost 30 or 30. I dont know And know even less, age is that important? I dont want to start a drama here, se have to keep in mind that this is Unicorns diary.
Guichet does not speak the truth. He is just a careless and money hungry doctor who stops to care for patients after they operate and take the money from them.That is the part that I dont like, just say that serious people are not as irritating as charmful people.
Any updates, Unicorn?
Hi Penguinn,
Yeah, lots of updates! Since I last saw the new doc at Kings College Hospital, she had in the space of 2-3 weeks ordered up about 12 tests immediately. I've now done full bloods, xrays, CT scans, physio, therapist, ultrasound, vernacular scans etc. I'm so impressed seeing that everything has been free, speedy, polite and super efficient.
Having spoken to a few patients at the department, it turns out that it's well known for being super professional and effective.
That said, I've not had any glimpses of the results yet. All I know is I no longer have any blood clots, there are no cysts growing in my lengthened gap. I'll be seeing the doc in person tomorrow and I'll post what she says.
A few things I have learnt : no matter which doctor you go to, please always ask for second opinions.
I learnt that there is NO WAY a marrow graft can fuse a 7-10cm gap. Also the fact that I underwent a marrow graft procedure on a leg that has runaway from 7 to 10cm with nobody noticing - is downright scary. There were ample xrays prior and post surgery so you'd think anyone responsible would check for length, if not out of professional obligation, perhaps out of courtesy seeing that this entire surgery costs an arm and a leg (no pun intended).
You'd think that anyone who performs surgery claiming extensive experience, would check before and after that there's no runaway lengthening since I had reported accidental clicking since last year and there are no calluses/non-union formed at all. I was even put on a 3 clicks/day schedule from April on. It was actually the A&E folks at NHS who measured my xrays and said I was close to 10cm.
It befuddles me whether I was intentionally put through a useless surgery for financial gain or did a world-class surgeon actually believe that a marrow graft can fuse 7cm when the entire world knows that it cannot? That was one unnecessary pain and cost :'(
I've also met up with more LL patients in these last few weeks and it is so true that the garish stories do not go published for fear of doctors or shame. An example : One LL patient recently committed suicide and another suffered life altering gangrene infections which required flesh being grisly carved out on a daily basis.
We all noticed that when LL patients undergo racheting, the pain is so intense that everyone is crying all the time taking hours to click but once the entire ordeal is over, people tend to understate how painful or how much they suffered. I guess it's human nature, I don't know. Nobody wants to admit to being a coward and a crybaby perhaps. And our brains quickly surpress those traumatic memories anyway, as self preservation.
Clear example is the guy I had first met at Isokinetic when I went through my first cyber test who told me that the pain was so negligible, the cyber test was more painful. It turns out that he bare face lied to all of us (us being the gullible pack of bankers, lawyer and a doctor). When we confronted him later, he said he didn't want to scare us (!). In addition, we found out later that he was addicted to opioids as well.
So you cannot trust one source of info, and I definitely did. I heard only what I wanted to hear. Everything else was noise and bad luck that would NEVER happen to me, the fit and flexible former gymnast :'(
More and more evidence of mongeals incompetence. How can all these issues be attributed to his arrogance?You mean Guichet.
Glad to hear you,
How many Guichet´s patients did you speak before surgery?
Is Guichet doing anything to help you?
You are so brave.
Look at this news maybe can help you. Now they can shape a bone with a 3D printer from a bone of dead people.
https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/madrid/2017-08-07/bancos-huesos-tejidos-madrid-alcorcon-gregorio-maranon_1418870/
My best wishes
More and more evidence of mongeals incompetence. How can all these issues be attributed to his arrogance?
Ah lol I did confuse mongeal with guichet ;D. It does some seem with his recent cases that mongeal is more competent than guichet.Personally I would much easier consider Monegal than Guichet.
I learnt that there is NO WAY a marrow graft can fuse a 7-10cm gap. Also the fact that I underwent a marrow graft procedure on a leg that has runaway from 7 to 10cm with nobody noticing - is downright scary. There were ample xrays prior and post surgery so you'd think anyone responsible would check for length, if not out of professional obligation, perhaps out of courtesy seeing that this entire surgery costs an arm and a leg (no pun intended).
Thanks for sharing your personal experience, Unicorn!
Your experience is quite negative, so if I would have read your diary when considering surgery, I likely would not have gone ahead.
However, I am happy that I did and all the patients I met that had the surgery at a similar time as me, around 8 in total, are all very happy. Also, nobody had a lot of pain, and clicking was totally painless.
Only thing for me is that recovery took longer than expected. Even now, more than 8 months post surgery, though I have regained full strength and jumping power, I am still not able to run very fast. But all in all, the pros for me and for almost every patient I met, outweigh the cons.
So if a graft doesn't work, what is the next plan to finally fix your 10 cm gap?
Haha! This definitely sounds like a Monegal sponsored ad 8)I am wondering why you would say or think that.
I am wondering why you would say or think that.
Is it that I thank you for sharing your experience? Or is it that I express my frustration with not being able to run as fast as before?
Maybe you misread, I am not saying I am running faster, I am saying I am running SLOWER!
Look, whoever you are, I'm most happy that you've completed your lengthening unscathed and successfully.
But please, if you would like to promote Monegal's business by stating that for all 8 of you, "clicking was totally painless" - PLEASE do it somewhere else because you are insulting our intelligence with your transparent motives. It is people like yourselves who mislead others into thinking that this procedure is easy and painfree.
It is damned disrespectful to use this very thread to promote another doctor's practice. It is never a GUICHET vs MONEGAL battle here, and I don't see other insecure doctors like PALEY sending their minions over to promote their dwindling businesses while bashing other doctors.
I'm sorry for you that your recovery has not been as fast as you hoped for, and I'm sure since Monegal has a perfect record of success, not being able to run faster than Usain Bolt after leg lengthening must be contrued as a complication.
In any case, when you pass GO, don't forget to collect $200 from Monegal.
Look, whoever you are, I'm most happy that you've completed your lengthening unscathed and successfully.Unicorn, I don't think that Helloworld said anything so insulting to attack him like that.
But please, if you would like to promote Monegal's business by stating that for all 8 of you, "clicking was totally painless" - PLEASE do it somewhere else because you are insulting our intelligence with your transparent motives. It is people like yourselves who mislead others into thinking that this procedure is easy and painfree.
It is damned disrespectful to use this very thread to promote another doctor's practice. It is never a GUICHET vs MONEGAL battle here, and I don't see other insecure doctors like PALEY sending their minions over to promote their dwindling businesses while bashing other doctors.
I'm sorry for you that your recovery has not been as fast as you hoped for, and I'm sure since Monegal has a perfect record of success, not being able to run faster than Usain Bolt after leg lengthening must be contrued as a complication.
In any case, when you pass GO, don't forget to collect $200 from Monegal.
Look, whoever you are, I'm most happy that you've completed your lengthening unscathed and successfully.
But please, if you would like to promote Monegal's business by stating that for all 8 of you, "clicking was totally painless" - PLEASE do it somewhere else because you are insulting our intelligence with your transparent motives. It is people like yourselves who mislead others into thinking that this procedure is easy and painfree.
It is damned disrespectful to use this very thread to promote another doctor's practice. It is never a GUICHET vs MONEGAL battle here, and I don't see other insecure doctors like PALEY sending their minions over to promote their dwindling businesses while bashing other doctors.
I'm sorry for you that your recovery has not been as fast as you hoped for, and I'm sure since Monegal has a perfect record of success, not being able to run faster than Usain Bolt after leg lengthening must be contrued as a complication.
In any case, when you pass GO, don't forget to collect $200 from Monegal.
You click Albizzia and Fitbone. You don't click Precise, it works with electromagnetic fields and uses a machine.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9uab4WoPVk
You click Albizzia and Fitbone. You don't click Precise, it works with electromagnetic fields and uses a machine.Lmfao, this is just as funny as your monegal theories. ::)
I think by now it is plenty obvious that Dr. Monegal is making their patients do marketing for him. However, I don't think you need to fight them in this thread so long as we all ignore them and focus on your case.Everything I say is 100% honest!
I think part of the reason of your complications in Dr. Guichet overconfidence and greed. Because he most likely noticed that the 13 mm nails was too much but he probably had cases in which nothing happened. Reducing the diameter of the nails would mean to reduce their strength which would nullify the only benefit of Guichet Nail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9uab4WoPVk
really?
Everything I say is 100% honest!
ANd I do not think that posting negative stuff about a doctor can be constructed as marketing.
I am taking my time to inform people about the procedure and actually have posted many videos so that people get a real image not only theory.
Lmfao, this is just as funny as your monegal theories. ::)
Everything I say is 100% honest!
ANd I do not think that posting negative stuff about a doctor can be constructed as marketing.
I am taking my time to inform people about the procedure and actually have posted many videos so that people get a real image not only theory.
man LL is totally massed up. Tell any normal person and most of people will think youre bat shi*t crazy. I did LL and had plenty of complications, and still got non union in fibula. But i dont blame anyone apart from myself. I'm dumb as hell and I made peace with that.
Look, whoever you are, I'm most happy that you've completed your lengthening unscathed and successfully.I am sorry if anything I wrote cause you to feel disrespected, Unicorn.
But please, if you would like to promote Monegal's business by stating that for all 8 of you, "clicking was totally painless" - PLEASE do it somewhere else because you are insulting our intelligence with your transparent motives. It is people like yourselves who mislead others into thinking that this procedure is easy and painfree.
It is damned disrespectful to use this very thread to promote another doctor's practice. It is never a GUICHET vs MONEGAL battle here, and I don't see other insecure doctors like PALEY sending their minions over to promote their dwindling businesses while bashing other doctors.
I'm sorry for you that your recovery has not been as fast as you hoped for, and I'm sure since Monegal has a perfect record of success, not being able to run faster than Usain Bolt after leg lengthening must be contrued as a complication.
In any case, when you pass GO, don't forget to collect $200 from Monegal.
Unicorn, I don't think that Helloworld said anything so insulting to attack him like that.Thanks for defending me, Bodybuilder! :-)
I think we're comparing apples and oranges here. When you mentioned painless clicking, I assumed you meant a racheting Guichet type / ISKD nail where you've to manually rotate yourself unnaturally into a pretzel to find each click.Thanks for clarifying!
If you meant motorized/magnetic/automatic nails like Precice or Fitbone, then I do agree, one wouldn't suffer the way we did. And my NHS doc added that they used ISKD twice and clicking was so traumatic for patients, now they usually default to Precice if not external fixators.
That said, if stating that the LL procedure is painless, then yes, you got my heckles up because everyone has had some form of pain during lengthening and the trauma should not be trivialized for potential LLers.
Painless leg lengthening for me is an oxymoronic statement.
However, painless clicking? That can definitely happen even in the case of my right leg where there was no callus formation. In fact, it was eerily too painless.
I am sorry if anything I wrote cause you to feel disrespected, Unicorn.
And of course I do not want to distract people from you important message to potential LL candidates.
But I do think that people have to know that in the vast majority of cases LL has the intended results, and I think this is true for Guichet patients as well.
About the "no pain while clicking": this is really true, and I think any person with Fitbone implants would confirm that! Of course you might wake up at night in pain but clicking itself does not cause any sensation.
Please believe me, that my intention is to help other patients and potential patients. And if you are still in London, let me know if you want to meet up, as I will be here for a couple of days.
Don't be delusional and think that you're exempt from bad luck. This happened to Unicorn and me, but it might have happened to any of you.
Agree. Tell any random stranger and they'll judge you critically. No mercy. No empathy.
LL is definitely a russian roulette and one small complication could easily freeze 2 years of your life.
I'm dumb as well for being fullhardy, naive and not doing research properly.
Hi Unicorn,
I truly do empathize with you. From reading your diary; you definitely don't strike me as been dumb or full hardy. I think its easy to disillusioned ourselves when making such decisions; I think we all have to some degree in order to rationalize our decision to go though the procedure.
I wish you the very best.
Im just curious what your ortho will do with your legs. Are they gonna leave 10 cm do a bone graft and them mach the other leg? Or are they gonna short it and mach the shorter leg which you will stop clicking?
Right now, they want to do a biopsy on my right leg to see what's going on in there. She said while they have me on the operating table, they'll also do a bone graft using my hip bone + cadaver bone chip.
She says she'll try her best to maintain my current length, if possible since she doesn't want to exchange nails yet. Although she has never bridged a gap above 5cm so she says it's very experimental.
However, should I not consolidate after this cursory bone graft, she'll have to go in there again and exchange nails to trauma ones. That'll entail additional reaming of 1mm which could stimulate callus growth and consolidation. While doing this, she'll probably shorten the gap by 1-2cm or more.
She's trying to avoid having to shorten my left leg too which currently stands at about 8.5cm
Hence, we're staring at Aztec's pyramid here in terms of the various steps we have to climb to finally get my right leg gap of 9.8cm to consolidate.
Unicorn888 I'm sorry you have to endure all this pain. I think you could have avoided the disaster using Precise, but how could you have known before surgery? I wish you good luck I sure you will have because you DO go in the right direction
I hope things improve for you Unicorn. Run away nails can be disastrous. Did you end up trying Exogen? Your new doctor seems good. Might be worthwhile asking her about Zometa shot. Good luck with everything.
How did these accidental clicks happen? I thought you have to twist the leg quite a bit for each click.
And the one older guy (closer to 50s) I know who had painless clicking and got to 7cm is the very one who has non-union and is being treated with me at NHS.
I'm in this older class of patients. I was very concerned about non-union, mostly because of my age, but decided to lengthen to the upper end of the spectrum. Luckily, things appear to be going well at this point (emphasis on luckily); I am going to very angry at myself if things suddenly go south.
There is a big difference between considered the consequences of lengthening to much and proceeding with the risk and lengthening that occurs entirely by accident. While Unicorn is deserving of our empathy, I will have deserved apathy and kick in the arse! My demise will totally be on me and me alone.
I'm rooting for you Unicorn!
Or perhaps letting my fat cat sleep on my right leg at night cuts off all blood circulation... but how I can blame this face?
Your cat has a "guilty as charged" look. ;D
The only real solution imo is the third Unicorn.
I don't think you should reach to zero, even at 2-3 cm gap the bone may start to consolidate.
However lengthening 10 cm in your other leg was not a good choice as 10cm lengthenuing is too much and it will ruin your proportions, your gait and your athletic abilities.
If I was you I'd have stopped at 6-7 cm and shorten the other leg until it consolidates and reaches that amount.
Anyway now only shortening the bone gap can help you and precise is the best for you. Don't lose time with bone grafts, precise 2 is ideal for non unions so that's what the doctors should do on your case.
Insist on that.
The only real solution imo is the third Unicorn.
I don't think you should reach to zero, even at 2-3 cm gap the bone may start to consolidate.
However lengthening 10 cm in your other leg was not a good choice as 10cm lengthenuing is too much and it will ruin your proportions, your gait and your athletic abilities.
If I was you I'd have stopped at 6-7 cm and shorten the other leg until it consolidates and reaches that amount.
Anyway now only shortening the bone gap can help you and precise is the best for you. Don't lose time with bone grafts, precise 2 is ideal for non unions so that's what the doctors should do on your case.
Insist on that.
Not true. Locking yourself in your room with your cat won't help, the only guys you are bound to marry is the postman and the pizza guy. But anyways, you need to recover 1st and make sure you don't give up on your dream. You are 42, not 84.
What does this spell for me? It just means that at 42, I have very little possibility to find love, get married and start a family. At least the normal dream that most girls have.
Not true. Locking yourself in your room with your cat won't help, the only guys you are bound to marry is the postman and the pizza guy. But anyways, you need to recover 1st and make sure you don't give up on your dream. You are 42, not 84.
Too late, I'm already in love with my Amazon delivery guy... but I know it's unrequited love.If it was an unrequited love he wouldn't care about you cheating. I think that relationship of yours is worth a shot!
He accuses me of cheating on him with Alibaba.
https://www.facebook.com/ScienceNaturePage/posts/1148097078655882
If anyone can click this link.
It some kind of stem cell bone reg. Maybe it's for u ?
If it was an unrequited love he wouldn't care about you cheating. I think that relationship of yours is worth a shot!
Ok, another verdict.
I've taken an xray this morning + seen my NHS doc too.
My left leg which was fractured, fused, rebroken and relengthened is currently showing very good bone consolidation. It has however runaway as well and lengthened involuntarily by 10mm in the last one month.
My right leg however has ZERO activity. There are no cysts and even with nuclear medicine, it shows ZERO activity. The doc asked me to do a white cell count to rule out certain infections.
She says now I've 3 options to which I might resort, if all else fails :
1) Bone graft with my hip bone + cadaver bone (doubtful it can fuse a 10cm gap)
2) Change to trauma nails (smaller nail + reaming - might stimulate healing/bone growth)
3) Change nail to Precice, shorten to zero, wait for callus growth and slowly restart lengthening at a very slow pace ensuring that the calluses are joining before lengthening further each time
Either way, she'll try to avoid operating on my left leg again. She says I've suffered enough trauma to be subjected to further shortening :'(
So that's that folks! The reality of lengthening gone wrong.
If I was you I would go for option number 2.
A New trauma nail plus shortening and match the left leg. Reaming seems quite successful and also 10 cm is a huge amount of lengthening. I dont wanna make you pessimistic or anything but considering your short limbs especially women's short tibia 10 cm seems freaking huge. Im not sure how this will affect bio-mechanics but I know that Tall from the old forum did 11cm (while being 178cm or something) and had knee problems etc. It might seem like BS but tibia to femur ratio is way out of proportion(im not talking about aesthetics). Also If the left nail is still lengthening I would put that leg in a cast but that's what I would do.
Don't think about all these problems unicorn. You will be functional again thanks to your new doctors and you will find a good man. I would marry you ASAP ... and have children to fight LL moneymakers!If you are 42 and you would liek children I would take action now, as from 42 onwards every additional years makes a big difference in terms of fertility. Consider making appointment with London Women's Clinic and getting your eggs frozen. That is if you want to get it done in London. Otherwise Czech Republic offers best value for freezing eggs.
If you are 42 and you would liek children I would take action now, as from 42 onwards every additional years makes a big difference in terms of fertility. Consider making appointment with London Women's Clinic and getting your eggs frozen. That is if you want to get it done in London. Otherwise Czech Republic offers best value for freezing eggs.
You have my sympathy :(
My doctors had to re-cut my left leg in March, and now there is no new callus, so I can feel your pain.
You're so resourceful, resilient and positive. Don't let the naysayers get to you. You've been courageous and focused enough to undergo this procedure on your own. Just on this basis, you're my hero!
Healing might be slower than we wished, but I'm very confident it will happen or you'll find a solution. This ain't going to be the story of your life, you've many more years to chalk up more memories that will make this one something to laugh at some day. Trust me.
Hi Helloworld,Good decision! You are a smart girl!
Thanks for the suggestion :) Yes, I've had my eggs frozen before I went for LL in the eventuality that something went wrong and my body got polluted by too much chemicals. So yes, the eggs are ready for hatching :) Or the buns are ready for baking in the oven!
Hi Unicorn,I'm checking your progresses when I have time on your instagram profile.
155k£ are a lot of money,no doubt....I don't know what to say,besides the huge ammount of money,in my opinion your doctor had the worst behaviour I have ever seen.I hope he will get the right punishment that he deserves (maybe losing potential patients after you experience)
By the way you are a so strong girl that you will made it.
I like your hacrapags (I remeber "iwillwalkagain" and "heightneurosissuck") and your determination.
I saw a comparison picture of before and after and you have made improvements.
For your right leg,have you tried a bone stimulator machine like is doing now Rgkey ? I guess bone graft is not enough for 10 cm of discrepancy
I have read almost all of diaries(including yours) but I don't remeber all details,so sorry if I'm asking nonsense questions
Edit:i rembered some details,and there is also the option of relenghtening with the Precice system
Hi Dreamer,No problem Unicorn,you are one of the fewest patient that I trust,it's obvious that I will follow your condition.
Thank you so much for checking up on me. Yes, I've asked Rgkey and while I didn't get an exact response, I think we have a similar light ultra sound bone stimulator. His is 10 hrs per day while mine is only maxed at 20 mins per day :))))
Anyway, I'm supposed to post more xrays but can't seem to get any external disk drives to work. So am working out that first. Seems like left leg healed beautifully but nothing at all on right leg :( It's definitely an official non-union of 10cm.
No problem Unicorn,you are one of the fewest patient that I trust,it's obvious that I will follow your condition.
So you stated having 100% a non-union on right leg while left is 100% healed(in the sense that ,if you want,you could put all of your body wheight on it ? Or you assumed by looking x-rays ? Or simply your doc gave ok ?)
Regarding bone stimulator (I don't know if it is Exogen in your and Rgkey case) you could wait and see if Rgkey will experience improvements.In that case you could move on Rgkey's model (10 hrs per day) because you said your machine has a maximum ammount of 20 minutes
It is strange seeing soo much timing difference between two devices that have the same purpose
Actually to begin with, the guichet nail is supposed to be 100% fully weight bearing. However, since Guichet had used 13mm nails which is large for petite females like me, both Guichet and my NHS doc had told me not to bear weight fully on the right leg since the cortices are thin.Now I have fully understood your situation.Well you should Pm Rgkey asking him what kind of device is he using,he is a great guy and always responds soon.
