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[Resilience]

Hi all,

I’ve been contemplating leg lengthening surgery ever since I realized I wouldn’t be growing past 5’4” 1/2. I’ve been very short my entire life but I’ve definitely made up for it in other ways. I have a great job at a great company and I’m making a significant amount of money every year.

When I was a child, I was diagnosed with a hip condition that deteriorated my hip. When I was 18, I had to get a hip replacement on my right hip. Because of the hip implant, lengthening my femurs became very risky and near impossible. The reason is because the hip implant that’s already inside my right femur will conflict with a nail or illizarov frame, and then there’s also the issue of risking an infection. Aside from my hip, i’m very healthy and in great shape.

I would be extremely happy and contempt with a 2” - 2” 1/2 inch boost to my tibias. I still won’t be very tall, but I do think that if I stood at atleast 5’7”, with everything else that’s going for me, I’ll be a very attractive individual.

In my case, the illizarov approach won’t do me any good because the nails can spread infection to my hip implant. If my hip implant get’s infected, I’ll be on a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I think the best solution would be to use a precise nail on my tibias, but i’ve been reading some very negative things about it. I’ve read that you can get permanent knee pain for the rest of your life. And it’s also extremely expensive. I might be making a decent amount of money each year, but as of right now I really can’t afford $100,000 USD initial surgery cost. That’s definitely not something I want.

I’ve emailed two doctors, namely, Paley and Rozbruch. They also informed me that a lengthening my femurs was possible with a retrograde approach. It’s still pretty risky if you ask me.

I wanted to ask the people on this forum what they think would be the best thing to do. Please be honest and sincere. Thanks!

Best,
Resilience

[Android]

Welcome Resilience! Thanks for sharing your story with us.

I’ve emailed two doctors, namely, Paley and Rozbruch. They also informed me that a lengthening my femurs was possible with a retrograde approach. It’s still pretty risky if you ask me.

When you say it's pretty risky, is this your opinion? Dr. Paley and Dr. Rozbruch are at the top of their game, so I'd trust their suggestion over any of ours on the forums. Of course, to be sure you'll want an in-house consultation (complete with x-rays) with either of them so that they can thoroughly assess your unique situation and provide optimal feedback.

[Body Builder]

Ilizarovs on tibias won't spread any infection on your hips.
It is very rare to have a big infection even in tibias if you have a good doctor and clean pin sides frequently but a hip infection from external tibia LL is impossible.

So on tibias you can use any lengthening method you want.
Imo, external tibias with an hexapod is the best way of LL for good longterm results and you can reach a solid 5.7 without much problems.
But even internal tibias is a solution for you.
But still hexapod is the best way for tibia LL and don't be afraid about your hip, it has nothing to do with tibias.

[Resilience]

Welcome Resilience! Thanks for sharing your story with us.

When you say it's pretty risky, is this your opinion? Dr. Paley and Dr. Rozbruch are at the top of their game, so I'd trust their suggestion over any of ours on the forums. Of course, to be sure you'll want an in-house consultation (complete with x-rays) with either of them so that they can thoroughly assess your unique situation and provide optimal feedback.

When I consulted my hip surgeon, he informed me that there was a risk of infecting my hip implant. He stressed that the implications of an infection could result in pre-mature implant failure and an inability to walk for the rest of my life.

I have not seen Paley or Rozbruch for an initial consultation. They’re both quite far so I would need to book a flight. I also don’t have enough money for the surgery. To be honest, i’m not quite sure how folks in this forum are able to afford the procedures.

Ilizarovs on tibias won't spread any infection on your hips.
It is very rare to have a big infection even in tibias if you have a good doctor and clean pin sides frequently but a hip infection from external tibia LL is impossible.

That’s actually really relieving to hear! Don’t the precise nails create knee pain? And how severe is the scarring from external LL?

[Body Builder]

When I consulted my hip surgeon, he informed me that there was a risk of infecting my hip implant. He stressed that the implications of an infection could result in pre-mature implant failure and an inability to walk for the rest of my life.

I have not seen Paley or Rozbruch for an initial consultation. They’re both quite far so I would need to book a flight. I also don’t have enough money for the surgery. To be honest, i’m not quite sure how folks in this forum are able to afford the procedures.

That’s actually really relieving to hear! Don’t the precise nails create knee pain? And how severe is the scarring from external LL?

The scaring, especially with ilizarov, is not that bad.
You'll have many small scars but nothing important imo. After all you break your legs and suffer from many risks, scaring is the last that you should think of.

Knee pain is not gereral for everyone.
But still I'd prefer externals for tibias.

[Resilience]

The scaring, especially with ilizarov, is not that bad.
You'll have many small scars but nothing important imo. After all you break your legs and suffer from many risks, scaring is the last that you should think of.

Knee pain is not gereral for everyone.
But still I'd prefer externals for tibias.

Sounds good! Aside from Paley and Rozbruch who are two renown doctors, do you know of any experienced reliable doctors that have more affordable rates for external tibia LL?

Which doctor do you think you’ll be going too for your LL procedure?

[Bron]

I’m in the same situation still deciding who to go for LL tibias, how much do you think you’ll spend with Paley and Rozbruch? I am considering Dr.Donghoon Lee too but I still yet to receive a reply from my email to him, there’s a lot of good doctors for externals too, honestly I have the same concern as you when it regards to scars etc but in Internals with permanent knee pain.

[Resilience]

I’m in the same situation still deciding who to go for LL tibias, how much do you think you’ll spend with Paley and Rozbruch? I am considering Dr.Donghoon Lee too but I still yet to receive a reply from my email to him, there’s a lot of good doctors for externals too, honestly I have the same concern as you when it regards to scars etc but in Internals with permanent knee pain.

If you go to Rozbruch or Paley, you'll be spending at most $110,000-$130,000 with taxes, nail removal and other fees taken into consideration.

I personally think that on this matter, health and reliability triumphs over cost. Dr. Lee might offer a more affordable rate (I think it's $70,000 USD) but he lacks the same amount of experience as Rozbruch or Paley. With a lot of people complaining about knee pain and what have you from the operation, I think it's smarter to do the operation with a seasoned and well experienced doctor.