The left leg has calluses that have joined but obviously the 'bones' are still very soft. I'm walking with even pressure on each leg with crutches to try continue stimulate growth but as always, it is about striking that fine balance between walking enough to grow bones and not walking too much that break bones >:(
And yeah, I wish I'd know Rgkey's bone stimulator machine because Exogen only allows so few minutes compared to his 600 minutes per day. When you cannot grow bones, you become desperate to get more of ANYTHING :) Our Whassap group of non-unioners are constantly obsessing over one miracle or another... :'( with no proven results so far except for time
Unicorn, no machine can close a 10cm bone gap.
Don't put your time and effort to something that it is impossible to work.
Try to put precise 2 as soon as you can to your non aligned leg and begin to reverse lengthening till you start to have callus formation. Then you can use bone stimulants and all these machines to have a little faster consolidation. But till then anything else is pointless.
Now I have fully understood your situation.Well you should Pm Rgkey asking him what kind of device is he using,he is a great guy and always responds soon.
However maybe Bodybuilder is right and 10 cm gap is too large.But I remember you saying that your NHS doctor was reluctant to do more operation (for Precice) to your left leg because it have suffered already a lot of trauma.
Are you still under NHS insurance ? What did your doc recommend you to do ? Because I have no medical credentials and my opinion worths zero cents...
That's hilarious Dreamer! Actually, your asking about my case shows interest. And interest, at this point for me is empathy :) So you are still making a difference in someone's life :) A foresaken one :)Unicorn,don't let those stupid things to worse your mood.You must continue to fight so leave out "suicide" and other useless thoughts.I know it is easy speaking for me since i didn't LL and didn't pass the hell you have been through but usually when I feel bad for something,I try to focus upon positive things.It is hard but it worths a try.
A 10cm non-union is too large, that's correct. And NHS was saying that their most successful attempt at grafting with hip bone + cadaver bone mixture is 5cm. They were proposing to do this once they get all my full tests to ensure that I've no infection of any kind where my bone is rendered useless. This can easily happen. And if that's the case, they'll graft with a cadaver bone. It's by all means not without its own set of complications, risks and guarantees. Just another coin toss.
Other options which they can consider is changing to trauma nails and shorten the gap. My wish is to change to Precice 2, shorten it and wait for calluses to grow before re-lengthening to match my other leg which nobody really knows the final length. Somewhere btw 8-9cm I think.
That said, I personally am a layman as well and do not even know if my nails can be removed and Precice 2 can be used, and that shortening will not damage my soft tissues etc.
I'm kinda stuck for the time being. I'm sitting in NYC now on my way to Hawaii for my brother's wedding where I'm not supposed to appear in wedding photos using crutches. So we'll have to see what I can muster without tumbling into a volcano. I'm not a virgin (surprise surprise!) so, it's not like I'm going to appease any Gods with my sacrifice ;D
In a 100% successfully planned and conducted LL surgery, a 10 cm gap isn't even supposed to happen, is it? The fault wasn't your own, but the one of the surgeon and the post-surgery care. I still shake my head over the accidental clicking and lengthening your leg with the internal nail that caused this gap. And internal nails were supposed to be an advancement over the "antiquated" Ilizarov frames, which is also why they're a lot more expensive. I think we can assume that with a traditional external lengthening, most of the problems you have today would not have come to exist. Yes I know, you did femurs, but if we entertain the thought that you had done external tibias or femurs instead, we can come to the conclusion that the complications would not have happened. Of course that's not useful, except for future patients.
It baffles me how much professional failure has become apparent in your case, with a procedure that has cost so much money. Amazing. I keep rooting for you, even though I'm a little scared to open your diary and read more dire news. Stay strong.
Are you doing magnets? Why not teriparatide?
Unicorn,don't let those stupid things to worse your mood.You must continue to fight so leave out "suicide" and other useless thoughts.I know it is easy speaking for me since i didn't LL and didn't pass the hell you have been through but usually when I feel bad for something,I try to focus upon positive things.
It baffles me how much professional failure has become apparent in your case, with a procedure that has cost so much money. Amazing. I keep rooting for you, even though I'm a little scared to open your diary and read more dire news. Stay strong.
I'm doing Exogen which is a light ultra sound. As Bodybuilder pointed out, chances are it wouldn't fuse a 10cm gap esp since there're no calluses.
That said, my poor NHS doc keeps telling me, PLEASE STOP GOING ONLINE TO RESEARCH about bone fusion since you've so much time on your hands and are so desperate :D
It is quite funny because that's all I do every day... thinking about teriparatide, insuline-like growth factor 1, HGH, bone printing tech etc. and the more I search, the deeper I lose myself inside the dark net :)
Before we know it, I'll be drug dealing on Silk Road ;D ;D ;D My second calling in life!
Here are my latest xrays as of yesterday.
RIGHT LEG
Still nothing but I'm hallucinating a little more calluses
(https://s7d1.turboimg.net/t1/36322429_IMG_3216.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/36322429/IMG_3216.jpg.html)
LEFT LEG
Beautiful calluses (fingers crossed), I had reduced my lengthening to abt 3 clicks a day instead of 15 clicks, hence only 0.2mm per day
(https://s7d8.turboimg.net/t1/36322457_IMG_1207.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/36322457/IMG_1207.jpg.html)
I really dont understand what are you doing right now. What is the point of lengthening left leg 0.2 mm per day? The right leg is you reference point. Because there is no callous formation you need to start pressing NHS on taking some action. IMHO stop immediately lengthening left leg. If it is 8 cm or whatever keep it that way. Stop pushing you soft tissue and let it regenerate. The right leg needs to be shorten in order to reignite callous formation. They should shorten right leg which should help a bit then re nailing should also help and maybe additional bone graft. Those 3 should make a difference. If not. Precise 2, shortening (as much as needed) to start callous formation and the re lengthening to match left leg. P2 got only 8 cm so i dont understand why you keep lenghtening. There is no callous formation on the right leg so trying match it with the left leg makes absolutely no sense.
Edit
I need to be harsh with you. You f*ckin need leg shortening in order to take some pressure off you soft tissue. Ive seen the way you walk and if you can recover from that in few year(yes years!) then I think it would be close to miracle. Its not only your bone but muscle tendons etc and right now it looks bad. If you shorten right leg by even 2 cm that will help a lot and will definitely speed up recovery.
I know it sounds negative and discouraging but I really think you can still walk normal. Height is no longer you priority.
She's not lengthening anymore. At least that's what I got from it. She said because she lengthened slower, the recovery was better.
I stopped lengthening left leg some time ago so it doesn't match my right leg of 10cm. There's no point lengthening to match a 10cm that cannot fuse.I think that involving the Precice system seems to be the best and safest option.
I'm now waiting to see what NHS will do for my right leg. I think they want to graft it with hip bone but I prefer to change nails to Precice 2, shorten, wait for union and then re-start lengthening to match the healed left leg.
I think that involving the Precice system seems to be the best and safest option.
You mentioned that you have lengthened your left leg slowly than 1mm per day.Do you remeber the exact ammount ? Like 0.66 mm or something similar ?
Is doing 30 minutes at day of yoga youtube videos good enough to reach ideal flexibility in the long term?
Is it just me or does it look like a little tendril of callus reaching down from the top on your right leg?
Why you took aspirins Unicorn???
Do you know that this may be the real reason for your non union?
Aspirin and antiinflammatory drugs prevents bone healing. It was a huge mistake to use aspirin! Did Guichet told you to ?
My God, Guichet is really a disaster. If you hadn't had his awful nail and were allowed to lengthen slower, I bet your situation now would be completely opposite. I'd say 0.5 is ideal for a women. Do you agree?
I have low blood flow due to sedentary life and my flexibility is abysmal. So, I really need a gigantic amount of exercise to gain the right flexibility. I will focus on yoga for legs flexibility, and I guess this is what I need to reach my goals.
I also think that taking natural supplements to enhance blood flow, during the lengthening phase, could be very helpful, since the pace of the flow is so important for the recovery of the bone.
Dr.G actually prescribed aspirin for us to take twice a day since the 10th day after the surgery.
Hi Dream_Catcher,
How are you doing? I got to the bottom of all these blood thinners and aspirin. It's because Doc G doesn't want the bone to fuse/heal too fast. That makes absolutely sense. He also prescribes Xaralto, in case fusion comes too soon.
So depending on how each of our bodies react to broken bones, it's either slow down healing or speed up healing :) :) :)
Very clear,thanks Unicorn.Interesting also your intuition on the effect of bloody pressure.Probably it is because less pressure=less speed of blood flood and as for consequences slower healing.Just my 2 cents
Yes,it is true that for young people the risk of preconsolidation is more worrying about.
At first sight I would say you have a small formation on your bottom of your right leg,but now that i'm paying more attention maybe Bleda is right.However the gap is still noticeable in my opinion
I would ask you if you know what happens exactly(biologically speaking) when you reduce the gap by shortening the nail
Why this is supposed to enhance callus formation ?
I read this statement in a lot of diaries but never understood the concept behind it
Extremely valuable info, thank you. Even though i'd be considered young i am being very cautious now when Im 5 cm + and 2 months in due to posts here. I will stop at 6 or 6.5 and regarding proportions/athleticism that's where i think the threshold is unless you're born in a yoga barn and had even smaller femurs pre op than me. Why not stop 1-2 cm less - decrease your risk by a lot and if you're not content do tibia 4 cm some years down the road? We live in a virtual world where literally half of google's staff work from "home" and this will just increase almost exponentially, guess i am lucky that pure financially&time (essentially the same thing) i can do this without stress. I haven't felt any pain or stress since 2-3 weeks op, no pain meds..nothing. Now when Im close to 6 cm i definitely start to feel tension though, feels weird..def adding 1 more cm after 5 adds 3 months + complications to your recovery it feels like.
Now i am definitely not as experienced as the rest, but one thing is i am a firm believer in never giving up and continue to find solution / crack the code. Don't give up, i am quite certain if you continue to push your leg and body you eventually reach cloud formation and within time be in a much better state. JUST DONT GIVE UP!! You can only look forward, not backwards. I can help you with anything when i visit London next time. Best Regards
In response to lengthening on the same nail, i use Fitbone. I met Guichet personally but promised myself to trust my gut and never go with him. I definitely do not feel like Im in a medieval torture instrument, but going from 0 stretching feelings or any tension at all to definitely feeling something.
I'm doing Exogen which is a light ultra sound. As Bodybuilder pointed out, chances are it wouldn't fuse a 10cm gap esp since there're no calluses.
That said, my poor NHS doc keeps telling me, PLEASE STOP GOING ONLINE TO RESEARCH about bone fusion since you've so much time on your hands and are so desperate :D
It is quite funny because that's all I do every day... thinking about teriparatide, insuline-like growth factor 1, HGH, bone printing tech etc. and the more I search, the deeper I lose myself inside the dark net :)
Before we know it, I'll be drug dealing on Silk Road ;D ;D ;D My second calling in life!
He prescribes a high dosage of aspirin up to 1,200mg throughout the entire lengthening period, and even after that, during the consolidation/recovery period. He believes that thinner blood helps healing better. So we all have to follow. I already got screamed at in November because I stopped aspirin after I stopped lengthening.Only a moron could prescribe aspirin during LL.
I was always under the impression that aspirin prevents bone healing like NSAIDS and if there's a blood clot situation, heparin/warfarin can be used for a short period.
Again, we don't/didn't know enough to disobey our doctor. It's only during my second left leg lengthening when I was so desperate that I began experimenting a little since nothing had worked for the right leg, so I literally had nothing left to lose.
are you eating lots of calcium reach food?
Only a moron could prescribe aspirin during LL.
Guichet is really dangerous.
LOL. You're Guichet's troll. Monegal is more dangerous. He forgets prescribing heparine.I am not comparing Guichet with Monegal to find who is the most stupid and incapable.
I am not comparing Guichet with Monegal to find who is the most stupid and incapable.
And you are a troll with a psychosis with Monegal, I am an LL veteran with a diary on the old forum.
So stfu before refering to me again and continue your complexes with Monegal in topics that has to do with him.
Here is Unicorn's diary who is Guichet's patient.
Only a moron could prescribe aspirin during LL.
Guichet is really dangerous.
LOL. You're Guichet's troll. Monegal is more dangerous. He forgets prescribing heparine.
Hey Unicorn, even though I've already left Milan so long ago I still keep an eye for your journey. I hope you keep going to your NHS doctor and have the Precise nail so you can lengthen!
BodyBuilder is not a troll, he is only a guy with very strong opinions and a big attitude! Let's see where to begin (from what I researched before my LL journey) ... It is true that NSAIDS are said to cause a higher risk of delayed healing especially during the first weeks of fracture healing (inflammatory phase). Now, aspirin is also a member of this family but it behaves differently. Earlier, there were some epidemiological studies in which people taking aspirin had higher bone density. This, of course, does not imply causation. Now, in animal models (to experiment whether or not aspirin inhibit bone healing in humans is unethical) there have been conflicting results, while some have found a delayed healing, others have found faster and better callus. So again, to my knowledge, evidence tends to discourage most NSAIDS and aspirin's evidence is even more ambiguous (can't say for or against).
However, I honestly do not know why Dr. Guichet prescribes so much aspirin. He recommended 1 g of aspirin (that I remember) and this is a lot. Doses as low as 75 mg are enough for platelet inhibition, painkiller starts at 500 mg. Aspirin only behaves as an anti-inflammatory when it is used in doses higher than 1 gr.
Also, Dr. Guichet doesn't prescribe heparin!! He doesn't use any anticoagulants. I guess that early walking and compressive socks are enough for the majority of patients. He recommends Aspirin after the 2nd week (that I remember). From all the patients I've seen, I've seen 1 case but she had a distal vein trombosis so no risk of pulmonary embolism. I think Unicorn also had a blood clog after travelling back to London I don't remember.
Unicorn,
Lots of proteins, lots of cheese, eggs, meat, protein powder, sardines?
Are you sure that is good for you?
It is opposite of what I ate and what I would recommend others patients who want a speedy recovery to eat, as I am convinced the above promotes:
Cancer
Arthritis
heart attack
Stroke
multiple sclerosis
Autoimmune diseases
Diabetes
Obesity
kidney stones
Depression
osteoporosis and
non-union!
For that reason I strongly limit my meat intake, and eat every day around 2.5 liters of shakes with raw fruits and vegetables, lots of salad and combined with starchy food, but almost no animal based food and it seems that my recovery went well and I am feeling very healthy.
The way that animal protein leads to all of the above diseases is manifold and complex, but mainly:
Creating inflammation
Creating acidity once amino acids are broken down
Toxins and pesticides contained in meat
Several amino acids, especially methionine, being essential food for cancer cells
Carnitine and choline, broken down by gut bacteria to TMA, which is converted by liver to TMAO
Animal based food creating bad gut flora
Here is just one video that you might want to watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhWLZ6T8bx8
Unicorn,
Lots of proteins, lots of cheese, eggs, meat, protein powder, sardines?
Are you sure that is good for you?
It is opposite of what I ate and what I would recommend others patients who want a speedy recovery to eat, as I am convinced the above promotes:
Cancer
Arthritis
heart attack
Stroke
multiple sclerosis
Autoimmune diseases
Diabetes
Obesity
kidney stones
Depression
osteoporosis and
non-union!
For that reason I strongly limit my meat intake, and eat every day around 2.5 liters of shakes with raw fruits and vegetables, lots of salad and combined with starchy food, but almost no animal based food and it seems that my recovery went well and I am feeling very healthy.
The way that animal protein leads to all of the above diseases is manifold and complex, but mainly:
Creating inflammation
Creating acidity once amino acids are broken down
Toxins and pesticides contained in meat
Several amino acids, especially methionine, being essential food for cancer cells
Carnitine and choline, broken down by gut bacteria to TMA, which is converted by liver to TMAO
Animal based food creating bad gut flora
Here is just one video that you might want to watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhWLZ6T8bx8
你好，我27岁，164CM。我想做断骨增高。想咨询以下一些问题，麻烦你帮帮我。另外，我164CM想长到175CM就可以了。虽然不能保证，但是我有点担心你们的钉锤打下去，会不会把骨头打成裂纹，然后骨头就竖着的方向裂开，我很害怕。听说还有骨头连不起来的问题，很担心。我27岁了，你觉得还有可能长高的空间吗?
1、手术是在哪个国家或者城市做靠谱？
2、手术费用是多少呢？包括后期调理的补品一共需要多少钱？
3、真的有残疾或者死亡的风险吗？我担心的是骨头连不上的问题等，想咨询一下您，希望你能帮帮我。谢谢你！
Hello, I'm 27 years old, 164CM. I want to do it. Would like to ask some of the following questions, please help me. Besides, I think 164CM wants to grow to 175CM. Although there is no guarantee, but I'm a little worried about your hammer down, will put the bones into the crack, then the bones on the vertical direction of crack, I am afraid. I'm worried about the problems of bones. I'm 27 years old. Do you think there's still room to grow taller?
1, which country or city does the operation do?
2. What is the cost of the operation? How much do you need for the tonic after conditioning?
3, is there a risk of disability or death? I'm worried about the bone can not connect, and so on, I would like to ask you, I hope you can help me. Thank you very much!
Hi Helloworld,Glad you are following a mainly plant based diet and are selective about what you eat!
You're actually preaching to the converted, no worries :) After reading the THE CHINA STUDY, I became very aware about alkaline foods, cancer, inflammation and became obsessed with anti-oxidants (tumeric, goji berries, blueberries, salmon, clove oil...etc), avoiding free radicals.
But I also know I really need a lot of calories and calcium/protein for bone growth, so I'm making an exception at the expense of later suffering from liver failure, kidney stones due to the high dosage of meds/calcium, and even cancer on day.
That said, that's why I balanced out my high protein diet with a lot of dark leafy greens, lemon water, dandelion root tea, liver heat pads, even got my bone marrow/meats sourced from free-range grass-fed non-hormone farms - I'm crazy I know but I fear all our foodstuff today, wrapped perfectly in plastic and beautifully ripened under fake sun glasshouses cause us more harm than good. So I do try to alkanize as much as possible :)
But thank you for this because I'm a big fan of an alkaline based living, like yourself :)
Glad you are following a mainly plant based diet and are selective about what you eat!
About protein, if you think you need still more, I would take soy rather than casein, or albumin and stay away from BCAA.
For bone healing I only took lysine and arginine.
Hahahah! Looks like we're on the same wave length. I'm scared of casein. And yes, I've been taking lysine and arginine as well.Great that we are on the same wave length. Also, it sucks that you already seem to have a pretty ideal diet, because it eliminates diet change as a way to get faster recovery.
I didn't stick to plant based before and during lengthening, it was basically protein shakes, cheeses, eggs, meats, dark leafy greens, bone marrow etc.
Now that I've half a leg healed, I'm going back to soy protein yes! If our theories about alkaline based living is valid, I'm sure I've shortened my lifespan by a couple of years or decades with the prolonged exposure to high levels of meds, protein, radiation etc etc etc.
That's why the best I can do now is to detox my liver, sleep a lot and exercise a lot. And no stress, since I'm jobless :))) So no, cortisone production :) No sugars, no alcohol and narcotics.
Unicorn, how are you these days?
I think avoidance is the next most painful thing I'm learning to deal with right now. Everyone averting their eyes or avoiding to hear more bad news from me.
I had a friend visit yesterday and she asked how I was feeling. I started to tell her and after about 5 mins, she asked if we could stop dwelling on bad stuff and watch a movie instead. So there we were, both tuned out watching a movie so that we can protect her feelings. That's the elephant in the room I'm talking about.
More drama...Damn this is messed up. Uber drivers should be required to take mental health check ups or something.
I took an Uber for The Dorchester hotel for lunch. The driver took me on a ‘joyride’ (circuitous route) veering towards Piccadilly and around Mayfair. We were getting further away from my destination and I began to question his motives. He probably thought I was a tourist in London and sought to pad his fare.
As we passed the restaurant's Park Lane entrance, he refused to stop curbside. He became agitated as I pleaded with him to take me closer to The Dorchester’s main entrance, around the curve. I cannot crutch very far and every meter counts.
He got hostile, halted abruptly in the middle of the road and shouted, “GET OUT YOU fkING BITCH, GET OUT! GET OUT!”. I started to panic as I was in the middle of the road, and didn’t want to remain in his car should he decide to drive off. I swung the car door open and screamed for help from Dorchester's porters.
He began to video me with his smartphone calling me crazy, mad, fking lady etc etc. I blanked out as I was focused on maneouvering myself out of his car without falling over.
He then got out of his car and rounded to my side when one of the hotel porters stopped him and tried to calm him down. Some shouting ensued. Cars behind us started to honk with impatience and tried to swerve around us. I crutched as fast as I possibly could away from oncoming traffic.
I made it safely to the entrance of the hotel, and managed to capture 2 photos. I was panicking and did not manage to video anything. By the time I got into the hotel, I began to shake and started sobbing uncontrollably. Dorchester’s Security Manager gave me the driver’s license plate and said he would call the police asap.
Not wanting to ruin my friends' London visit, I recomposed myself and joined them for lunch. The police arrived and took a statement. Towards the end of lunch, I felt moisture on the left side of my pants. I thought, in my state of shock, my trembling hands had spilled my drink. It was blood. I must have scraped myself against the door latch while balancing and scrambling out of the car in a mad frenzy.
This is a minor incident, but a crippled person should not be treated with so much insensitivity and discrimination. Forcing a disabled person to leave a car in the middle of the road is reckless endangerment. I cannot imagine what would have happened if he had sped off before I could alight properly or if a car from behind swerved around us in haste and runs me over.
It's ironic that I signed Uber's petition to overturn London's decision to suspend their license. I rely solely on Uber to ferry me safely to Kings College Hospital every day.
I cannot believe I've just become a target of unchecked verbal abuse, hostility and discrimination. There should be some shred of human decency left, somewhere.
(https://s7d5.turboimg.net/t1/36645013_IMG_7913_3.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/36645013/IMG_7913_3.jpg.html)
(https://s7d7.turboimg.net/t1/36645014_IMG_6099.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/36645014/IMG_6099.jpg.html)
You took Uber “taxi”, alright then. ::)
Tip for the future: Don’t take any ride in some Uber car.
Hi pretty lady! How are things going?
Hi Antonio,
Nothing's happening :) I'm taking painkillers to continue working out my walking muscles. While risky, I can amble from one leg to the other without crutches. I looked up the word 'amble' to see if I can better describe my walking gait. I guess what Penguinn described was perfect, penguin walk :) or as the dictionary says, as someone looks for seashells they amble from one leg to another.
What hurts for now is joint pain (KNEES esp the left one) when I'm seated for too long. Getting up hurts like crap, and my legs cannot hold me up, so I need crutches to prop myself up. While I should rely on my quads to stand up like a normal person, I'm programmed by Guichet to never rely on my quads/femur and to use my triceps instead. I'd rather err on the side of caution since I've no bones on the right leg.
I think this is the moment where guy muscles speed up healing. My glutes and abs are still weak. I went to an osteopath this week and he felt my ab muscles being pulled down by my short quads as well. This is HOW amazing our bodies work, EVERYTHING is related :)
I do not want to overdo the crutchless walking either since there's nothing supporting my right leg gap except for the nail and we have no surefire way of knowing how long it can last. I know I'm not consolidating the least bit because 3 more accidental clicks happened in the last 2-3 weeks when I sit down. So if it can rotate, nothing is healing.
I got suicidal again twice before I left for the holidays and after I arrived, due to insensitivity on the part of family and close friends. People TRY to correct my posture or give me advise that I should not hunch as a habit or be lazy, when they know very little about what I actually suffer. Short soft tissues as a result of longer bones, is definitely not a symptom normal people digest easily.
Hence, for you pre-LLers, once you undergo surgery, please please please keep stretching those psoas, IT bands, hamstrings and quads so that you're lengthening soft tissues along with your bones. Otherwise, my experience tells me that it takes even longer to lengthen muscles/soft tissues than bones :) Again, not something that is spelled out clearly PRE-LL surgery. We simply thought, off crutches, back to normal walking. Forget about bone consolidation, rebuilding muscles AND soft tissues needing to catch up :)
https://www.instagram.com/unicorn_gets_taller/
Hi Unicorn, I'm extremely saddened by your continued plight and the sheer callousness (pardon the pun) of your insensitive family members. Unfortunately we can't choose our family but I understand your situation coming from a high achieving one myself. I hope you can forgive them for their ignorance.
Is there no way the doctors that you are seeing can help with the bone consolidation? How about seeing a specialist, or asking for experimental treatment? What about that bone graft you referred to? In this day and age, there must be some way to fix your bones for good.
Hoping the holidays are good to you, and if there is anything that I can do, don't hesitate...
It seems they aren't "uber" in everything.
To be honest, I lost track of all the misfortune you have sufered but I do hope you get your right leg consolidated asap. I can see you recovering much faster afterwards.
Hi, Unicorn. Have you been getting therapy? I'm really sorry to hear about the recent suicidal thoughts. Don't forget about addressing any psychological problems you're having too.
Stay strong.
Hey Unicorn,
I just spent the last couple of days reading all of your posts. So sorry you are going through this! Do you think your right leg would have not have had non-union if the gap was not so big? I am new to LL forum so I do not know much. But I do know things will get better eventually. It may take a while but time heals all wounds. Also your legs are much straighter in your recent Instagram posts so good job!!
You are in my prayers <3
I'll post some walking gait without crutches today but it's definitely getting better superficially :) Walking without bones :)Yes, your proportions definetely look much better for a girl now. I hope it works as a motivation for your recovery. I had a look at your insta, you're smart and beautiful just like Helloworld said, so don't waste that gift. We are not misfits at all ;)
I'm still blown away by how good looking you are, hahaha! We are not misfits but people who dare to strive for height.
https://www.instagram.com/unicorn_gets_taller/
Yes, I really do think though that most people have my best interest at heart (hopefully) when they give advise or judge me. And it's definitely my fault because what I did to myself cannot be easily explained and understood :) Example : My mum tells me to just tell anyone who asks about my crutches that I just sprained my ankle skiing... Again, glossing over my struggles to maintain dignity... and NOBODY notices that I'm taller now because I'm hunched over/duckass, so there is some good news here :)
The other Guichet non-union guy received a full bone graft from NHS a month ago with just cadaver bone chips. I think his body accepted it and the last xrays show healing. So I think I'm next on the NHS list :) 10cm is a huge jump, so I have no choice but to chance it. And will try something else if this doesn't work.
I wrote to every 'experimental' expert I researched but nobody replied. All these people who can print 3D bone or even collagen scaffolds to ease bone cells to bridge from one end to the other. If anyone knows anyone directly, please do PM me. At this stage, I don't mind being a guinea pig (a tall one at that :) ) I did notice that most experiments are done on pigs, rabbits and mice :)
https://www.instagram.com/unicorn_gets_taller/
Hey Unicorn,read the Tibike200's post about the new israeli "lipograft" technique which solved a 10 cm case of non union.
You could find it interesting
5 cmRight,but it he said later also "I can add 10 cms for your stature"
Right,but it he said later also "I can add 10 cms for your stature"
He said it in a hypothetical manner. It's a difference between how things are read in hebrew and in english (and any other non semitic language).
Hey Unicorn, hope you have a happy Christmas and nice holidays, all the best and a healthy new year.
I hope things are getting better even if it's just a little, stay strong Unicorn
Did the doctors give u any kind of medications to speed up the process of bone growth? hgh? calcium supplements?
Yes, your proportions definetely look much better for a girl now. I hope it works as a motivation for your recovery. I had a look at your insta, you're smart and beautiful just like Helloworld said, so don't waste that gift. We are not misfits at all ;)
Wooooow you're a Harvard grad ??
That is my biggest dream.
Which department did you graduate from?
Btw you are really pretty and tall for a woman.
How did you manage to stay this good? I've looked like crap in 3 months after surgery.
Everything is okay, these days will surely pass and you will continue your life as a tall beautiful Harvard graduate which is the dream of every woman.
Looking at the picture there are only three possibilities:
This is me right now :)
(https://s7d7.turboimg.net/t1/37087850_IMG_6120.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/37087850/IMG_6120.jpg.html)
Looking at the picture there are only three possibilities:
1. you send us accidentally a picture of your daughter
2. you misrepresented your age because as a minor you would not be allowed to do LL
3. you discovered a revolutinary procedure to get younger or at least look younger.
If 3, then please share with us!
Hello Unicorn! I hope you're having an amazing start of this new year.
I have spent a few hours reading your diary and also created this account just to send you this message!
Your diary is really eye opening for me and others.
I also have gone through your IG account and happy to see you recover.
I also have a question. The duck walk you're talking about, is it perm or just temporary? Is it going to be fixed?
Best of luck!
Hi Pattycake,
Thanks for reading. It's eye opening because the truth of the process is never clear. I'm just illustrating the moments when I try to walk without crutches. I spend 90% of my day in crutches.
The lordosis/duckass happens because my quad and psoas muscles in front are too short for my longer femurs. As a result, it pulls my entire pelvis downwards, creating a duck ass in the back and an inward turning left leg. With time, the body soft tissues should slowly be able to stretch out to match my femurs and my pelvis will hopefully straighten again.
The duck walk happens too because I don't have sufficient glute muscles to walk properly, hence, I lean from side to side harnessing momentum from each side of my body to propel myself forward.
I had my first surgery in July 2016, and to this day, I'm still unable to stand up without hand reinforcements, my left knee cannot straighten completely flat on the floor and cannot contract fully. But the biggest impediment is, my right leg has a 10cm non-union gap, which can fracture/shorten if my nail bends or breaks. I'm not looking forward to a large bone graft which might never work and create more complications like infections etc.
So, I'm just trying to stay positive and show improvements on IG, but the reality is still plagued with aches and pains around the knees, where the pins are nailed and even around the empty gap. I'm still on A LOT of medication and supplements everyday. I really really long to walk like a normal person again (I even envy toddlers who walk so sure footed than I). Without crutches, I have to stop every 20 metres to catch my breadth.
But before this, I couldn't even sit in a car with my knees folded 90 degrees without pain, or I could not even stand on my crutches for more than 5 minutes and I couldn't crutch far without bending over and panting hard.
I do see improvements and I can only beg my body to help me speed up the healing :) Now I swim a lot everyday to improve my back and straighten and strengthen my legs.
Thank you for following me, I'm here to answer any questions you have! Take care and happy 2018 to you!
(https://s7d8.turboimg.net/t1/37156302_IMG_7087.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/37156302/IMG_7087.jpg.html)
You are very brave Unicorn. Thank you for explaining.
Oh, what one does for their dream. You have gone through a lot and time will slowly fully heal you.
Btw wow! Your long legs look stunning. You said you are around 40 years old? Sorry but I don't buy that ;D
I spent the whole of last night and read your diary carefully. Over a year and half... Has it healed.for the most part? I saw your Instagram pics, it looks to me that you are on speedy way towards recovery.
Has the right leg been consolidated? When will you be able o forget about this and move on with the next chapter of your life?
My right leg ran away to almost 10cm and there is complete NON-UNION.
https://www.instagram.com/unicorn_gets_taller/
(https://s7d8.turboimg.net/t1/37196029_IMG_7077.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/37196029/IMG_7077.jpg.html)
would removing the gap by going back to your original length help/be possible?I'm not an expert, but she says she has spoken to many doctors. It might not be as "easy" as that.
Hi Unicorn, you said you had a 10cm non-union of your right leg, how much you lengthened on your left leg? Is it because too much lengthening over recommended amount caused non-union?
would removing the gap by going back to your original length help/be possible?
I hope your next surgery goes well. You are in my prayers. Hang in there. You will get through it.
I'm not an expert, but she says she has spoken to many doctors. It might not be as "easy" as that.
However, that is what I would try to do if I was in her situation, despite having to undergo another lengthy process. That might imply using external frames (painful) or using a device such as the precice/fitbone nail. The later might also imply shortening her other leg, as those nails extend only up to 8cm, and I don't remember any (maybe incorrectly) internal nail except the guichet/albizzia nail that can extend up to 10cm.
In any case, I'd like to wish Unicorn the best and I hope that she can recover rather sooner than later.
Thank you Cobalt. This is going to be my 4th surgery and 18 months from my 1st surgery. So, bear in mind people that this procedure can haunt you for a very long time causing you to lose everything in your life. The chain of events are like a domino effect. One bad thing leads to another and before you know it, you don't know how to get out from the abyss.
Our non-union group is exhausted with our individual situations and our non healing. We've collectively tried so many things and we remain disappointed, helpless and desperate.
This is so heart-breaking...I can't believe there is a NON-UNION GROUP out there??? How many people are in this unfortunate group? I think this definitely shows how risky this surgery is...People!!!
Not 100% sure about that group but there are many patients from ALL doctors suffering from non union. It's a very common complication, especially among women and Asian people.
nonunion is mostly seen in complex or open fractures where immobilzation and fixation of the fracture does not happen in a timely manner. For example, car accidents.Unicorn is not the only one . There are cases of non union in many European doctors in that group
a precise surgical cut with good technique of the femur bone along with immediate fixation should not generally cause a nonunion. Dr. Guichet has very questionable ways of performing osteotomies. I do not like his surgical approach to internal fixation either.
Furthermore unicorn lengthened 10 cm...
bad surgeon technique + bad advice to pt + lengthening too much too fast
led to this particular nonunion case.
The 10 cm lengthening only happened because Guichet's nail is irreversible and constantly clicked on accident. How can this happen with one of the most respected surgeons in the entire field of bone distraction, in a first world country? Like, seriously?
Unicorn is not the only one . There are cases of non union in many European doctors in that group
I would not trust any doctor outside of US, (besides maybe Dr. Parihar) to perform internal lengthening.
look at the long term complication rate in diaries of Dr. Paley, Rozbruch, Mahboubian, (+ maybe Parihar) when it comes to using the precise nail. It is 0%
Internal lengthening is much more invasive than external lengthening, therefore the physician must have good surgical technique and experience to deal with complications. They must also give good advice to patients so they do not harm themselves.
I do not trust any other doctors when it comes to internal lengthening. Especially Dr. Guichet, Dr. Monegal, any Indian surgeon besides Parihar. They are butchers. It's just a matter of luck whether you can walk normally again when it comes to these surgeons
Guichet is easily compared to the butchers of India. And he is a way worse case as his prices compare to top doctors like Rozbruch.
Only a moron would go to Guichet. He is mayve the worst case of LL doctor out there.
I don't think Guichet is that bad as a surgeon, but, as per Unicorn's account, he seems a bad person for sure.What happened with Unicorm seems to happen with another one patient of Guichet and I am sure it has happened again and again.
I would never blame Unicorn for all the complications she's enduring, as one guy here did. I wouldn't blame her doctor either, as other people do. However, if I had to blame factors other than bad luck, I would definitely blame the big EGO of this surgeon, as well as the faulty nail he uses. This could also apply to other bad European cases, including Betz and Monegal's bad cases.
And more generally why anyone would do the surgery period. We *clearly* don't have the technology to do LL successfully yet.
Hello most cutest LL patient , i hope you are doing OK I'm praying you get back to normal life soon
Unicorn i want to ask you few questions if you don't mind I'm planning to do LL , is it 4 cm femur lengthening is a safe amount ? Do you think i will get back to my previous athletic ability after 1 year after finishing lenghtning ?
Wow, I don't know what to even say. I have read diaries of so many people over the past few weeks as I am starting to consider LL. I had marked this post for later reading and had read the first two pages yesterday. The mood was so cheerful and I thought she will be another successful case with a happy ending. So, I skipped to the end and started reading posts from Pg 28 to 24 backwards - which has scared/saddened me that I can't even bear to read before Pg 24.
At this point I can only pray for you and hope you stay strong. I am pretty sure if you were a guy, you would have massive balls of steel or something.(Bad joke I know)
My only question is why didn't you go for Paley because I guess you were sound financially when you went for the surgery? Why risk it with Guichet? I know you cannot avoid complication with any form of surgery but I guess it would have been a much better/safer experience. I don't know why I am asking this question because what is done, is done. The only way to go is move forward.
Wow, I don't know what to even say. I have read diaries of so many people over the past few weeks as I am starting to consider LL. I had marked this post for later reading and had read the first two pages yesterday. The mood was so cheerful and I thought she will be another successful case with a happy ending. So, I skipped to the end and started reading posts from Pg 28 to 24 backwards - which has scared/saddened me that I can't even bear to read before Pg 24.
At this point I can only pray for you and hope you stay strong. I am pretty sure if you were a guy, you would have massive balls of steel or something.(Bad joke I know)
My only question is why didn't you go for Paley because I guess you were sound financially when you went for the surgery? Why risk it with Guichet? I know you cannot avoid complication with any form of surgery but I guess it would have been a much better/safer experience. I don't know why I am asking this question because what is done, is done. The only way to go is move forward.
Wow, I don't know what to even say. I have read diaries of so many people over the past few weeks as I am starting to consider LL. I had marked this post for later reading and had read the first two pages yesterday. The mood was so cheerful and I thought she will be another successful case with a happy ending. So, I skipped to the end and started reading posts from Pg 28 to 24 backwards - which has scared/saddened me that I can't even bear to read before Pg 24.
At this point I can only pray for you and hope you stay strong. I am pretty sure if you were a guy, you would have massive balls of steel or something.(Bad joke I know)
My only question is why didn't you go for Paley because I guess you were sound financially when you went for the surgery? Why risk it with Guichet? I know you cannot avoid complication with any form of surgery but I guess it would have been a much better/safer experience. I don't know why I am asking this question because what is done, is done. The only way to go is move forward.
Hi Aditya,
In restrospect, I definitely would have gone to PALEY 100%. I went to Guichet because I read the diaries and they were all SO SUCCESSFUL, EASY and FAST (Leechlet, ShyShy etc), and it was in London where I could be at home (which was important for me).
I had spent more than £155k on recovery and the costs continue to pile up as I continue being unemployed.
I would have done things completely differently, I would have used Precice for sure to avoid the trauma of clicking (as we speak, someone else is suffering from the inability to find clicks and crying everyday contorting themselves in weird positions trying to click 3x daily).
There has been an ex patient who contacted me (no names of course), who's had the financial privilege to offer us a rare glimpse of doing LL with a European doctor (manual nail) and Paley (Precice). She first went to the European doctor (no names also) and used an old fashioned manual clicking non-reversible weight-bearing nail and the same things happened to her (fracture during LL, non-union, runaway lengthening and even a shortening surgery to match her leg lengths). Years later, after recovering from the European doctor's botched up job where she didn't attain the height she wanted, she went to Paley.
And she said her experience was as different as night and day!!! Even though Precice is non weight-bearing, the remote control lengthening was a million times easier than manual clicking torture/trauma. It was safer because she could control her lengthening to match her callus growth/bridge.
In the US, there are better pain management compared to what we had which was mostly paracetamol, tramadol and codeine. It wasn't sufficient in the first few weeks post surgery as we all suffered plus the aggravation of manually clicking. And the super workouts that was required of us in restrospect are not only necessary for LL/bone consolidation and added further risk/pain to our journey :(
So I think that's the long and short of what could have happened had I gone to Paley instead of Guichet. But here, I know someone who actually did both and there's actual testimony that one method might have been easier/safer than another.
Do I regret? I can't because the last 2 years have messed me up so much mentally, emotionally, financially = I cannot fathom a sunnier alternative life lest I get even more depressed.
Unicorn is there any doctor in Europe that you think is safe to do internal femurs with?
What is the next step you plan on taking? Waiting it out or removing the nail and putting another in? Any other options?
Good luck :(
If you have the money, go to Paley. Europe is a big show right now. Many doctors here are well considered because true stories of their patients aren't public. Their nails are also bull . Please respect all people who get stuck like Unicorn and lose so many years of their lives, together with money, health and love from their dearest ones.
This is the saddest diary I've ever read. Girls tend to have difficult LL experiences. I can't but pity you and Musicmaker. You've had to endure so many misadventures that I can't help crying when I read about your life. Moral outrage! sxxual abuse by masseurs is a crime, and the lack of support from your SO is quite disappointing. Lack of empathy by strangers towards a patient who is obviously struggling to recover, as displayed by the Uber driver, can't be tolerated and deserve the harshest punishment. I also condemn the doctors because they swept you under the rug while trying to get new customers for their flourishing businesses, showering them in lies. Some people here are right to bash them.
Hi Jexus,
Sorry for the late reply. I did Economics from Harvard College (Faculty of Arts and Sciences) and did a minor in art conservation (geeky chemistry stuff involving spectroscopy).
What do you mean by you looking like crap after 3 months post-surgery? Are you talking posture, duck ass etc? Or face? ;D
I'm currently in Asia, and have been sleeping almost 14-17 hours a day, doing a lot of physio and walking in the pool and just reading on my Kindle, by the sea. It's helped a lot with my psychological stress level and hopefully, my body will relax more.
Still hoping, praying and begging for the bones on my right leg to fuse on its own. Apparently, sometimes that can happen, spontaneous healing... well trying to just keep positive vibes going... :)
This is me right now :)
(https://s7d7.turboimg.net/t1/37087850_IMG_6120.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/37087850/IMG_6120.jpg.html)
https://www.instagram.com/unicorn_gets_taller/
Hi Whatever,
Thanks for your empathy, I promise you, I'm to be blamed because I was vain, didn't do proper research, believed everything at face value even if it didn't make sense, so at the end of the day, I put myself in this situation. I made my bed and now I've to sleep in it.
Everything else is just a side effect of our society, our fear for uncomfortable situations and our inherent pre-existing issues. So, it's a harsh true color revelation for me. At least I'm seeing it all in my 40s and not feel disillusioned at a later stage in life.
I'm praying and praying and praying that a miracle happens and calluses magically appear (at least even a little improvement would spark some hope). I'm trying my very best to right my life, I didn't get here to be defeated and give up. As they say, get there or die trying. I've nothing else to lose.
https://www.instagram.com/unicorn_gets_taller/
Thanks for updating us. Myself along with many others have been keeping up with your diary for it's entirety. Hopefully things improve for you.
If a surgeon didn't allow forum posts, then that's an instant deal-breaker for me. If I get this done, I'll discuss it in the initial consultation. Butchers can already get away with their crimes relatively unscathed as it is outside the US and the least we should have is this forum to discuss possible solutions.
Thanks for updating us. Myself along with many others have been keeping up with your diary for it's entirety. Hopefully things improve for you.
If a surgeon didn't allow forum posts, then that's an instant deal-breaker for me. If I get this done, I'll discuss it in the initial consultation. Butchers can already get away with their crimes relatively unscathed as it is outside the US and the least we should have is this forum to discuss possible solutions.
Unicorn, thank you so much for having the courage to share your negative experience. I don't believe in prayers, but I know that science has been making steady progress, and I know something will become available in the next years to help you - if it's not here already and we just don't know about it (https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/681-the-future-is-already-here-it-s-just-not-evenly). Perhaps osteoblast delivery via targeted nanoparticles (https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/02/08/1335754/0/en/Ligandal-CEO-Unveils-Nanotech-Delivery-for-Genetic-Therapies-What-Good-Would-Amazon-Be-Without-the-Shipping.html)? You seem super smart - maybe you'll want to dig into the science a bit after you feel better psychologically, and take the matter into your own hands (http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=5258.msg82523#msg82523).
Your story has inspired me to aim for the safe length - 4-5cm in both segments, and go quadrilateral despite the extra cost and pain. It's also inspired me to go to Paley vs. Guichet, even though it seemed Guichet patients recovered faster (http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=5259). You've also inspired me to post my journey on Instagram and Twitter.
Thank you again, and best wishes.
Unicorn, I have no words. I am so sorry you're still having to suffer through such a nightmarish experience. I also know that "certain doctors" have switched/operate in multiple countries, and it always seemed odd to me. I remember thinking it made everything so unorganized and scatterbrain-ish, but didn't really think it was for "sinister' reasons, as you put it.
You will eventually come out on the other side of this. And you are helping so many people through keeping this diary. Looking back on things, I somewhat regret not going with Rozbruch (or Paley). While I had delayed healing in one leg, it eventually healed, and per Dr. Rozbruch, both nails are ready to come out (doing that in a few months - a bit nervous). So it took a while, but I escaped relatively unscathed. But I remember Rozbruch telling me that clicking rods, while they are better at working against soft tissue limitations (and actually getting you the height you want), they are terrible for bone recovery. My left leg probably would've healed much sooner. But, water under the bridge at this point...
I know that everyone loves to hate on Dr. Guichet these days, and I somewhat get it. But I also met a lot of patients (including female) who were very successful with him. I met a young lady who was on her second surgery with Dr. Guichet (re-breaking her femurs to get more height).
My takeaways from all this (including from having done LL myself are):
- If you can afford to stay in the US, spend the money and do so. I had the money, but went across seas because I wanted weight-bearing/no wheelchair
- The older you are, the harder time you'll have (I was in my late 20s/young 30s, so any older, and I don't know how things would've turned out)
- Women seem to have a harder time (but they also need it less, although I did meet some women who had dwarfism who were doing this, which I totally understand)
- With LL, no matter what doctor you go with, there are always risks. DO. YOUR. HOMEWORK.
Hi everyone,Hi
Short update :) It's almost 2 years now since I had my initial LL surgery. My left leg which was fractured during 1st surgery has now finished lengthening and fused beautifully.
My right leg on the other hand, has a bit of calluses on one side and nothing at all on the other.
I've learnt that one of my classmates who had surgery at the same time as me, had the g-nail break. It is so sad because it means broken femur again. Now, the option is to safely remove pieces of the gnail, implant a trauma nail while trying to maintain height since there's also non-union. And maybe some bone graft in the bald areas.
Hi
So do you have scheduled nail replacement for your leg?
I don't have anything planned. My NHS doc wants to bone graft me asap but I'm so traumatized by more surgeries, am not sure I'll be able to cope. The pain, the non-healing, the helplessness, the lack of purpose, the fact that I've next to nothing makes my life a bit pointless.you gotta man up and do it for you own sake.
I really really try to be happy each day when I wake up, to tell myself this too shall pass, to have hope... but today is not one of those days. I'm just beat by this neverending nightmare. And I don't see any light nor any end of the tunnel in which I hide my deformity. And I'm free falling into an abyss.
I dont believe any bone graft could fix an 8cm gap.
The best for you is geting a precise 2 nail (even better stryde which is fully weight bearing when it comes out), shortn up to 3 cm, do a trauma in your bone edges to provoke a new bone bridge and then start slowly lengthen again.
I think that this solution has the best chances to succeed and solve your problem completely. I wonder why doctors dont try it and recommend bone grafts and all this bs in a huge 8cm gap which are almost sure to fail.
I dont believe any bone graft could fix an 8cm gap.
The best for you is geting a precise 2 nail (even better stryde which is fully weight bearing when it comes out), shortn up to 3 cm, do a trauma in your bone edges to provoke a new bone bridge and then start slowly lengthen again.
I think that this solution has the best chances to succeed and solve your problem completely. I wonder why doctors dont try it and recommend bone grafts and all this bs in a huge 8cm gap which are almost sure to fail.
Hi Body Bulider,Yes Unicorn, Stryde (precise 3) will be out in a few months worldwide and has all the features of precise 2 olus it is fully weightbearing.
I understand Precice 3 came out? Magnetic lengthening + fully weight bearing? Do you know? That would change the lives and quality of leg lengthenings a lot.
As for the other things you said, I knew them very well but its good to write them for some naive future LLers who still think that Guichet, the worst internal LL doctor out there, is a good option.
Really, quit this nonsense of women do not needing LL. Women over 5'4 do not need LL, but being 5'1 is still way too small, even for a woman. The fact that short men face more discriminations, doesn't mean short women have it easy. Surely, short women do not have dating problems, but the tendency of treating short paople, regardless of sxx, as children, it is very strong and source of great pain. Most males here, are doing LL, simply to improve the chance of getting a relation. Some good tip: if you want women to like you, do not try to mansplain them what they need.
Yellowspike, Guichet is the worst internal LL doctor out there because he has almost the price of Paley with a cheap an obsolete nail and mainly bad ethics and manners which put his patient on risk and lead to poor results.
No other doctor in the world put his patients in exhausting work out before LL which not only offers any benefit but makes LL even harder. And of course, the pt he follows is very risky and torture his patients.
For all these reasons Yellowspike and regardless of what you say about me, Guichet is the worst case of doctor someone could find.
Having some good results after so many patients means nothing to me. Even Mirzoyan and Sarin had some good results and with 1/4 of the money this madman wants.
In a few words, Guichet is veey expensive with a ty nail and the methods he uses are against a safe and good result.
So imo Guichet, for internals, is for sure the worst case out there.
Women over 5'4 do not need LL, but being 5'1 is still way too small, even for a woman.
The fact that short men face more discriminations, doesn't mean short women have it easy. Surely, short women do not have dating problems, but the tendency of treating short paople, regardless of sxx, as children, it is very strong and source of great pain.
Really, quit this nonsense of women do not needing LL. Women over 5'4 do not need LL, but being 5'1 is still way too small, even for a woman. The fact that short men face more discriminations, doesn't mean short women have it easy. Surely, short women do not have dating problems, but the tendency of treating short paople, regardless of sxx, as children, it is very strong and source of great pain. Most males here, are doing LL, simply to improve the chance of getting a relation. Some good tip: if you want women to like you, do not try to mansplain them what they need.
Guichet himself posted in this very forum that "small diameter brittle bones in some asiatic type patients" "heal slowly" (http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=3362.msg52090#msg52090). Some of the things posted here may sound offensive, but is absolutely important to try and assess any increased risks for certain groups of patients in an extremely invasive and controversial procedure such as CLL. The people who tend to have smaller diameter bones tend to be female, asian, or a combination of both.
Hi Aditya,I'm starting my CLL journey, and I like you followed Leechlet and have Guichet in mind because location (London). In retrospect was having it done locally an advantage, or would you say you might as well have been overseas because of being indoors so much?
I went to Guichet because I read the diaries and they were all SO SUCCESSFUL, EASY and FAST (Leechlet, ShyShy etc), and it was in London where I could be at home (which was important for me).
I had spent more than £155k on recovery
I also know that "certain doctors" have switched/operate in multiple countries, and it always seemed odd to me.I always thought it was because the market in France and Italy is much smaller compared to London (European capital of rich short guys).
Only a moron would go to Guichet. He is mayve the worst case of LL doctor out there.Let's not get carried away. He still is probably one of the 'better' doctors out there. I think the problem is by keeping Gnail to himself there is far less R&D, that's the main reason that's putting me off from going to Guichet.
I don't think Guichet is a bad surgeon at all. But I think he can definitely be a callous jerk. I had a good result, and I know MANY others who had as well.
But in re-thinking things, since I had the money to even go to Guichet...or for anyone who has the money to...maybe it's best to go to Rozbruch?
2-4 weeks of muscle training before surgery makes zero difference and the cybex tests to measure muscle improvements (at an additional charge, of course) were all circus hoops for us to jump through.
Wholeheartedly agree with Unicorn. While many more women are comfortable with their short stature than men are due to embracing positive identities like petite, which have no male equivalent, shorter women are also relegated to "cute." Most grown men hate to be called a boy, and many women don't like being called a girl into adulthood either.Because if men would describe the ideal women's body, the first trait would be fit.
No matter the gender, as long as you don't identify with what people label you as, it's frustrating. The demeaning examples she gave would infuriate many men; somehow a few of us have lost empathy, instead telling Unicorn to cope.
Additionally many women want longer legs in general, because they're seen as attractive. If you think that height isn't as important for women, then perhaps you can consider that women want enhanced proportions.
Cosmetic surgery in general isn't a need, it's a want. It's something we do since we refuse to accept reality, found a solution, and have the means to change it. I don't see why we need gatekeeping especially at the gender level, it's misogynistic to label stature lengthening as a surgery for bros even if the majority of patients are young men.
Because if men would describe the ideal women's body, the first trait would be fit.
If women would do the same on men's body, the first they would say is tall. And furthermore, many men would prefer a short woman over a tall one while almost no woman would prefer a short man over a tall one.
That said, I don't disapprove any short woman to get LL but no, women who are near average and more (5.3ft and up) and want LL is like 6+ft weirdos men who want LL. In both cases, LL won't improve their life and the risks they take are for nothing.
I think to generalize that women have less of a need to do CLL than men do, invalidates our suffering and discrimination experienced as short women.
Anyone - male, female, transgender, has just an important a reason to do CLL no matter how trivial. The very fact that anyone is willing to succumb themselves to so much risk, pain and cost, to willingly break both legs would probably have suffered enough of short stature discrimination and feelings of innadequacy to resort to such desperate action.
So PLEASE, don't tell women that it's less necessary for them than it is for men, and then turn on the tv and enjoy Victoria Secret Angels strutting down the runway. At the work place, believe it or not, taller women are often more successful than their shorter counterparts of the same calibre.
Even as early as elementary or secondary school, you'll often find leaders to be the taller ones in the class. Why is this one attribute so important that it makes us this obsessed? Perhaps we've been conditioned psychologically from an early age that being taller than those around us was enough reason to garner praise (as if we had any control over height as we do with having brains or looks!!!). But no matter how illogical, height is viewed as an "achievement" by the people from whom we seek approval, and probably on whom we should blame for our short genes.
The fact that a few men in this forum had to qualify that the short women they know are smart, is exactly the kind of insult and discrimination we short females often get slapped with. It's like saying, yes it's a monkey BUT this monkey can tell time. I've often heard so many times, "she's little BUT what a firecracker" and it's supposed to be a compliment! Because short women are usually lame? Or simply invisible?
So, please stop with the generalization that men have a superior need to get ahead in their careers, earn more or find ideal partners than women do. We're no longer living in the '50s, women today often are the sole breadwinners and need just an equal advantage or more, just to stay in the same level playing field. It's not like women today can expect most men to gallantly take care of them financially to warrant men needing to earn more than women do. We've reached an age of equality, in the eyes of the beneficiary only.
So, if we can all agree to disagree, being taller is a universal desire and a proven signal of superiority (no matter how irrational) in all the aspects of life that matter, and if you're reading this, you would have had at some point felt innadequate for this very reason.
I think if all my suffering were to bring meaning and value to you readers : if you're female and/or older (and god forbid east Asian too), healing may be slower / more complications. In this case, perhaps an external fixator with no internal reaming, might be recommended. Or at least, use a nail that can reverse when there's non-union. And don't be fooled by all the success stories that outnumber the horror ones which often go untold. Seriously, the amount of people who write me about their nightmares (including several suicide attempts due to botched up lives) convinces me now that this surgery is not worth the risk, and this forum covers just the very tip of the iceberg of patient experiences.
I am pleasantly surprised to hear that the russian institute does not accept patients above 40. There has to be a correlation btw non-union the older we get, as Paley concludes in turning away smokers.
Cosmetic surgery in general isn't a need, it's a want. It's something we do since we refuse to accept reality, found a solution, and have the means to change it. I don't see why we need gatekeeping especially at the gender level, it's misogynistic to label stature lengthening as a surgery for bros even if the majority of patients are young men.
Because if men would describe the ideal women's body, the first trait would be fit.
If women would do the same on men's body, the first they would say is tall. And furthermore, many men would prefer a short woman over a tall one while almost no woman would prefer a short man over a tall one.
This is no misogynistic, this is the truth.
Thats why women get crazy if they get 1-2 kilos while men simply don't care unless they become really obese. Because being thin is not important for men while for women is the most important thing.
That said, I don't disapprove any short woman to get LL but no, women who are near average and more (5.3ft and up) and want LL is like 6+ft weirdos men who want LL. In both cases, LL won't improve their life and the risks they take are for nothing.
Agreed on all fronts. While I don't disapprove of women doing LL, I was just trying to state that the increased risks (women seem to have an easier time lengthening but a harder time with bone regeneration/recovery) aren't as worth it. Yes, of course a woman's short stature may have an impact on her life, if people are calling her short/cute, I can see how that would be annoying. Especially when it comes to the workplace.Well said.
I know women think that "men just do LL so they can have more dating options," and while that's certainly not untrue, as I said, it has to do with what society expects men to be. A man should be TALL, first and foremost, THEN good looking, in shape, financially successful, confident (which depends greatly on these factors to begin with), etc. Many people, women and men alike, do not see short men as "real men," and let me tell you, as a man, there is no greater pain than having your masculinity taken away from you. There's also more pressure for us, on a very primal level, to go out there and "land" a woman. I understand we're in 2018 and many women don't think these basic "rules" still apply, but as much as you might deny it, they do. Women still want men to dominate (be more masculine then them in all ways, aka "be the man in the relationship") them physically (not financially, women can and should make as much as we do, and I applaud them for that!), and height is a huge factor in this. Imagine being a very short man with few dating options, unable to afford LL - there's a greater likelihood this man will never find a woman. So you might say "men do LL just to get women," but it's a lot deeper than that.
Yes, as a short woman, you might get jabs from family and friends and in the workplace, and that I'm sure sucks. I didn't mean to downplay that. And of course, it has to do with your own self image too. But at least your womanhood or attractiveness (in most cases, unless the man in question really likes tall women, which in my opinion most men don't care about womens' height that much) or ability to attract a life partner isn't nearly as greatly reduced.
I turned 40 this year, am female and am of SE Asian desent, living in the U.K, and before I came across your journal, was strongly considering Guichet as an option for CLL. Thank you so much for your journal, as without it I might have gone ahead with it!
So PLEASE, don't tell women that it's less necessary for them than it is for men
Wholeheartedly agree with Unicorn. While many more women are comfortable with their short stature than men are due to embracing positive identities like petite, which have no male equivalent, shorter women are also relegated to "cute." Most grown men hate to be called a boy, and many women don't like being called a girl into adulthood either.
Men need height much more than women.
The ideal for men is tall dark and handsome. For women height is not necesarry, on the contrary many men prefer short women much more than tall ones.
Women who prefer short men over tall ones are very very few, so few as men who like fat women.
Another observation just from reading your opinions.
And my goal is not to make myself enemy no 1 of all the men out here. My summary from your posts : Men tend to want CLL because they feel innadequate when it comes to attracting partners.
From all the women that I've come across who did CLL, our goal is not to use height to attract men. We think a pretty face, nice long hair, being feminine, nice personality, good taste in clothes and obviously, being fit all helps.
HOWEVER, most of us (me included) mainly want CLL because of the emotional scars from a lifetime of not being taken seriously because we look like little girls. And we're lucky that women can correct unattractiveness with make overs etc, but to suffer 4 inch heels at work everyday for 20 years just ultimately kills you. I did spend almost every standing moment of the work day obsessing about my painful feet.
I agree that men want CLL mostly for mating and earning potential, while women who do it may just want some gravitas at work (imagine me in a conference room in Zurich, classic setting of all white men board members and little me. When we're all standing, I'm so tiny they can't tell if I'm there to serve drinks or to direct them).
That said, we've to respect our individual reasons for wanting CLL. I myself go through so much self hatred when I see myself in a bikini before, it's purely my own mental anguish. And the last thing in my mind is how I'm going to attract a man by being taller or how I can make all the women envious.
My enemy is myself, staring me down in front of the mirror telling me, I'm not good enough.
Hi Unicorn,
I have been reading your journal from beginning to end over the last couple of weeks and what a rollercoaster you have been on!
I turned 40 this year, am female and am of SE Asian desent, living in the U.K, and before I came across your journal, was strongly considering Guichet as an option for CLL. Thank you so much for your journal, as without it I might have gone ahead with it!
Please stay strong and and positive as there will be an after and I believe for you, it will be a great after. I am so glad to hear that you have a little callus formation on one side, hopefully this will improve after bone graft.
Reading through Doctor Donghoon’s blog, it seems he uses stem cell to help with poor bone formation? Is this something that could possibly help you?He is my strongest option at the moment because of this and Also because I read he is an artist when it comes to cuts/scars.
Wishing you you miraculous recovery and sending you much love 💕.
You are right Unicorn and I am sorry that you had such low self esteem from your height. No one should have to suffer through that.
The only thing I would correct is when you said "Men do LL to be more attractive to better attract partners," while that's true, it's not the whole picture. Men do LL so they can be respected and seen as "real men" by women and other men alike. It's much deeper than just attracting females. Not all women care about height, but the vast majority of them do, and trust me, as a short man, you are also going to experience discrimination and bullying from other men too. And even if you try to hide your height insecurity (like I did), as a man, it is still perfectly acceptable for women and men to outright insult a man due to his height (something he has no control over). If men were to shoot a woman down and call her fat or ugly, we'd be crucified and shamed, but with the double standard, it seems that a man's height is always fair game to actively and publicly shame.
So yes, we do LL to get more women, but also do so to reclaim our masculinity/manhood.
I'd like to see a 60 year old, frail, 155cm Asian man with a lifetime history of smoking and alcoholism, and who comes to one of these doctors wanting to lengthen no less than 9cm in his tibias, eating his usual low-protein, low-caloric diet to be immediately shown the door, not be told "let's start and see how it goes; 9cm is an ambitious goal, you know" after they think of the cash, or that it was the patient's own decision.
You have a good point, there is a 'market' for women of all heights, but for men it's almost entirely in the 5'9-6'2" category.
Another observation just from reading your opinions.
And my goal is not to make myself enemy no 1 of all the men out here. My summary from your posts : Men tend to want CLL because they feel innadequate when it comes to attracting partners.
From all the women that I've come across who did CLL, our goal is not to use height to attract men. We think a pretty face, nice long hair, being feminine, nice personality, good taste in clothes and obviously, being fit all helps.
HOWEVER, most of us (me included) mainly want CLL because of the emotional scars from a lifetime of not being taken seriously because we look like little girls. And we're lucky that women can correct unattractiveness with make overs etc, but to suffer 4 inch heels at work everyday for 20 years just ultimately kills you. I did spend almost every standing moment of the work day obsessing about my painful feet.
I agree that men want CLL mostly for mating and earning potential, while women who do it may just want some gravitas at work (imagine me in a conference room in Zurich, classic setting of all white men board members and little me. When we're all standing, I'm so tiny they can't tell if I'm there to serve drinks or to direct them).
That said, we've to respect our individual reasons for wanting CLL. I myself go through so much self hatred when I see myself in a bikini before, it's purely my own mental anguish. And the last thing in my mind is how I'm going to attract a man by being taller or how I can make all the women envious.
My enemy is myself, staring me down in front of the mirror telling me, I'm not good enough.
Here's the latest 3D scan and even though my doctor hasn't seen it yet, this is what I measured. I have some callus bridge on one side of the femur which I think is an improvement.
The other side is still completely empty. I will definitely consider grafting, that's the only thing NHS wants to do right now. They do not want to risk further with nail removal, shortening, fitting in new nails and relengthening.
(https://s7d1.turboimg.net/t1/38418840_IMG_0357.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/38418840/IMG_0357.jpg.html)
Actually I think this x-ray is the most promising one of your non-union leg so far Unicorn. your xrays before showed no callus at all which was rightfully very concerning. have you done something different because whatever it is it seems to be working! it's still not ideal of course because the bridge is only on one side but the fact that your bone is growing a bridge at all I think is still a million times better than when there was nothing.
Please stay strong Unicorn! I do think there is a light at the end of the tunnel for you and am hoping for the best for you after all you've been through.
...and trust me, as a short man, you are also going to experience discrimination and bullying from other men too. And even if you try to hide your height insecurity (like I did), as a man, it is still perfectly acceptable for women and men to outright insult a man due to his height (something he has no control over).
... have you done something different because whatever it is it seems to be working!
Both lead to better peace of mind. Too bad it requires this surgery. (Edit: to get physically taller, at least.)
Napoleon wasn't short, at least not in terms of his height. 169cm for France and 1769-1821 was normal.
Yeah it was British propaganda, he was actually above average for that time.
Even today there are many politicians and billionaires that are 169cm and they aren't made fun of like Napoleon.
Very short women have their womanhood taken away too. When you're treated like a little girl, rather than a woman, just because of some stupid inches, you have your womanhood mortified. There are other very important aspect in a person societal interactions, other than getting laid. So, yes, it's worth the risk.
As far as stemcells go, Guichet had harvested marrow aspirate from my hip bones and injected them into my 9cm runaway non-union gap. And no, it didn't work and the reason is because the gap is too far apart. It was like pouring water onto a concrete ground hoping grass will sprout. It might have worked on an 80-year old lady with a hip fracture or bone fissure. But not on my whopping grand canyon.
That said, please becareful as an asian female, be conscious about curved femurs, use small nails 11mm, don't over ream, and lengthen slowly (again, it's not a race of who finishes first or with the most height). And try to use a nail that's remote control instead of manual clicking as it will affect the QUALITY, trauma and pain management of your life tremendously and one that also can stop and reverse should there be slow/non-union.
Would it not be possible to get a surgery done to replace your nail and shorten your leg immediately? It will still be a height gain compared to your original height (correct?) and it will probably make your recovery faster, since your bone gap will be smaller?
Apart from that, there's not much I can say right now...I hope you will see better times soon.
I'm just EXTREMELY GRATEFUL to have the NHS system in the UK which is willing to pick up botched surgeries from private doctors. In a lot of countries and even with my private medical insurance, I would have been abandoned if I run out of funds.
I was inserted with a 13mm male nail
my femur bones are very very thin. Any removal attempt right now might shatter my entire femur completely
Now its time to strike back Unicorn. Dont accept your current situation, even if bone graft dont succeed the next step, bone shortening etc will.
So I believe in one year you will get rid of Guichet's mistakes and continue your life normally.
Keep strong, its time for action now!
i am sure guichet would still argue that he did the right thing by ramming in 13mm nails in her bones. narcissism or ignorance i do not know. it is hard to tell if a doctor is ignorant when you consult, but narcissism ("i am best", "i taught the other doctors", "my patients recover fastest") is a sure red flag.
How the hell did he think this was good medical practice? I thought Western Europe was the more rigorous, restrictive older brother to the US/Canada.
Even if everything had gone smoothly, you'd still have to get the nails out at some point. Wouldn't the risk be the same, then, too?
So horrible. Are antidepressants helpful? How do you feel about the new surgery? When do you think you'll be OK?
Musicmaker's case is similar. Perhaps you can talk to her. She's online now. In her case she trusted Monegal but IMO Monegal didn't handle her case well. She had 10+ surgeries and piling up. Botched legs like Guichet... or worse. You're lucky to have NHS help. Wish you the very best. :-*
Unicorn... if it's not too much, I wanted to ask your personal opinion. I don't recall seeing it asked here before.
When do you think this surgery (CLL) is legitimate? If that question makes any sense to you.
I don't mind it if you'd rather not answer too. Thank you for your all time here.
After being a patient of the NHS (free public hospitals) in the UK, I realize that limb lengthening has been around for some time. It was primarily used for trauma/accidents/deformities when one limb is shorter than the other. Doctors use the Illizarov method (external frames) to lengthen the femur/tibia and even arms.
So, in the UK for example, the RNOH (Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital) even has a guide to limb lengthening using Precice, which primarily instructs patients not to lengthen more than 1mm per day (https://www.rnoh.nhs.uk/our-services/limb-reconstruction). So now that I'm a patient there, I realize a lot of people do undergo limb lengthening, just not voluntarily or for cosmetic reasons like we do.
At the same time, if one has been plagued psychologically with short stature neurosis, the NHS and certain medical insurance companies actually approve and pay for cosmetic limb lengthening surgery. Yes! I never realized that too! And many of us would have qualified seeing that short stature is something that would have affected us since our teenage years and would continue to do so for the rest of our lives. It probably does determine a substantial part of our destiny too. And hence, we find ourselves in this forum together.
So the only thing I can reply is, it has always been legitimate with the right doctor and monitoring. I think it helps to follow organizations like the NHS which has nothing to gain by its choices of methods. They use Precice because not only is it FDA approved but also because it causes less mental anguish/trauma (of clicking/racheting), even if not fully weight bearing until Stryde comes out.
At the end of the day, when you think about the argument that you need to bear weight on your bones for it to fuse or grow, it doesn't make much sense. Anyone who's ever broken a bone knows that even if you had it in a cast and you're hanging there helplessly in a hospital bed for 2-3 months, your bones would still fuse and heal up. So the weight bearing part is not a necessity for bone consolidation but a practical optionality for many of us to continue on with our lives including returning back to work.
And while full weight bearing is practical, it actually puts us at a higher risk of accidents/falling etc., which happened to many of my classmates and myself inevitably just because we're crutching/framing/climbing into taxis/up & down stairs/streets to physios, tests and other unnecessary activities on a daily basis without the safety of a wheelchair to lean on when fatigued/chaotic.
So, is it legitimate? Yes, it has been for a long time. You just want to know what to look out for, monitor your own progress closely and be accountable for yourself.
NHS/RNOH showed me how their lengthening process is usually monitored :
- Many doctors prefer to wait 1-2 weeks post osteotomy/initial surgery before starting to lengthen
- Be cautious and do not rush (it's not a race!)
- Lengthen less than 1mm per day
- Depending on gender and age of patient (and smoking habit), they choose internal or external methods (Internal methods require reaming of your bones, so healing could be slower)
- Then, bi-weekly xrays need to show callus bridging and the lengthening rate thus changes depending on how fast or slow the bone consolidation is
- Use a nail that can stop and/or reverse in case of non-union/runaway lengthening
- And they do not allow too much lengthening if the soft tissues cannot keep up (like IT band, psoas, hamstrings and quads etc). because recovery to normal walking gait might take forever or further surgeries would be required
Quote from: On Fibular HemimeliaIn humans, the disorder can be noted by ultrasound in utero to prepare for amputation after birth or complex bone lengthening surgery. The amputation usually takes place at six months with removal of portions of the legs to prepare them for prosthetic use. The other treatments which include repeated corrective osteotomies and leg-lengthening surgery (Ilizarov apparatus) are costly and associated with residual deformity.
Does this answer your 'legitimate' question? My view is all cosmetic doctors are out to maximize profit especially those who manufacture their own brand of nails because they have the biggest profit margin to gain. Hence, becareful of this conflict of interest, which is not 'legitimate' or legal in most countries.
Quotethey dont use internal fixation ，first our government dont allow，second they did some internal fixation，find chinese bone size is not suitable. (http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=8822.0)
Some interesting words from the new diary by Chinese user lostwing1993.
People with thinner bones need to be made more aware they're a riskier group for internals (possibly also externals - I'd have to confirm this with a CLL doctor that can be trusted). The doctors never seem to tell you that. Instead, some of them only seem to try to drag you into doing the surgery.
Guichet is easily compared to the butchers of India. And he is a way worse case as his prices compare to top doctors like Rozbruch.
Only a moron would go to Guichet. He is mayve the worst case of LL doctor out there.
Unicorn lengthened 2mm/day (http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=3560.msg73933#msg73933), when the recommended maximum is 1mm.
Unicorn is a sharp lady, but unfortunately she either wasn't aware of this, or believed Guichet over Paley, or didn't have the strength to stand up to Guichet and not lengthen more than 1mm/day.
how is your walking after itb release?
Someone alerted me that there's a post somewhere that I did 2mm/day.
Just to set the record straight, Guichet lengthen his patients about 5mm to 1cm during the initial osteotomy surgery. Then for the first 2 weeks, his schedule is about 1.5mm per day and one reaches about 3cm by Week 2. If we didn't follow his schedule, we get screamed at and verbally abused.
We were told that lengthening lasts 2 months and 1 month of recovery, and then boom! You're discharged fully recovered to go back to work and your friends/family without anyone the wiser. Well, this is all BS!
Terrible what happen to you Unicorn. Im glad that you are making progress at least. You seem to be a fighter so i believe you will recover from this faster than you think.
I recently had surgery done on my femurs and everything has been fine so far, im still lengthening. Do you have any recommendations for people who does this surgery, that you have learned from yours? like, things to avoid etc. Im around 3cm right now and i do 15 clicks per day wich is like 0.7mm or so.
This PRECICE patient of Dr. Mahboubian lengthened for 2 months and is walking unaided quite well 1 week after he stopped lengthening (http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=5103.msg91556#msg91556). He weighs 120lbs, 50% more than what the PRECICE is rated for.
Unicorn, what is the prognosis following your surgery? Do they believe there is a good chance that this will help your leg heal and form a bone bridge?
Hey Unicorn, first of all best wishes for the recovery.
I just read your diary. I strongly believe your non-union may be that due to the reason that significant percentage of your original bone is occupied by the nail, leaving little of this bone to regenerate new bone. In other words as you said that initially the callus was forming but later in just backed down, this may tell that your existing bone mass could have formed new bone upto a certain length, when you crossed that limit the bones did not bother to fill the gap as if they knew they would not have succeeded anyways in fully bridging the gap.
So i just wanted to ask/suggest, did you consider either taking the rod out and putting instead a thin rod or reducing the distance between the segmens by shortening the rod(if that is possible) or any other method in which bones would not have to make so much of new bone mass. I know taking out and putting in rod could be really dangerous esp seeing your frail bones but I guess it would have saved you from lot of trauma..
Just make sure you xray every 2 weeks and check that your callus fingers are bridging. That's the only thing to look out for. If the calluses are not growing, you should stop or slow down your clicks.
Everyone is different. You could be a fast fuser and it might mean clicking even more to ensure you don't fuse before you reach your height. You can always PM me your xrays, ok? And I can give you an opinion then. Whenever you feel in doubt, seek a 2nd opinion. That's the safest approach.
This doctor is all about the money , he took a deposit from me for a surgery booked 1 month in advance and when i backed out he did not return the whole deposit.
Just seeing that turned me off this doctor.
It's so strange that a for-profit place could be so unethical, just thinking business wise it isn't very smart.
I really hope you end up ok! It seems like you're on the right track ;D
It's the same as prison systems in the US. When it's private, everything's crap because it all boils down to the bottom line. They need to turn a profit, so every dollar and cent counts, hence, cutting every corner they can.
And my London hospital where Guichet operated on me is the largest hospital group in the world and publicly quoted on the NYSE with a $36bn market cap. https://hcahealthcare.com/home/
But that's the beauty of the free economy, when things are private. LL patients are consumers and doctors are suppliers.
He might have extracted more money from people in the short run by being a d0uche, but your diary's warned people and he's probably lost a lot of patients because of the stuff you revealed. In the long run, he's only shooting himself in the foot.
even though us here on the forum might find it hard to believe that people don't research the heck out of this procedure before embarking on it.
But would we need another botched surgery so that we could know which LL doctor to avoid next? God bless this kind "free market" then. >:(
I'm a free market supporter generally, but the problem is that leg lengthening is an information asymmetric market (http://www.economicsonline.co.uk/Market_failures/Information_failure.html), even though us here on the forum might find it hard to believe that people don't research the heck out of this procedure before embarking on it. Truth is, many patients simply trust the doctors (for whatever reason) and don't read patient diaries, let alone the ones that might expose them; or exhibit confirmation bias and discard negative opinions. What we have here is an example of market failure, where regulation might actually help - say if there were some sort of commission that investigated complaints and withdrew the doctor's license if the complaints were founded.
The IT band release literally solved a lot of my lordosis. Suddenly, I can stand so much straighter with very little duckass left.
The left knee drainage also removed my chronic knee pain. So my walking gait is non-valgus, straight legs BUT leaning side to side. The reason is my glutes are still too weak to propel my hips and legs forward like a normal person. But I’m working hard on that, so I see miraculous small improvements everyday.
Sometimes I get off my seat to open a door or fetch something from the fridge and realize later that I had forgotten to use my crutches. It is a very liberating wonderful feeling to have my legs support me unaided again.
My current pain is in the non-union grafted gap area of abt 10cm. It hurts a lot esp when I wake up from 8hrs of innactive sleep. I sometimes take a spoonful of morphine and keep crutching to alleviate this excruciating bone achiness. I hope it’s my bone army building a bridge over the graft to fuse. In any case, pain is better news than no sensation at all (due to nonunion)
https://www.instagram.com/unicorn_gets_taller/
I think perhaps one regulation that's out there for CLL is Precice, right? It's FDA approved which is quite a rigorous process to get through.
I'm in no way a promoter or sponsor of Precice but I'm just saying that Stryde will revolutionize LL forever.
Every case CAN be with less trauma, suffering, pain and non-union if :
- Stryde is used (no more torturous manual clicking / weight bearing maintains muscle mass)
- Callus formation is priority (nail reversal and stopping if bone consolidation is at risk)
- Lengthening rate is monitored closely
- Proper soft tissue stretching techniques are diligently followed from Day 1 (quads, hips, hamstrings, IT band)
- Adequate painkillers are used
Then one day, CLL will really become a common goal for everyone. Baby steps but we're getting there, all of us in this forum, sharing and learning from each other.
Correct. This is the FDA approval for STRYDE (https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_docs/pdf18/K180503.pdf). Though the European Medicines Agency should have something to say about the Guichet and Fitbone nails, I have no idea if they have been through any sort of approval process.The EMA does not control medical devices. For approval of medical devices there is no agency in Europe. To get the CE approval the manufacturer hires one of many so-called notified bodies, which are private companies and treat the manufacturers as customers. These companies then check, whether the paperwork from the manufacturer is correct. After getting the approval for the paperwork the manufacturer can put the CE marking on his product.
The EMA does not control medical devices. For approval of medical devices there is no agency in Europe. To get the CE approval the manufacturer hires one of many so-called notified bodies, which are private companies and treat the manufacturers as customers. These companies then check, whether the paperwork from the manufacturer is correct. After getting the approval for the paperwork the manufacturer can put the CE marking on his product.
Most people are unaware of this. The EU is very strict with regulations about the curvature of cucumbers and bananas, but for medical products the manufacturers basically only control themselves.
Unicorn, do you happen to know, or have any insight, as to how limb lengthening is done within the NHS?
Their process seems different from cosmetic, external fixator doctors (http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=5389). In this instance, it seems the NHS doctors would lengthen 4.5cm (~1.8in) over 2 years, doing an osteotomy on the bone twice rather than just once. At least, that's what I gathered from the main post. I wonder if it's supposed to be safer this way?
I hope you've been well.
The EMA does not control medical devices. For approval of medical devices there is no agency in Europe. To get the CE approval the manufacturer hires one of many so-called notified bodies, which are private companies and treat the manufacturers as customers. These companies then check, whether the paperwork from the manufacturer is correct. After getting the approval for the paperwork the manufacturer can put the CE marking on his product.
Most people are unaware of this. The EU is very strict with regulations about the curvature of cucumbers and bananas, but for medical products the manufacturers basically only control themselves.
Unicorn, do you happen to know, or have any insight, as to how limb lengthening is done within the NHS?
Their process seems different from cosmetic, external fixator doctors (http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=5389). In this instance, it seems the NHS doctors would lengthen 4.5cm (~1.8in) over 2 years, doing an osteotomy on the bone twice rather than just once. At least, that's what I gathered from the main post. I wonder if it's supposed to be safer this way?
I hope you've been well.
I understand you had a better life before(of course).
£155.000 is a lot of money but if all of this made you broke today you weren’t rich to begin with, only financially stable.
If you’d secure a passive income that can’t fail even if all of this happened to you, first then you’re somewhat rich and money wouldn’t bother you.
I’m glad you get a better treatment with the NHS. Hoping for the bone graft right now, but for 10cm it doesn’t look bright.
And don’t bother about having children. This world is insane. It’s better to buy a motorcycle and have even more fun in your life.
[post]
Hi everyone,
I noticed many LLers contact me regarding why their bodies behave a certain way (like wide legs, duckass etc), and like our old doc, we were never taught nor warned about these side effects and how to counter them. So I thought I'd give you some of the stretching I found MOST HELPFUL, TARGETED and SAFE for femur lengthening (since I don't know the first thing about tibia LL).
REMEMBER that for every cm you lengthen, it takes even more time to lengthen/stretch the soft tissues to match, and soft tissue lengthening is not a linear process. It is different for each individual's flexibility AND this is where most doctors wipe their hands off further responsibility because their job was simply to lengthen your bones, and not your soft tissues. And soft tissues are waaaay harder to lengthen/stretch than bones are. Of course, the longer you lengthen, the more time it takes to recover etc.
3 THINGS you need to overcome when you're lengthening/recovering from lengthening :
- Short soft tissues resulting in wide legs, duckass
- Loss of muscles (esp abs and glutes) resulting in side-to-side zombie walking
- Stamina deconditioning resulting in extreme fatigue which you can correct via regular swimming and "walking/crutching" in increasing distances when you can/safe for you to do so
WIDE LEGS
It happens the moment your femur bone is longer than your IT band
SOLUTION > Need to stretch out your IT band (IT bands unlike muscles, cannot be lengthened, hence, when all else fails like me, you need to get your IT band released. It worked magically for me!)
(https://s7d1.turboimg.net/t1/39010638_IMG_3500.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/39010638/IMG_3500.jpg.html)
DUCK ASS (Anterior Pelvic Tilt)
It happens the moment your femur bone is longer than your quad, hamstring and psoas/hip flexor muscles
SOLUTION > Need to stretch/lengthen out your quad, hamstring and psoas/hip flexor muscles
PSOAS STRETCH
(https://s7d1.turboimg.net/t1/39010631_485a8272-c233-4b16-bac8-ea4f9253ae7b.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/39010631/485a8272-c233-4b16-bac8-ea4f9253ae7b.jpg.html)
QUAD STRETCH
(https://s7d1.turboimg.net/t1/39010630_IMG_6765.png) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/39010630/IMG_6765.png.html)
HAMSTRING STRETCH
(https://s7d1.turboimg.net/t1/39010629_IMG_7114.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/39010629/IMG_7114.jpg.html)
Besides STRETCHING/LENGTHENING soft tissues, you'll need to rebuild your GLUTES and ABS
GLUTES (no squats please because it would add too much load on your LL nails)
(https://s7d1.turboimg.net/t1/39010628_Screen_Shot_2018-07-27_at_10.46.25.png) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/39010628/Screen_Shot_2018-07-27_at_10.46.25.png.html)
ABS (regular sit up exercises are not optimal because it shortens your psoas/hip flexors)
(https://s7d1.turboimg.net/t1/39010618_Screen_Shot_2018-07-27_at_10.46.57.png) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/39010618/Screen_Shot_2018-07-27_at_10.46.57.png.html)
These are what I found most helpful. Over cycling (esp the ones where you're hunched over are not optimal either because it doesn't help your hip flexor/psoas stretching). If you've weight bearing nails, then crutching slowly with a bit more distance everyday will help you recover your stamina. If your nails are not weight bearing, swimming helps you on many levels (stretch/stamina/muscles)
Hope you find these helpful. They helped me a lot because I can see how my body is getting straighter and stronger every single day.
I understand you had a better life before(of course).
£155.000 is a lot of money but if all of this made you broke today you weren’t rich to begin with, only financially stable.
If you’d secure a passive income that can’t fail even if all of this happened to you, first then you’re somewhat rich and money wouldn’t bother you.
You lost $750.000 in tradings?
There is just so much I can say about this.
Aaahhhh, the low life haters. ;D\\
Apparently Dr Sarin was a much better choice. I got my 7cm for ~$19.000 and I’m healthier than most members of this board in here. Dr Sarin doesn’t have any case near as disastrous as this one.
Lack of empathy? You’re an idiot. I feel sorry for her. But it’s one thing to lose £155.000 to a expensive doctor and totally another to “lose” $750.000 just like that.
That’s an entire new level.
It probably took a lifetime to achieve and in an instant - it’s gone.
I don’t buy it.
Sure, we all do our different choices in life but being financially retired has a lot more doors open. Many other possibilities to go and see another doctor to begin with.
Being 42, in debt, crippled, starting all over again. This has to be for sure one of the worse CLL cases in history. And yes, I have empathy and feel sorry for her.
I really hope you find your way back to life Unicorn888.
Aaahhhh, the low life haters. ;D
Apparently Dr Sarin was a much better choice. I got my 7cm for ~$19.000 and I’m healthier than most members of this board in here. Dr Sarin doesn’t have any case near as disastrous as this one.
Lack of empathy? You’re an idiot. I feel sorry for her. But it’s one thing to lose £155.000 to a expensive doctor and totally another to “lose” $750.000 just like that.
That’s an entire new level.
It probably took a lifetime to achieve and in an instant - it’s gone.
I don’t buy it.
Sure, we all do our different choices in life but being financially retired has a lot more doors open. Many other possibilities to go and see another doctor to begin with.
Being 42, in debt, crippled, starting all over again. This has to be for sure one of the worse CLL cases in history. And yes, I have empathy and feel sorry for her.
I really hope you find your way back to life Unicorn888.
Aaahhhh, the low life haters. ;DSarin is a butcher.
Apparently Dr Sarin was a much better choice. I got my 7cm for ~$19.000 and I’m healthier than most members of this board in here. Dr Sarin doesn’t have any case near as disastrous as this one.
Lack of empathy? You’re an idiot. I feel sorry for her. But it’s one thing to lose £155.000 to a expensive doctor and totally another to “lose” $750.000 just like that.
That’s an entire new level.
It probably took a lifetime to achieve and in an instant - it’s gone.
I don’t buy it.
Sure, we all do our different choices in life but being financially retired has a lot more doors open. Many other possibilities to go and see another doctor to begin with.
Being 42, in debt, crippled, starting all over again. This has to be for sure one of the worse CLL cases in history. And yes, I have empathy and feel sorry for her.
I really hope you find your way back to life Unicorn888.
I'm very suspicious about this diary. The more Unicorn writes about herself , and her stories about that urine bags and letting someone else get scolded, the more I realise that we read very subjective diary. We do not really know what actually happened. We had numerous diaries from Guichet patients and non of them was even close to this. How we supposed to know if she really followed his instructions etc? We dont know but we assume that Unicorn is saying the truth even though no one can verify it.
And then attention seeking on instagram, hash-tags, words like mansplaning etc, being single and childless it really show that there might be something wrong with her. Somehow we get for granted what ever she says without any scepticism. To me she definitely has some mental problems but it is just my opinion based on how she behaves.
I would love to hear what Guichet has to say.
I'm very suspicious about this diary. The more Unicorn writes about herself , and her stories about that urine bags and letting someone else get scolded, the more I realise that we read very subjective diary. We do not really know what actually happened. We had numerous diaries from Guichet patients and non of them was even close to this. How we supposed to know if she really followed his instructions etc? We dont know but we assume that Unicorn is saying the truth even though no one can verify it.
And then attention seeking on instagram, hash-tags, words like mansplaning etc, being single and childless it really show that there might be something wrong with her. Somehow we get for granted what ever she says without any scepticism. To me she definitely has some mental problems but it is just my opinion based on how she behaves.
I would love to hear what Guichet has to say.
Hi guys,
Someone asked me about a list of questions to ask potential CLL docs. I came up with some and thought I'd share with you as well. Always listen to your gut and don't let the docs off with evading difficult questions. Insist on seeing walking videos and not merely photos - as desperate docs will get their patients to perform short bursts of stunts to look normal. Feel free to add to these, as it's not comprehensive of course. Just stuff that I wished I had asked more clearly and had insisted on transparency. My attitude going into it was, "...others are stupid, I'm not, so it won't happen to me." How arrogant and naive I was!
QUESTIONS
1. How many have they done so far in total?
2. How many with Precice and Stryde?
3. Breakdown by male/female, race and age group?
4. What’re the oldest and youngest candidate?
5. What complications have they encountered?
6. What was the worst case?
7. What is the smallest lengthening, biggest lengthening, average lengthening?
8. Do they repair congenital deformities or trauma or are they uniquely cosmetic only? % btw CLL vs trauma cases?
9. How many nails broke?
10. How many non-union?
11. What does the price include (are complications included in the package price?)
12. Can you speak to several candidates (current and successful or failed?)
13. How do they filter who is a good candidate for CLL according to them?
14. How do they monitor during lengthening to ensure safety?
15. How do they minimize duck ass, X legs, wide legs?
16. What kind of painkillers do they use and supplements they recommend?
17. What are their preparation recommendation for undergoing surgery for potential CLLers?
18. What is the average months/years of their patients from surgery to normal walking gait?
19. What are the pros and cons of Stryde vs Precice vs ISKD vs externals? What is their preference?
20. Do they prefer femur or tibia CLL?
21. Are pre and post xrays/medical testings/scans etc included in pricing? What are extra costs to anticipate?
22. Have they turned away potential CLLers? Why?
23. Do they let you go home to lengthen or do they insist you stay w them during the entire lengthening period?
24. What are the absolutely maximum length they'd let you do for tibia and femur?
25. Do they do unilateral and quadruple CLLs?
26. Are there ongoing lawsuits? Past lawsuits? What were the verdicts and why?
27. Has the doctor moved hospitals/countries etc.? Why?
28. Has there been any death of any patients during/after CLL even if unrelated (like suicide due to mental instability?)
29. Has the doctor ever been suspended/banned or placed under investigation? For what reasons?
30. Where did the doctor learn his CLL trade?
31. Who else would the doctor recommend if you didn't go to him?
32. How realistic is it to resume pre-CLL athletic ability including skiing?
33. Has the doctor observed long term effects from his patients like early onset of arthritis etc (does he even keep in touch?)
34. Can they suggest CLL surgery insurance?
35. Realistically speaking, if one runs out of money and there are complications, what is the doctor willing to do?
An important question is missing:
How many times has the doctor been sued by their patients.
Even if you took Unicorn completely out of the equation, Guichet apparently doesn't even prescribe anticoagulants/blood thinners at any point of the the CLL process, from what was shared in this diary (by LLSouthAmerica - former Guichet patient too (http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=3560.msg76856;topicseen#msg76856)). That's how big of an ego he seems to have. "My nail is supposedly full weight-bearing, so I don't need to worry about giving my patients increased chances of death through DVT leading to Pulmonary Embolism, or the reaming of their bones leading to Fat Embolism Syndrome. No blood thinners (anticoagulants)."
And then attention seeking on instagram, hash-tags, words like mansplaning etc, being single and childless it really show that there might be something wrong with her.
What an incredibly idiotic thing to say.Is common, dont get angry
What an incredibly idiotic thing to say.
Any doctor that doesn't give anticoagulants after a so invasive surgery as LL (epsecially internal) for at least 1 month after surgery is truly dangerous.
And Doomsday, a man who suffers from an illness or a doctor's fault usually becomes more sensitive and "unstable" as some people, who never had any significant health problem, would say.
But I can truly understand Unicorn as I was in the same condition after the crapy atl I had and I would have gone totally nuts if I havent fixed it.
So before judging so hard, think about what she says. She has a huge nail for her bone, Guichet force anyone to lengthen unstoppably for 1mm per day which could lead to non union and after all, she has a huge non union! How can that be her fault?
It cant. And Guichet is a butcher for prescribing antiinflammation drugs which are a bug NO during LL as they lead to non union, for forcing his patients to lengthen very fast, for not prescribing anticoagulants which may lead to death! and for so much more. And all these with almost the price of Paley but with an obsolete and useless nail.
So yes, that doctor is the worst out there for LL. Simple as that.
Another thing people told me is Dr Monegal sometimes forgets important things. He forgot to prescribe heparine shots to the American guy whose implants failed. Gross failure.
I agree with Moose that diaries here are full of . Bohemia's diary is disgusting. And that girl Musicmaker seems stupid. Promoting a doctor in a such a ridiculous way when you are screwed up for life doesn't make sense at all. I haven't met her but people told me she is wheelchair bounded and keeps defending him.
Don't believe a word of diaries. Dr Monegal controls every word they say.
I'm not a doctor, but If I were, I would be much more professional than this.
A good surgeon would never forget about heparine shots and would be much more focused than this guy in making his patients feel good instead of advertising himself in the forums and hanging out with patients for making money. I don't like hypocrisy when people say they are your friends and they aren't because they don't care about you and they are there just to take your money.
Monegal may be better than Indian doctors but not a top doctor, imo. For the same price, go to Jamal or Birkholtz. They at least are focused on patients’ recovery and don’t forget about important things, like prescribing heparine or X-rays.
What an incredibly idiotic thing to say.
Hey!
sory but I could not read all what written hier. Was was your recovery time after surgery? Can I got back to my Work in 5-6 Monts if all thinks goes well?
I am very althletic and train regularly 4-5 times a week.
I am excatly 180 cm and 35 years old. What do you mean? Could I convince Guichet or Betz do this surgery with me?
Thank you in advance!
I apologize if this question has been answered - I may have missed it as I skimmed over the thread. When one of the nails ran away to 10 cm, or better still, while that nail was running away and had passed the safe mark of 5-6 cm, WHY didn't Guichet perform an emergency surgery, take out the faulty nail, shortened the bone to the length originally planned and inserted a trauma nail?
Trying to post a very touching video here of someone else, who humbles and inspires me.
Wow, sorry to hear. This story just keeps on getting more and more mortifying. Sorry if I missed this, but are you able to walk around unaided, and for how long? I hope you feel better, I really can't believe for how long this whole thing has dragged on.
Also, did they ever figure out what the cause of the pain in your leg actually was? It's very frightening that you can randomly have onsets of 9/10 pain for no reason after the surgery and especially after so much time.
You're strong. I'm confident you'll be fine at the end. Cloudy calluses are a very good sign.
I also get random knee pains more in the range of 7/10. When I'm in pain I limp. My local doctor said I will get premature arthritis. Some people in forum told me this pain is related to retrograde approach. What do you think?
I think knee pains are so hard to diagnose. It also depends if you did Tibia where it's more invasive to the knees.
In my case, during my 3rd surgery in Milan, Guichet broke his nail inside me and had to hammer it out through my left knee, and ever since I suffered chronic knee pains.
So 14 months later, when NHS operated on me, they found a sac of liquid due to some kind of tissue abbrasion that was probably mangled when my nail got jammed out so barbarically. Once the sac got drained and my IT band released, my knee pain completely vanished.
However, I have other Guichet classmates who are now telling me they feel early onset of arthritis. I can't comment because I seriously have no idea and as you all know well, there is not sufficient research out there to document long term side effects of this surgery.
One thing for sure is, it is very INVASIVE irregardless of which doctor is operating on you because suddenly, your entire body has to deal with longer bones. Hence, the proportion of cms you lengthen compared to your starting height does make a HUGE difference.
And I don't mean aesthetics but rather how much strain you put your body under. Coz remember, you need to grow bones, heal the post surgery shock your body endures, have soft tissues lengthen, overcome inevitable muscle atrophy and then, learn to walk like a normal person again.
I sincerely believe anyone can reach any height as long as they go slow (or fast) enough that their calluses are bridged at all times and they ensure their soft tissues can stretch at the same pace. Then honestly, this surgery can be feasible, achievable and successful to all.
Oh sh*t...I had no idea he broke his nail inside you and had to hammer it out through your knee. Holy f*ck...Unicorn, I'm sorry...I don't know what to say.
I met some Guichet patients who were doing 8cm and up. I met one guy who did 9.5cm in one surgery...I actually don't remember his proportions looking bad. But the more I hear about this, the more I'm glad I stopped around 7cm. My body was definitely telling me it was time to stop, and I'm glad I listened to it.
I also will say from experience that clicking rods are terrible for bone callous formation and soft tissue recovery. I very narrowly avoided needed a bone graft on my left leg. Consider myself very lucky.
With Precice 3 (or whatever it's called) coming out, all other rods (Fitbone, G-Nail, etc.) are entirely obsolete. No reason to go to any of those surgeons, unless it's a matter of convenience (you're local) or cost.
I've come to a point where I truly believe that there's bad luck and then, there's also incompetence/neglect/arrogance on the part of the doctors.
Someone reminded me again about MasterHY's diary on the old MakeMeTaller site from 2013 which is quite similar to mine where we were initially so enthusiastic and in complete adulation of our doctors to discover that the moment complications happen, we all get abandoned, dismissed and swept under the rug.
So yes, there is a bunch of us... sort of hanging around haunting these doctors because of the way they handled complications. And we won't stop until we're healed no matter how many years it takes.
Thanks for your diagrams. They explain very well what happens with femur LL. What about tibia? What kind of effect does tibial lengthening have?
Thanks for your diagrams. They explain very well what happens with femur LL. What about tibia? What kind of effect does tibial lengthening have?
Hi unicorn
im sorry you had to go through such an experience and lose so much money from one of the so called reputable doctors while paying over $65 000. For that amount all post op complications and post op trainiing should of been covered instead he left you to fix your complications else where. He is a downright disgrace its also an example that shows going to these overpriced so called reputable doctors does not gaurrantee success. I did warn people back in 2012 -2013 on the old forum about him taking 6,000 dollars from me and returning less than half claiming his preoperative emails were worth that much .....what a scam artist.
I also understand what you said about the people you helped and then the lack of help or support when you needed it.
Im very happy that you have come through this , you must be so happy now.
I wish you the best , dont look back its time to enjoy life to the fullest !
How can such a doctor perform surgeries in the UK and Italy? They are one of the best and most regulated health care countries. How on Earth do they allow him to?
Remember when he cancelled by 3rd surgery in London abruptly and then rescheduled it in Milan 45 days later? He failed compliance at Princess Grace Hospital, that's why.
Why is he still on the hospital's website then? http://www.theprincessgracehospital.com/our-specialists/specialist/guijea/mr-jean-marc-guichet/
That is very disturbing to read.
I am glad your condition is improving. And thank you for keeping other patients informed about this doctor. Are you going to pursue any formal complaint against him? It's still a question why he stopped operating in Marsaille.
How do you suggest a patient to narrow down on a doctor? Guichet had a very impeccable record until you and was even nice to talk to (so they all say). He even went to this patient (leechlet) house and helped him while lengthening and even took him out for dinner etc.
How is Guichet's reputation among other doctors? Does he educate other doctors? Is he part of LL communities in UK or Italy?
Just a small suggestion. A doctor's competence is not based on how nice he is to talk to or look at, dinner invitations or house visits. Do proper due diligence if you care about your legs and life.
Unicorn, the more I read your story, the more I feel bad about going with Dr. G (even though my result was very different from yours). I’m so sorry you have had to endure this hell. I remember thinking he was kinda arrogant and scatterbrained. And I found it odd that he operated in several different countries. But had no idea what was really going on.its interesting to see you finally lay into Guichet and how it incidently is after nail removal?
So glad to hear that it seems the bone graft is taking!!
So here you go, some fun but very telling snippets of what I'm dealing with. I sound extremely bitter, I know and I admit that I am. I feel withered to the bone and empty as a husk. For every single stone unturned, like Guichet telling new patients he's never treated Unicorn... I tumble further into my abyss. How could I let something like this happen? Better yet, how did ALL my smart and successful classmates let this happen? The more we share our stories, the more we reel in disbelief at the enormity of what he's gotten away with all this time in 3 countries. However, the seams are unraveling faster than I can write.
Plausible reasons for wronged patients going silent are shaming and trauma. Nobody wants to deal with more crap when they can barely cope with their disrupted lives. Most patients resort to survival mode which includes erasing this entire chapter from memory, cutting their losses and moving forward with their lives. If you want a visual description, it's akeen to being lost at sea with no land in sight. We're barely keeping our heads above water and do not know what other dangers lurk around the corner, or where we are in this endless journey through hell. We do not know which direction to expend the energy we no longer have to save our souls. In one word, we're lost.
I am trying to do so as well but I strongly believe it is also my duty to warn, because I am foolhardy. It is the right thing to do. Private hospitals literally get away with murder because they're set up differently from the NHS system, and their doctors are not held as accountable as NHS docs do. So abundant loopholes exist if one starts sniffing and we're looking at one mountain of a manure here. We cannot even establish after 12 months of investigations, if this doctor has medical indemnity insurance in the UK. Essential baby steps, let's not even get started with the infamous G-nail and all sorts of compliance and conflicts of interests.
I'm glad I chose to be unicorn, because I can stab idiots with my head!
I have proved to mods I'm a patient and I'm telling the truth.
They have not acknowledged this so it is just your word which we can't believe. Have the mods acknowledged publicly that you are a patient?
its interesting to see you finally lay into Guichet and how it incidently is after nail removal?
Did you fear Guichet maybe was the only one able to remove the nail since its propretiary technology and therefore more cautious criticizing him?
This is a very risky procedure, but so is laser eye surgery. If we attack Betz/Guichet/ Nasser in Egypt these guys quite doing the surgery for us... Then what left for us? lift shoes? We have to support one another and the doctors that help us I had great results.
No we don't have to support the doctors if the doctors act like incapable, immoral swines like Guichet did in this case: using a nail too big in diameter, using a nail that lenghtens unintentionally and is irreversible, leading to a 10 cm bone gap (which lead to YEARS of being crippled), and on top of that, lying and claiming that "he advised her not to lengthen 10 cm but she did anyway" when in fact that lengthening was all by accident. There is no excuse in the world for these hideous mistakes and lies.
Sorry for asking but ... how do you know that? Your assumptions are coming from words posted by an angry woman (Unicorn888). At least you have to listen the reasons from both parties in order to judge.
Are we sure that Unicorn888 followed exactly what the Dr. said? Are we sure that she didn't do things that weren't allowed to do? If the Dr. tell you that you shouldn't stand up in certain way and you do that and you go into troubles, is it patient's or doctor's fault?
Have you noticed that Unicorn888 isn't posting here anymore (even if she visits this board every day according the Last Seen date on her profile)? Probably because her "version" of the story wasn't accurate it leads her into legal issues. Blackmailing is a quite big crime in UK.
Have you also noticed that Unicorn888 has posted in his IG profile pics of her legs showing that she's very happy about the result?
Every day I see Dr. Guichet patients walking (during LL), jumping (during LL) and smiling. But they do these actions AFTER Dr. Guichet checked their x-rays not on their own. In this way everything goes smoothly.
Thanks,
S
I choose to believe her because I've followed her whole story as it happened and her version seems far more believable to me than the idea that she persistently didn't follow Guichet's orders and that lead to her demise. I also believe posting smiling pictures on Instagram and trying to keep on living despite overall having horrible consequences and suffering PTSD from the procedure is no proof of being "very happy about the result".
Who to believe is up to your own. Most users on here chose to believe the patient instead of the doctor. Nonetheless, I don't see how the facts that the nail was too big in diameter and the fact that Guichet's nail can't reverse and still requires painful clicking can be denied.
I had some minor complications like knee pain and slow consolidation in one leg, but overall, I had a great result with Dr. Guichet. Now with the rods out, I can run, jump, deadlift 450lbs and squat 350 lbs. All with proper form and no pain to speak of.
I have no doubt that Unicorn's diary and complications are real, and my heart goes out to her. She was also a woman, on the older side (for LL standards) and of Asian descent (apparently Asian bones, particularly for women, don't consolidate as well? I don't know.) - so maybe there were just a lot of things that led to the "perfect storm."
I don't think Dr. Guichet is a bad doctor, not by any means, but I do think he is disorganized, sorta arrogant and scatterbrain-ish. Many brilliant people are. Doesn't excuse his demeanor, though. Some doctors really don't have a great bedside manner. I had a perfectly fine experience with him, for the most part.
With Stryde coming out, the G-Nail will essentially be obsolete and Guichet will only be a viable option for local patients who live near him.
YellowSpike, I hope you can carry on writing about your LL experience, but please defer from sneaking in lines disregarding Unicorn as a rare bad case. Its not. And every time you do, I become more and more sure Guichet is pushing his patients to write it all.
I have this weird feeling that there is an ongoing cordinated smearing campaign against Unicorn. Jamiee appears after 10 years hiatus, simons appears after 12 years? There are also strange new user registrations appearing elsewhere.
I dont doubt that Guichet, the inventor of the clicking nail, once was leading surgeon on cosmetic limb lengthening. But it appears consumed by his position of strength he stopped innovating and adapting with the time. He stuck to his known principals just like someone with alot of pride. This is normal, you can see it in your workplace, older people will carry on with what they know and refuse to learn new things.
G-nail is done, and so is Guichet in my opinion. His serious misconducts, not only Unicorn but also other cases should not be ignored just because other patients such as you 'turned out fine'.
His monstrous 13mm nail sticks out like a sore thumb in every single X-ray when you compare it with precice.
Every single Asian patient, especially females should stay away from Guichet at all cost.
YellowSpike, I hope you can carry on writing about your LL experience, but please defer from sneaking in lines disregarding Unicorn as a rare bad case. Its not. And every time you do, I become more and more sure Guichet is pushing his patients to write it all.
I don't recall saying anything about Unicorn in this or in another post in her diary that would be akin to a "smearing" campaign or me dismissing her as a rare case. I know that Dr. Guichet has had other complications, just as other surgeons, even ones like Paley and Rozbruch, have had them. Perhaps the others have better bedside manners and better teams and are thus more equipped to deal with said complications. I have acknowledged many times that Guichet is disorganized and lacks a bedside manner. I had a pretty good experience with him, but I have also admitted he was hard to deal with in some ways. I think it's mainly because he operates in two different countries.
Totally agree that with Stryde coming out, given how much Guichet costs, there's really not much reason to go to him any further. I went to him because I wanted to do LL away from those who knew me and I didn't want to be in a wheelchair. I had experience with crutches prior to LL and just couldn't mentally deal with being in a wheelchair for a cosmetic surgery. But that's just me. I almost went with Rozbruch (he took my rods out this past fall).
Does anyone know what the cost is now? it was around 50,000 Euros when I did it plus accommodations and physio.
Everyone I spoke with at the time at positive results? I can remember a guy, he had quite the personality he kept going to clubs and partying even dancing while the rest of us where in our rooms using crutches. And he didn't have any issues, surprisingly but there was another guy American, who claimed he was just doing stretching and push up and bent a nail.
It was hard to believe that all he did was stretch because of that party guy was dancing flying around and doing who knows what and had no issues. But whos to say, I didn't bend nail - when I was done lengthening I went skiing that same year I was a little worried about it but in the end had no issues. PS it still hurts when you have a nails removed 2 years later.
Once they are out, I had no pain at all.
Hi guys,
I've not been active on the forum anymore because I'm struggling to find a reason to live. That's all there is to it. I've gone through so much trauma that I've just been trying to keep my head above water and trying to regain some parts of my life back. I actually cannot bear to come here to read comments or to justify myself, it gives me nightmare flashbacks and anxiety attacks that make it not worthwhile for my sanity.
My last xrays from a month ago still shows non-union on the ungrafted side and the NHS wants me to wait another 6 months and if it doesn't fuse, they'll have to graft me on the underside of my femur.
There're always going to be trolls etc and basically, EVERYONE deserves what they ask for. So please, go to Guichet.
For the rest of you, you know that I have replied to all of you, I have spent time comforting you, I have been on whassap walking through your various stages of surgery and recovery regardless of which doctor or what country you're from, and this is the only way I think I can contribute positively to the world and to people who are preparing, are undergoing and are recovering from CLL. I've let you visit me at home and helped you reason through, have introduced lots of you doing CLL in the same region together, dispensed the limited experience I've had in terms of preparing, stretching and red flags to look out for etc. So, I don't have to shout from the mountains and justify if I'm a good or bad person. All I really want is for EVERYONE to have a good knowledge base when going into this, to own their lengthening process and do research, to keep safe and to recover well.
I just need to get my old life back because the one I'm living right now is a nightmare for almost 3 years now. I almost killed myself 2 weeks ago because I didn't see any point of living anymore, or that anyone would even notice if I cease to exist and I don't even have a flicker of hope to look forward to. I have jeopardized any potential to walk properly, to have a family, rebuild my savings or career; with one vain decision. And that hell is for me to pay. So judge all you want, nobody can make me feel lower than how I'm feeling these days.
So don't you worry your little heads about any blackmails/lawsuits/smearing campaigns as the truth will soon be revealed shortly enough. Karma IS a bitch, that I can rely on.
Best wishes to all of you,
Unicorn
Unicorn you're so brave. You're my hero. Please take this man to jail. These greedy quacks should spend the rest of their lives in jail. Don't listen to the guys supporting doctors as fanboys or fangals. They're trying to win favors from doctors and don't care about fellow patients who had their lives destroyed. They deserve the worst too. They deserve Monegal or Guichet. Karma is INDEED a bitch. Both doctors and their pets will get what they deserve at the end.
I don't know you guys, but as a bad case myself I send all my support to Unicorn, Musicmaker and all the victims of these quacks. Cooper had money. He went to Paley and he's recovering. Unicorn and Musicmaker can't kick anybody's ass many years post surgery (3 years for Unicorn and 5 years for Musicmaker!!!). Please respect for them.
Hi guys,
I've not been active on the forum anymore because I'm struggling to find a reason to live. That's all there is to it. I've gone through so much trauma that I've just been trying to keep my head above water and trying to regain some parts of my life back. I actually cannot bear to come here to read comments or to justify myself, it gives me nightmare flashbacks and anxiety attacks that make it not worthwhile for my sanity.
My last xrays from a month ago still shows non-union on the ungrafted side and the NHS wants me to wait another 6 months and if it doesn't fuse, they'll have to graft me on the underside of my femur.
There're always going to be trolls etc and basically, EVERYONE deserves what they ask for. So please, go to Guichet.
For the rest of you, you know that I have replied to all of you, I have spent time comforting you, I have been on whassap walking through your various stages of surgery and recovery regardless of which doctor or what country you're from, and this is the only way I think I can contribute positively to the world and to people who are preparing, are undergoing and are recovering from CLL. I've let you visit me at home and helped you reason through, have introduced lots of you doing CLL in the same region together, dispensed the limited experience I've had in terms of preparing, stretching and red flags to look out for etc. So, I don't have to shout from the mountains and justify if I'm a good or bad person. All I really want is for EVERYONE to have a good knowledge base when going into this, to own their lengthening process and do research, to keep safe and to recover well.
I just need to get my old life back because the one I'm living right now is a nightmare for almost 3 years now. I almost killed myself 2 weeks ago because I didn't see any point of living anymore, or that anyone would even notice if I cease to exist and I don't even have a flicker of hope to look forward to. I have jeopardized any potential to walk properly, to have a family, rebuild my savings or career; with one vain decision. And that hell is for me to pay. So judge all you want, nobody can make me feel lower than how I'm feeling these days.
So don't you worry your little heads about any blackmails/lawsuits/smearing campaigns as the truth will soon be revealed shortly enough. Karma IS a bitch, that I can rely on.
Best wishes to all of you,
Unicorn
With Stryde coming out, the G-Nail will essentially be obsolete and Guichet will only be a viable option for local patients who live near him.
I'd like to add a note here. I had a meeting with Dr. Guichet a couple of days ago and he gave me the opportunity to test PRICICE STRYDE. Other patients - from what I know - would receive the same offer. That's to say that he's not stuck with his nail.Look this is unicorns diary
I was born as PHP developer and actually I'm a company director but we still use my old scripts. Why? Because I know them from the beginning to the end and I can adapt them without any problem. The same happens with Dr. Guichet nail.
I'd like to add a note here. I had a meeting with Dr. Guichet a couple of days ago and he gave me the opportunity to test PRICICE STRYDE. Other patients - from what I know - would receive the same offer. That's to say that he's not stuck with his nail.
I was born as PHP developer and actually I'm a company director but we still use my old scripts. Why? Because I know them from the beginning to the end and I can adapt them without any problem. The same happens with Dr. Guichet nail.
Look this is unicorns diary
Please don’t pollute it with your ignorance
Go back to your diary
1) Please don't blackmail me about defamation being a crime in the UK. If you actually know your ass from your elbow, the UK law allows for free speech when the truth can be proven. So maybe do a little reading yourself before you defame me instead?
2) Guichet allowed you to test the Stryde nail. Does this mean he operated on you, inserted it, you get to click a bit and then he removed it? Is that how you test drive a nail? Or you just got to see it and hold it? Wow, excellent due diligence dude.
3) Didn't Guichet boast that the g-nail is the BEST in the world with no defects/fully weight bearing/painless? Why bother adopting another company's nail and decrease profit margin, and be a minion 'franchisee'? Isn't he Christopher Columbus and the father of the best nail in the world?
4) Suffice to say, the tag NEWBIE under your name is appropriate.
These two scumbags who have just recently started posting here should be thread banned. They're obviously colluding and trying to intimidate/gaslight Unicorn, while at the same time filling her thread with pro Guichet propaganda.
I don't doubt Guichet has had patients with "good" (as good as LL can be) results. Great- go post about it in your own thread or anywhere on the main board. This one is about Unicorn's experience.
1) You wrote that Guichet has been "banned" or "suspended" for six months. That's not true. You can easily check it since "registers" are public. It's called "defamation" and you did it. Did you show any proof support it? No, because you can't since it's not true.
But you didn't reply my question: would you write here - under your full legal responsibility - that your complications are just Dr. Guichet's fault and you followed EXACTLY what he told you to do?
1) Yes, that's always the best litmus test as PGH needs to keep clean records of when their doctors fail compliance and cannot perform surgery.
And let me think... under my full legal responsibility - sounds very intimidating... when Guichet broke my nail during my 3rd surgery in Milan, I was kinda asleep under general anaesthesia, so perhaps it could not be my own doing?
I mean, there's always a distinct possibility, I'm a sleep nail/bone breaker... we'll find out in court - looking forward to meeting you there :)
25-Jul-2016 - Guichet created a fracture while inserting my nail, I was kinda asleep under general anaesthesia
Simons , its disgusting to see you arguing like you do , try to be more empatic. I will never understand those who protect a doctor about others bad cases. Talk about you and your surgery .
2) Ok, in Milan Dr. Guichet broke your nail during surgery. You know how many people are into the operating room? The Dr. the second Dr. and all the assistants ... basically you are accusing about six people plus a multimillionaire structure (Columbus Hospital) of creating you a damage.
Unicorn is not lying that’s why she’s not sued by This demonic doctor for telling stories here
Simon who are you really
Put your walking and turning video on your diary
1) Show the proof or you are lying, but we both know that you are lying :)
2) Ok, in Milan Dr. Guichet broke your nail during surgery. You know how many people are into the operating room? The Dr. the second Dr. and all the assistants ... basically you are accusing about six people plus a multimillionaire structure (Columbus Hospital) of creating you a damage.
Thanks for writing so many allegations ;D
So you’re essentially saying, a random CLL patient of Guichet’s like yourself, got access to MY medical files (by knowing EXACTLY how many people were in the operating theatre + that he did not break my nail) - which is a clear VIOLATION of doctor patient confidentiality.
So obviously, the very professional Guichet and the ‘multimillionaire’ structure, Columbus Hospital, has committed a serious privacy infraction. Thank you for this.
Because if in fact, my nail was NOT broken during the Milan surgery as Guichet had so efficiently invoiced me for a new nail at £12k - then was that invoice actually financial fraud? Now you’re helping me a lot.
Ps. And yes, each femur bone needs to be broken once (1) so that lengthening can happen. My left femur was broken into 3 pieces. Perhaps, that was your CLL experience, so I can sympathize with you.
simons just leave the thread and hopefully the forum.
Just because you did LL and wrote a diary on the old forum doesnt mean you can misbehave like this.
We dont care about what you write, nobody is interested in you trying to setup perjury trap. Every post you make here, the more damage you are doing to Guichet.
Go back to Guichet and tell him to google 'Streisand effect'.
@Unicorn888, just ignore him. The more of his childish taunts you reply to, the more food you give fto Guichet and his shills/lawyers to twist your words and attack you. The rest of the community members will defend you. We know what Guichet did.
Why don't you go to Dr.Robert Rozbruch? He seems to be one of the more morally compelled doctors(correct me if im wrong) and treats deformity and short limbs as his specialty. He is also a professor at Cornell University.
I was going to recommend Dr.Paley but he seems to be rather cold and some people even claim he lacks morals and he is very expensive.
It's really strange 2 third world country doctors approached you on their own. Definitely sinister.
I thought the only people who knew about you are the people on this forum and your real life NHS doctors.
Awwwww, because 3rd world countries do not have access to this forum? Or do you think they don’t even have internet outside of your village?
By the way, many people have asked me who these doctors are who scared me, and I’m really sorry. I really cannot reveal which 2 doctors approached me to repair, but they were located in 3rd world countries where it felt really sinister that all they wanted was a free ride publicity of healing Unicorn. So the NHS was still a better bet, according to my humble opinion. Who knows?
When I was lengthening I heard some stories about 3rd world surgeons preying on patients in this forum. One famous doctor from India got one bad case's personal information (WhatsApp, Facebook) and was preying on her. We don't know how he got that information or what she wanted from her. Free ride publicity of healing another doctor's bad case? Probably yes but this Indian doctor was accused of being a rapist in this forum too. This makes the issue even more sinister. So yes these third world doctors use these forums to get customers
Unicorn, be strong ! It'll be over very soon. I'm very happy NHS took care of you.
By the way, many people have asked me who these doctors are who scared me, and I’m really sorry. I really cannot reveal which 2 doctors approached me to repair, but they were located in 3rd world countries where it felt really sinister that all they wanted was a free ride publicity of healing Unicorn. So the NHS was still a better bet, according to my humble opinion. Who knows?
simons just leave the thread and hopefully the forum.
Just because you did LL and wrote a diary on the old forum doesnt mean you can misbehave like this.
We dont care about what you write, nobody is interested in you trying to setup perjury trap. Every post you make here, the more damage you are doing to Guichet.
Go back to Guichet and tell him to google 'Streisand effect'.
@Unicorn888, just ignore him. The more of his childish taunts you reply to, the more food you give fto Guichet and his shills/lawyers to twist your words and attack you. The rest of the community members will defend you. We know what Guichet did.
I was thinking about doing my surgery with Guichet before reading this diary...
He deserves to lose every potential patient to be honest.
Cases like Unicorn's illustrate why cosmetic LL should be banned. You don't know how much you're risking until you get involved in ty complications like hers.
hi ned_flanders ;D u are back ;D
so ned_flanders (his main account) is doing LL apparently and wont stop his own lengthening. But he wants LL banned :D have you seen such a selfless person before?
think about this: he is doing LL and lengthening every single day but wants LL banned. cant he stop lengthening first?
I'm not ned_flanders. I'm a former LL patient who fully endorses ned_flanders' opinion. I finished LL long time ago. I fully regret it.
I'm not ned_flanders. I'm a former LL patient who fully endorses ned_flanders' opinion. I finished LL long time ago. I fully regret it.
Why do you regret your surgery so much. What has happened to you?
Why do you regret your surgery so much. What has happened to you?
LL is a waste of time and money in the best case scenario.
A person consist of so many aspects... height is only one of many. Please look around your There are happy short people. Be like them.
You cant tell people to be happy short when you yourself are currently undergoing LL.
You cant tell people to be happy short when you yourself are currently undergoing LL.Hey Jim
I can honestly say im way happier after doing LL. I no longer think about height and only time i feel short is when i stand next to someone 6’2”+
Yes i had complications and everyone knows the risks when undergoing LL but the pros out way the cons by a million times. Not everyone can learn to live being “short” and those who can, i truly admire them but to those that cant, LL will definitely help. Just be smart and do plenty of research and watch your own xrays like a hawk. Even the “best” surgeons make mistakes.
guys, im not llshouldbebanned
let me answer here:
LL doesnt change a sh!t in your life. I will finish lengthening in few weeks. Short of my initial lengthening goal.
I was happy before LL. I had everything i wanted.
I was just afraid i would have relapse of the height neurosis later in my life when it would be too late to fix it with LL. Like if I were to have a family and children.
Were I going to obsess with others height? always wear thick soled shoes for 1.5cm extra?
Thats why I did LL. To prevent this from happing and clear my path to establishing in my life. I had a fking mental blueprint of how i wanted my future life to be and i was well on my way.
People will disregard what I am writing because I would do the exactly the same pre-LL.
I would not listen to such opinion and think in my head: "everyone has different life situation, this guy talks about his. I have my own where I really need LL".
LL is a waste of time and money in the best case scenario.
In the worst case, when complication occurs, its fking nightmare. I pray to God everytime i press F1 on that ERC device that I will not experience any. Those poor souls like unicorn and llshouldbebanned, have such mental strength that I can only dream of.
A person consist of so many aspects... height is only one of many. Please look around your There are happy short people. Be like them.
Why are you sayings its so F'd up?what is so "fk'd" up with what I wrote? Try to see the truth...I have received PMs from other members. Some former patients, some on the fence.. they all agree with me but the toxic climate on this forum makes them stay silent.
Im going to be simple, choose a doctor that shows you his current patients and atleast one recovering patient and dont lengthen more than 5cms per segment and you should be fine. We all know there are risks but we do it anyway. I just did 4cms on femurs and im recovering fine.
Dr Monegal doesn’t tell the truth about his patients. He uses to prepare a tour for his prospective patients, like a salesman does. He shows them the clinic and the guesthouse but he only shows what he wants them to know.
In October some prospective patients visited Dr Monegal’s center and met some actual patients. I have visited the center. Glenn described this tour in his diary. Everything seemed fine but the doctor didn’t tell all the truth to his future patients. He introduced these people to all his current patients but one girl who was also at the guesthouse and who has had very serious complications (Musicmaker??). This is for me a case of dishonesty. I learnt about this after my trip.
I can understand that this is a difficult surgery and sometimes things go wrong, but doctor said none of his patients had had complications which wasn’t true.
After the trip, I made some research. I asked some people (patients and people from the forum) and got to know that it’s not only this girl who had problems, but other people. It seems there is one American guy whose implant failed. Dr told him that he had to be exfixed and he had to pay around 7000 eur. Finally the company sent a free implant for him but it failed too and he had to go to OR again. It isn’t about money but about all the trauma and suffering for that guy. It seems he hasn’t been compensated.
I don’t have more evidence of this than what I have been told. Perhaps patients and doctor himself can explain but I think people should know about this. I feel deceived by the doctor. Dr Monegal should have acted like honest doctors do and say, ‘Look, guys, I try my best, but sometimes complications occur and these are the complications I have had’. But he lied. He said all his surgeries were fantastic and it seems there were at least two people with major complications and other people with other problems like misalignments, screws getting loose and nerve problems which required additional surgeries and consultations with other surgeons.
There are many LL doctors like that. They are businessmen instead of doctors. It seems LL corrupts doctors.
Hi everyone,
I'm so sorry I've not been here at all. Since the last bout of shilling from Guichet, I've been so traumatized I couldn't even bear to risk coming here and reading the toxcity by accident. Because I know it will be etched in my head forever and anything I've read will never be unread.
That said, just wanted to update you guys that I've since seen my NHS doctor this morning and unfortunately, they need to perform my 5th surgery now because my right leg which received the DBX (cadaver bone) graft last year had only healed on the part where the graft was applied.
However, the underside where the graft wasn't applied (I never realized grafting can be only 180 degrees and not 360 degrees) has not fused at all. Again, further proof that Guichet's wait-and-see approach was not going to obtain 'miraculous' results, even after waiting 3 years now.
So NHS will graft me this time with a more invasive manner. They're going to extract abt 1cm cube of my hip bones and apply that to the back of my right femur where it wasn't grafted last year. My understanding is it is an excruciating process that could result in a lifetime of pain in the hip area.
In addition, the lead surgeon told me they will not remove the gnail from my body because the nail is way too big for my cortices and even after consolidation, trying to remove it might shatter everything. Part of the problem is the nail was lodged too high in my hip area and hence, dislodging it would be quite a brutal process.
I'm so numbed out because I had naively convinced myself that my life had to move on and that it did already. However, this news is quite a stark reality check for me and has set me back to my dark days of hiding under the covers of my bed.
What saddens me most is I always thought that after CLL, I would at least have 1 kid on my own by the time I turn 45 years old. This is now such a far distant dream due to the fact that not only am I not physically able to bear full pregnancy weight on the guichet nails and unconsolidated bones - I'm left bereft of finances to even feed myself, much less a child.
guys, im not llshouldbebanned
let me answer here:
LL doesnt change a sh!t in your life. I will finish lengthening in few weeks. Short of my initial lengthening goal.
I was happy before LL. I had everything i wanted.
I was just afraid i would have relapse of the height neurosis later in my life when it would be too late to fix it with LL. Like if I were to have a family and children.
Were I going to obsess with others height? always wear thick soled shoes for 1.5cm extra?
Thats why I did LL. To prevent this from happing and clear my path to establishing in my life. I had a fking mental blueprint of how i wanted my future life to be and i was well on my way.
People will disregard what I am writing because I would do the exactly the same pre-LL.
I would not listen to such opinion and think in my head: "everyone has different life situation, this guy talks about his. I have my own where I really need LL".
LL is a waste of time and money in the best case scenario.
In the worst case, when complication occurs, its fking nightmare. I pray to God everytime i press F1 on that ERC device that I will not experience any. Those poor souls like unicorn and llshouldbebanned, have such mental strength that I can only dream of.
A person consist of so many aspects... height is only one of many. Please look around your There are happy short people. Be like them.
What's your first name Unicorn? Or your last name?
Post his email here so everyone that reads this diary will feel if they want to message guichet they can.
GIVE UNICORN HER MONEY BACK GUICHET!!!
Unicorn if you send me your full name i can send him a message if you want.
We should all hound him and tell him until he deposits all of unicorns money back we will all spread the truth about him here on the forum.
Are you a guichet puppet? Gronk
Bye Felicia!
what is so "fk'd" up with what I wrote? Try to see the truth...I have received PMs from other members. Some former patients, some on the fence.. they all agree with me but the toxic climate on this forum makes them stay silent.
Look at the other who replied to me, one went to russia and cant feel his lower leg. Other can only "walk, swim and go to gym" and he is content with that. I am not going to engage in debate with people who think that is a good outcome and keep endorsing LL to newbies.
I dont have any issue yet but that doesnt mean I cant criticize what this forum has become: a deception to newcomers. That LL is some kind of magic pill to turn around life. Its not, its filled with permanently injured patients at times masquarading as they're recovered 100% and is conquering the world just because of LL. Because their pride cant accept they did the wrong decision.
And I never called LL to be outlawed, but regulated. Weed out unsafe procedures and surgeons.
do i fking look like im associated with any surgeon you neanthertal?
The wikipedia page about you is right: intelligence is very low.
And for the regulars here and post-LL patients, it is our duty as well to speak the truth and vow never to mislead because I'm sure there's a special place in hell reserved for people who knowingly put others in harms way.
4cms, even if your intentions are good, Unicorn should not give her real name for anyone because she can be doxxed. I don't think flooding Guichet e-mail would work either.That's fine she doesn't need to do anything but if she wants I can try and help.
She is a grown woman and she doesn't ask for our help. She is just sharing her experience here, which is really good. Some people who would chose Guichet dodged a bullet.
Post his email here so everyone that reads this diary will feel if they want to message guichet they can.
GIVE UNICORN HER MONEY BACK GUICHET!!!
It won't work but it's actually a very funny thing to do. I will write myself an email for Guichet.Yea bro we can atleast try and you might be surprised if everyone or here done it or even like 50 people it might work. This forum does after all help get him patients.
If you want to support fellow LLers I would suggest writing to Monegal too about Cooper, Musicmaker... and Notatroll of course. Monegal ruined their lives, limbs and finances. You can't give them back their lives and limbs but please give THEM their MONEY back.
Yea bro we can atleast try and you might be surprised if everyone or here done it or even like 50 people it might work. This forum does after all help get him patients.
But yes man atleast we can try and help her...We can try.
Even if you do it as a laugh still atleast you're doing something to help fellow ll'ers who have had their lives destroyed.
And you never know maybe getting her money back can help her to go to paley to fix her. You never know.
But if she doesn't respond and yes she doesn't have to say her name. Yea if she doesn't respond we ll leave it at that.
Unicorn doesn’t need to post her real name for that purpose. Guichet knows perfectly who Unicorm888 is. I would advise not to publish any kind of personal information in this forum. Patient privacy is so important!
unicorn ur story is sad. ur opinions of guichet are 100% right. he is very very very unethical. ppl should never forget to trust their own judgement before putting full faith on a doctor in a forum board. i think this guy was banned from marsaille in france and so he went to italy. if u ask he will tell u that there is no "world class isokinetic center" in marsailles. as if that is the only one pt center that can help an LLer. marsailles has a professional football club, dont tell me they travel to isokinetic center in italy for pt.
if u tell him u dont have time for pre-op training or logistics issues, then he will happily say it's ok its not necessary anyway.
he is an arrogant monster. a rogue surgeon. he shouts if u question anythng he is uncomfortable about. he "shouts".
also unicorn i am happy u are thinking responsibly about having a child. having a child is a LOT of work and responsibilites. u are bring a new life and are responsible for everything of that child. everyone underestimates the effort and responsibilities of raising a child. dont take any rash decisions until u are emotionally stable. think of whether u can support the child financially, socially and mentally for at least 25 years of the child's life.
all the best!
Unicorn, you said it’s impossible a bone graft would be able to fill the 10cm gap non union you have. What have changed? Why the bone graft is working?
Unicorn, you said it’s impossible a bone graft would be able to fill the 10cm gap non union you have. What have changed? Why the bone graft is working?
hey unicorn so sorry to hear about all the long term complications you had to deal with. Do you think all this couldve been avoided if you wouldve gone with another doctor like rozbruch or paley or do you think it could've happened with any doctor ?Yes, it could.
hey unicorn so sorry to hear about all the long term complications you had to deal with. Do you think all this couldve been avoided if you wouldve gone with another doctor like rozbruch or paley or do you think it could've happened with any doctor ?
Hi everyone,
Just wanted to share a random observation since I've noticed it happening twice now.
A successful investment banker friend of mine just had his first baby. My friend's about 5'7 and in press deal announcements, he is always the shortest man shaking hands with giants. His wife just gave birth to a baby boy and of course, he is a super proud dad. However, how he describes his son to me is particularly interesting of note. He says that his son of 10 months old already measures in the top 1% percentile of baby length and hence, would be very tall when he grows up.
I thought the comment is interesting BECAUSE the emphasis here is how long and potentially how tall his son will become, which obviously is a source of pride for him. The thing is, height as we all know well, is NOT something we can control naturally nor even take credit for. And yet, as parents, the seed gets sowed early on in our baby heads... our parents/family unknowingly put a lot of pressure on us to be smart, good looking or tall. Many of you will argue that our parents want only the best for us and yet, by assigning undue credit or criticism, to qualities of which we have very little control like looks and height, they have inadvertently established a subconscious messaging that being tall is an achievement in itself. And as children, we will do anything to seek the approval and acknowledgement of our elders. And this strive for acceptance might extend throughout our lifetime.
I just read about another Guichet patient death:
https://jezebel.com/stories-about-my-brother-1835651181
Its really messed up..
In fairness though, pulmonary embolisms are a known potential complication from this surgery, as rare as they might be. It wasn't due to negligence on the part of Guichet - it seems like this guy just got really unlucky and died from it.
Sad, for sure :-/
Does anyone have any data on how frequently embolism occurs?
I know of one case with Paley, which he rectified immediately, and now two with Guichet.
I'm planning on going with Giotikas ,he seems competent; however, what sort of things should I enquire about to ensure risks are minimised?
Nothing just being healhty, dunno the percentage but is really low and even if it happen it dosn’t always lead to death
Nah no way its entirely Guichets fault, What ? Are you not reading why he did to unicorn? From the denial that there was a problem to begin with to the inserting of the wrong size nails we can conclude it was entirely guichets fault that this poor boy died. Other doctors take more precaution for embolism such as draining the bones internal fats prior to reaming and nail insertion to avoid them getting into the blood stream and to the lungs and heart. On top of that he should of been monitoring the patient for at least 4 days before releasing from hospital.
Entirely guichets fault.
Does anyone have any data on how frequently embolism occurs?Paley talks about the rate on his conference video.
I know of one case with Paley, which he rectified immediately, and now two with Guichet.
I'm planning on going with Giotikas ,he seems competent; however, what sort of things should I enquire about to ensure risks are minimised?
Paley talks about the rate on his conference video.
It’s around 4%
It’s quite high
There was a death incidence for blood clot post surgery in Korea also, this doctor went to jail I heard
Giotikas mainly lives in UK leaving patients behind in Greece, that’s lacking moral
Giotikas mainly lives in UK leaving patients behind in Greece, that’s lacking moral
Please illustrate further how Giotikas is "lacking moral" by "leaving patients behind in Greece".
Hey
Because TemakiSushi has one doctor in mind, because of this he is toxic about all other doctors to make himself feel better.
In response to
Giotikas doesn't mainly live in the UK, he is a consultant in London 2 days a weeks and the rest of the time he works and has a family in Athens. Last time I checked 2 (days in London) / 7 (days in a week) * 100 = 28.6%. Pretty sure 28% doesn't count as "mainly"..................
Thanks
RG
It’s written in this forum:
2. Dr. Giotikas lives in the UK mostly,
http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=9370.msg167659#msg167659
It seems at least at one point he was out of the country quite often
I never heard of any CLL doctor who is out of the country on a weekly basis
Especially with external patients, there are many risks and doctor should stay close to patients most of the time
Those doctors who let patients with external travel to home country are also quite irresponsible
Over these last 3.5 years, I have been in touch with hundreds of patients and I can tell all of you, ALL cosmetic lengthening doctors have their literal skeletons in the closets, because this field is unregulated and nascent.
Interesting. As far as I know, we don't have any public bad case from the main Precice/Stryde doctors in the US yet. Or am I wrong?
Interesting. As far as I know, we don't have any public bad case from the main Precice/Stryde doctors in the US yet. Or am I wrong?It seems DIFM got nonunion, his bone was not fused after 2 years
It’s written in this forum:
2. Dr. Giotikas lives in the UK mostly,
http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=9370.msg167659#msg167659
It’s written in this forum:
2. Dr. Giotikas lives in the UK mostly,
http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=9370.msg167659#msg167659
It seems at least at one point he was out of the country quite often
I never heard of any CLL doctor who is out of the country on a weekly basis
Especially with external patients, there are many risks and doctor should stay close to patients most of the time
Those doctors who let patients with external travel to home country are also quite irresponsible
However, if there were transparent systems in place, widespread application, proper reviews and prerequisites of safety measures as part of the covenants of a financing package, then this procedure would not have to be cloaked in so much controversy. CLL is essentially at the same sensational stage and misguided taboo of breast implant surgeries in the 70s and 80s.
So I guess, Unicorn, if a young person, male or female, desperately wants to get taller in our current day and age, their best bet would be to play for time and hope that either the industry standards drastically improve or new, safer technologies come up? Or would you advise to try to forget about the dream of being taller altogether?
This was actually just an assumption of me. I'm sorry. As Jolien said, if you're looking for facts, don't necessarily rely on this forum only. I would suggest those interested to just e-mail Dr. Giotikas about your concerns.
Giotikas doesn't mainly live in the UK, he is a consultant in London 2 days a weeks and the rest of the time he works and has a family in Athens.
This Stockholm syndrome seems to occur even among some prospective patients, not being able to accept negative information of the doctor they choose
Hey team,
Just to confirm
and to confirm my point
This is 100% factual I literally had the discussion with him a couple of weeks ago, also I live in London so actually him being here 2 days a weeks is kind of ideal for me (in terms of doing follow-up after lengthening).
and finally , I'm not on this forum to say any doctor is better than another and most defiantly not before actually having surgery. But I would like to address one thing.
Stockholm syndrome would require a person to be a victim so it makes little sense, but either way I get your point. But please take a moment to see you are also doing the same thing, I can you are vaguely backing up your trust in Dr Lee saying you can't find many bad cases, but let's be honest as Unicorn said the vast majority of patients never post a word on this forum.
Thanks
RG
This was actually just an assumption of me. I'm sorry. As Jolien said, if you're looking for facts, don't necessarily rely on this forum only. I would suggest those interested to just e-mail Dr. Giotikas about your concerns.
Ive wrote I’ve done research behind this forum
Still I think he’s lacking morals
If anyone hasn't come to the conclusion, TemakiSushi, has an agenda to crap all over Dr. Giotikas. Why are you pissing all over the best price we've seen with an accredited respectable surgeon!!??? Demand has finally met Supply so why don't you go do your surgery with Dr. Lee Donghoon (who you probably work for) and let everyone have informative objective dialogue.Given that Dr Giotikas has some strict criteria for selecting his patients, I seriously suspect that Temaki was rejected by Giotikas for some reason (like BDD or neurosis or something) and he is now trying to get revenge on him. Ι can't really think of any other explanation for his obsession.
Hi Unicorn
By the way, how have you been doing recently? Have you been able to recover? When I read your post of so much complications many years ago, it was truly heartbreaking and shocking. I really hope you to recover to a normal life as soon as possible and to enjoy happy life you deserve. Thank you for sharking your thoughts and experiences!!
Hi everyone,
It's going to be close to 4 years now since I had my lengthening procedure in the summer of 2016.
I regret to report that not only is my right leg not fused after 4 surgeries, but the Guichet nail bent and broke, causing my right leg to fracture.
NHS is currently putting me on a waiting list for emergency surgery where they'll remove the Guichet nail, shorten me to my original height and wait for full healing. Then, they'll restart leg lengthening on my right leg to match my left leg. Estimated recovery time is 18 months. But we're not even sure when there'll be capacity for the hospital to perform surgery. In the meantime, I'm left alone with a broken leg.
wow.. there was a guichet patient who died of fat embolism i think.
it was on the news. Jezebel
(https://i.snipboard.io/iWfhG4.jpg)
I just came back to this forum after many months.
My main reason was to check on the health of unicorn as her case really made me sad.
But then I read the article. Horrible.
I feel so sorry Unicorn but also for the guy mentioned in the article. At the same time it makes me realize who lucky I have been.
here i found it
https://jezebel.com/stories-about-my-brother-1835651181
This is worth reading from beginning to end, eventhough there might not be a huge amount of insight into LL and it does sound like he got very unlucky and had unfortunately put himself in a vulnerable, very isolated position. More insightful as a indictment of the psychological impact of patriarchal culture, which I'm sure could be enlightening to some on here
Thanks for sharing your story. I read through the whole thread, it took me days but it was well worth it. Let’s be honest, Dr. G has pretty much crippled you. It’s sad to say.
I think people need to seriously reconsider if they are thinking to go for Dr. G. I mean, why would they? Stryde is the way forward & Paley / Dr M haven’t had anywhere near as many complications. When I saw that Dr. G had two deaths, I immediately felt so sorry for those poor people.
I mean, if I had two deaths in my clinic from cosmetic procedures I had done, I’d surely quit and look at doing something else. The guilt would be crazy.
If anyone else is thinking about it, you may as well go all in and do Stryde.
Anyways, I wish you the best Unicorn. Tough times don’t last, tough people do!
Wait he had 2 deaths. How the fk is he still allowed to work as a surgeon?
Because death due to embolism is sometimes unavoidable even with the best surgeon.
I mean, if I had two deaths in my clinic from cosmetic procedures I had done, I’d surely quit and look at doing something else. The guilt would be crazy.
Wow, Im am without words, and im very sorry for what you had to go through. I wish you the best of luck, and realize we are all behind u in this!
Thanks for the update. I know it won't feel like it now but there will come a point when you will turn a corner and eventually be able to start putting all of this is behind you.............
Have you thought about putting a best offer option on your ebay items? They are more likely to sell this way and this will obviously help your financial situation.
Good luck and keep us updated, feel free to DM me any time you want a female perspective. XxX
First diary I’ve read which didn’t turned out well, are there any other diaries which have turned bad? I Hope you are well Unicorn, I am a guy and the same height as she (unicorn) was before, im 5ft1/2 I’m thinking of going for 2 surgeries with Dr mahboubian but this diary has made me loose abit of the confidence I had. If I was a girl I would most definitely wouldn’t do the surgery, a short female is cute, a short male isn’t thou, this surgery should only be done by guys tbh. Sucks to be short, anyways hope you get well soon unicorn, Praying for you.
Also guys what’s the percentage % of the surgery not going so well/ bad? If I’m right Dr mahboubian said 97% or 99% success rate
Unicorn, you said the doctors from NHS told you what went wrong with your LL and what could have been done to prevent the problems. Could you tell us exactly what could have been done to prevent them?
1) Better to wait a week before starting to lengthen to let the leg settle a bit
2) Choose a nail diameter that is appropriate for your bone width
3) Pay attention to the curvature of your femur
4) Do not lengthen quickly, watch and wait to make sure your callus are growing and joining
5) Stretch your soft tissues a lot because contractures will prevent you from standing straight (duck ass) or keeping your legs together or inward turning feet
6) Make a realistic length goal with your doctor relative to your original height because while 7cm might be 7cm, it has an exponential higher risk to someone of 150cm vs someone of 170cm
7) Take xrays every 2 weeks or more often, to monitor whether you have callus growth. If there's none or very little, you should see your doctor and revise the lengthening rate or slow down until evident callus is formed. Once the distracted gap is too far apart, callus union becomes near impossible. Hence, in my case, 4 years later and my bones cannot fuse, even after 1 bone graft
Most important advise is DON'T RUSH IT! It's not a marathon. It's you keeping your body safe!
1) Better to wait a week before starting to lengthen to let the leg settle a bit
2) Choose a nail diameter that is appropriate for your bone width
3) Pay attention to the curvature of your femur
4) Do not lengthen quickly, watch and wait to make sure your callus are growing and joining
5) Stretch your soft tissues a lot because contractures will prevent you from standing straight (duck ass) or keeping your legs together or inward turning feet
6) Make a realistic length goal with your doctor relative to your original height because while 7cm might be 7cm, it has an exponential higher risk to someone of 150cm vs someone of 170cm
7) Take xrays every 2 weeks or more often, to monitor whether you have callus growth. If there's none or very little, you should see your doctor and revise the lengthening rate or slow down until evident callus is formed. Once the distracted gap is too far apart, callus union becomes near impossible. Hence, in my case, 4 years later and my bones cannot fuse, even after 1 bone graft
Most important advise is DON'T RUSH IT! It's not a marathon. It's you keeping your body safe!
dr Debiparsad discharges patients 2 days after surgery to make it cheaper. dr Paley keeps them for 5 days .
Hi everyone,
Just giving you a small update on my 5th surgery which took place last Saturday at Kings College Hospital. Because my slated operation needed 2 surgeons, one for my femur and the other to harvest bone from my hips, the only way possible was to make them come in on a weekend and that they did with no hesitation (respekt!).
These 2 stark experiences upset me still, because the sheer day and night difference in aftercare btw Guichet and NHS simply shows how unnecessarily I had suffered and risked, in the hands of a doctor who prioritizes profit margins over life.
Dr. Betz keeps the patients for 10 to 14 days in the hospital after surgery. I've stayed two weeks there.
Much safer this way.
Intern: What is USDOh dear lmao.... great response.
Oh dear lmao.... great response.
Good to see a smile on your face Unicorn, you look amazing for 44/45! After hearing your vivid horror stories I would have expected something resembling the female version of Lo Pan.
It's inspring to see you looking so happy.
Has your surgeon given you an idea of your recovery and rehabilitation timeline?
dr Debiparsad discharges patients 2 days after surgery to make it cheaper. dr Paley keeps them for 5 days .
No Unicorn. Dying now wouldn't be dignified. It would be sad. Especially after all you've been through. It would be like throwing the towel after 12 boxing rounds.
Guichet is an absolute butcher, he should lose his medical licence and should be jailed for what hes done to you. i hope other people learn from this and not use him in the future. i hope to hear you writing one day you recover physically and mentally 100 percent and it felt like it was a bad dream. keep fighting and hang in there. i know how it feels not to know if you will ever heal and be in limbo, when i had non union and my screws were breaking. i have almost healed myself now thanks to the help of further surgeries, once my nails are taken out and my damaged glutes are repaired that will be the last of my complications over, keep fighting you will get there and then you can move forward with your life, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, you are in survival mode now but as soon as you feel progression bit by bit you will get stronger. please keep us all up to date with whats going on
(https://s7d6.turboimg.net/t1/55381741_IMG_4007.jpg) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/55381741/IMG_4007.jpg.html)This picture is better for the Fundraising
This picture is better for the Fundraising
I really feel for you for what you been through. as i have been butchered and had to have several correction surgeries after. you have had such a rough road and probably the longest road to recovery out of all of us, i really hope you will have a full recovery now, with quick progression, i hope you can sue the doctor. we must always keep active on the forum so people are constantly reminded about the names of the doctors that butcher us, so everyone will always know these are the scum that just care about profit margin and not their patients
This is the reason because reversible nails are better, because they can help in case of non union.
(If I am wrong, please, quote me with correct info, and I will strike the text)
Hi Kenda this is unicorns diary so i will just leave the link for my diary,
http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=64740.0
if you want to post on it we will chat there
You're right. It's one of advantages of Precice/Stryde in comparison to Betzbone and the Guichet Nail.
WHAT YOUR TISSUE LOOKS LIKE WHEN REMOVED
(https://s7d7.turboimg.net/t1/55488109_Metallosis.png) (https://www.turboimagehost.com/p/55488109/Metallosis.png.html)
Necrosis. Is that......yours?
Top is not my photo, bottom is my xray. Easier to show what metallosis looks like since it’s one new thing I’ve discovered that’s plaguing my leg.Oh thank God. You had me worried for a second. Jokes on you these days huh? ;D ;D ;D
I feel like one of those police officers who scare high school kids with grisly photos to deter them from reckless behavior, like leg lengthening 😂
Eureka! We can post emojis? 💸🦵🪓🦿🤕👩🦽🚑 🏨👩🏽⚕️💉💊🚷🖤☠️
Wow, I went through your journal and you and I had so many similar 'complications'. Chin up and keep fighting ok? We'll get there eventually and will be made whole again.
Ok, I thought Lo Pan was a chinese noodle dish or perhaps the wife of Taipan. I learnt something new today
Yes, I checked your Instagram last night and saw the pictures. I wish I could have left a comment and some likes but I opted out of social media a long time ago. Regardless, I think you still look great and I see you have a great sense of fashion.
How are you recovering now? Can you walk?
I am sorry all this happened to you unicorn. When you started the surgery I was in middle school. Today, I have graduated highschool and your recovery is still pending. Surely this will be the last procedure you need? Bone graft to fill in the gap in legs? Hopefully you will recover, and need not to suffer any more
Yes, I checked your Instagram last night and saw the pictures. I wish I could have left a comment and some likes but I opted out of social media a long time ago. Regardless, I think you still look great and I see you have a great sense of fashion.
How are you recovering now? Can you walk?
Thanks for the congratulations unicorn. And yeah I'm excited for college even with this covid thingy going on.
I agree with you as well, if I do the surgery in my 20s and things go south it would make up a rather big portion of my overall life at the time compared to a later age.
Hopefully to be safe I'll be doing it at 25 with an American doctor for sure and with an fda approved nail.
As you point out, timing and money is important, I hope you can get back on your feet soon. 4 years is long overdue.
Best wishes unicorn
Are you going to hurt Dr Guichet after all of this is done?
Weird that many recommended Dr G sooo much more than Dr Sarin in India but I went there, paid $15.000, got 7cm taller and now I’m living the dream. Yesterday I even signed a minor model contract. Height requirement were 180cm for men. That would have been impossible for me before LL.
I really wish you a fast recovery miss.
If you want Dr G to get hurt I’ll do it for you for $15.000 - plain business deal.
Are you going to hurt Dr Guichet after all of this is done?
Weird that many recommended Dr G sooo much more than Dr Sarin in India but I went there, paid $15.000, got 7cm taller and now I’m living the dream. Yesterday I even signed a minor model contract. Height requirement were 180cm for men. That would have been impossible for me before LL.
I really wish you a fast recovery miss.
If you want Dr G to get hurt I’ll do it for you for $15.000 - plain business deal.
Ok I get it. You want to ship Guichet off to China
Would having 6 cm on femurs fk your it band up?
What's your starting height? Everything is relative, remember. The same constant 6cm will cause more muscle contractures if you're shorter than a taller person variable.
But 6cm is usually regarded as a safe goal and whilst you will still suffer from duck ass, widened legs apart, hunching and some valgus in the beginning, your flexibility will make the difference of how fast you can recover from muscle contractures.
Usually, females and younger men are more flexible than older men. That's what I had perceived. And some doctors are actually smarter to release IT bands during the initial surgery, just to help out with muscle contractures.
So to prepare, always best to do all the exercises that stretches hip flexor (psoas), quads, hamstrings, IT bands and even calf muscles coz everything is interconnected.
It will make a difference coz the moment surgery is performed, you'll be held hostage by your own soft tissues. So do it now, do it often ~ it will reduce your recovery time, discomfort and return to regular walking gait.
Are you going to hurt Dr Guichet after all of this is done?
Weird that many recommended Dr G sooo much more than Dr Sarin in India but I went there, paid $15.000, got 7cm taller and now I’m living the dream. Yesterday I even signed a minor model contract. Height requirement were 180cm for men. That would have been impossible for me before LL.
I really wish you a fast recovery miss.
If you want Dr G to get hurt I’ll do it for you for $15.000 - plain business deal.
Though, to all you LLers out there who're suffering from complications or have been wronged, subjected to discrimination, unfair dismissals, judgements, criticisms, abandonment and ridicule from your circle of 'professional carers, friends, family and acquaintances'... this is a dream I most relish...
To find our perpetrators waking up in a very dark room, to the sound of IV drip, drip, dripping... into their arm. As they crane their necks and look around bewildered, they realize they're strapped to a hospital bed, wearing a hospital gown and not much else.
Their eyes slowly adjust to the darkness and come into focus. They realize they're lying in a dimly lit room alone, with just a rusty metal door at the far end, bolted shut and chains clanging away with the wind. And then, a dull ache starts to throb from their thighs...
Their heart starts to palpitate a little faster as they peek under their hospital gown and notice 3 fresh bandages where incisions might have been made. It's not clear to them yet what has happened but the locations of these 3 incisions do look familiar - one near the knee, one in the middle of the thigh and the last one, high on the hip.
It's slowly dawning on them now, what their current predicament stems from. Panic stricken, they start mumbling, "No, please no, this can't be real, please no! Let me wake up! This is just a nightmare..." And then, the pain intensifies... it's now flared from throbbing to burning. It feels like their legs are placed on a BBQ pit, lazily roasting away, combusting from the inside out.
Where are the damned painkillers? Why am I here? Where's the nurse? Where's the damned call button? Where is everybody? Someone, help!!! I can't move! Why is my bed rocking from left to right? And what's that howling noise outside my room?
Where am I???
If they could only see outside, but it won't be long before they figure out. If you ventured outside their 'room', it's actually a rusty old shipping container, no different from the thousands of containers stacked around them. And if you hopped down to the ship deck, you'll understand why the room was rocking with each wake. You're on a container ship hell bound to Angola.
The good news is by the time your friend gets there, he/she would be taller by 10cm...