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[FormerKidd]

I feel like there's some confusion here so I want to clarify.

No doctor will let you walk on the 8.5mm precice nail. Do you know of someone on 8.5mm precice nail walking on crutches at Paley's?

Walker is not the same as crutches.  Some of us were pretty much exclusively using the walker with Precice 2 from the get-go, but you couldn't really "walk" -- you had to "hop", basically either both feet on the ground, or neither.  You could not put your weight exclusively on one leg, like you can with Stryde.

I mean even if you are allowed to use a walker before, can you realistically say what you were able to do with it? How fast was your speed? Did you not need help when going outside the house? Because with externals I was allowed to use the walker the next day after surgery but I was quite slow and any time I left the house, I used the wheelchair with the help of others because it would have taken too long if I used the walker outside. How did you buy groceries for example?

I was able to go out, and I would occasionally Uber to restaurants and go to stores for small purchases and things like that.  The two big problems with using the Walker were that (a) you can't go up and down stairs, and (b) you can't carry anything in your hands.  So for transporting items, you either had to rely on your pockets or buy a carrying pouch for the walker.

I had somebody else help with groceries and laundry.

depending on your financing, i'd choose precice 2.0 over stryde. i really dont think its that different from stryde and you should be able to walk within couple of days if not day 1 like stryde. i'd go for that, ( probably gonna go for that actually ) so not being able to walk for couple of days or 1 or 2 weeks isnt really a deal breaker considering the price difference. it does the same job anyway.

What?  With Precice, you most likely cannot walk until the bones consolidate.  With Stryde, you can walk far sooner.

[Fox]

Thanks for the advice! I did not know about those issues associated with external’s. That definitely gives me all the more reason to choose Precice!

be aware that those issues are minimal (like infection), so to avoid infection you need to pay much more attention to your fixators.  so definitely not saying that you shouldnt go for externals but its a lot of work. and if you have the luxury to choose between externals or internals, definitely go for the internal nails.

[Fox]

What?  With Precice, you most likely cannot walk until the bones consolidate.  With Stryde, you can walk far sooner.

are you absolutely sure about that? bone consolidation takes at least couple of months

[Great321]

As someone who did tsf frames and latn, I can tell you that some people here who give you advices are sugar coating the surgery quite a bit.

You will definitely not be walking a few days or weeks after externals like a normal person. You will be walking with a walker, a lot slower and with new problems every day. Especially inflamed pins are the worst.

You should try to get your information from diaries and doctors, Alexa. People who think that Precise 2.0 and Stryde are almost the same are not informed enough. There is a big difference. With Precise 2.0, recovery takes a lot longer. You can read about it yourself in many diaries and compare. There was this guy who did precise 2.0 and 1-2 months later stryde was used by Paley for the first times. That guy really regretted that he didn't wait a bit more for Stryde. His user name is override(your)genetics or similar...

For femurs: stryde
For tibias: lon/latn
My personal recommendation.

Or if you are rich, stryde for tibias too

[FormerKidd]

are you absolutely sure about that? bone consolidation takes at least couple of months

Yes.  Precice 2.2 is not strong enough for you to put your weight on one foot, so you have to wait until there's enough bone to offload the stress.  With Stryde, it's strong enough to permit this, and many (although not all) Stryde patients are able to walk with a cain, even while still lengthening.

For reference, I did a lengthening with Precice 2.2 and another with Stryde.

There was this guy who did precise 2.0 and 1-2 months later stryde was used by Paley for the first times. That guy really regretted that he didn't wait a bit more for Stryde. His user name is override(your)genetics or similar...

I met him.  He did both segments simultaneously, which makes the process far worse -- I'm glad I didn't attempt that!  Also, Precice was a lot harder to work with on the tibias.  The femur nail used in most males could handle 75lbs/leg, while the tibial nail could handle 50lbs/leg, which made weightbearing restrictions harsher for tibial patients.

[Fox]

Yes.  Precice 2.2 is not strong enough for you to put your weight on one foot, so you have to wait until there's enough bone to offload the stress.  With Stryde, it's strong enough to permit this, and many (although not all) Stryde patients are able to walk with a cain, even while still lengthening.

For reference, I did a lengthening with Precice 2.2 and another with Stryde.

I met him.  He did both segments simultaneously, which makes the process far worse -- I'm glad I didn't attempt that!  Also, Precice was a lot harder to work with on the tibias.  The femur nail used in most males could handle 75lbs/leg, while the tibial nail could handle 50lbs/leg, which made weightbearing restrictions harsher for tibial patients.

wow, i didnt know that about precice. i must have misremembered then. so do you recommend stryde for femurs and externals for tibias?

[FormerKidd]

wow, i didnt know that about precice. i must have misremembered then. so do you recommend stryde for femurs and externals for tibias?

I don't have much personal experience or knowledge around externals, so hard for me to say.

[cyborg4life]

I agree with Fox,

I had an external fixator on my right femur after breaking it (got hit by a car) and it was a pain keeping the pin insertion sites clean, showering, not to mention some social gatherings.

Internal rods came out almost a decade later and if you can afford it they are the better option in my opinion

[xenia123]

lol. I‘m 5‘10 (woman) and i want to shorten my legs.
i‘d give anything to be 5‘5.
I‘m just curious, why do you think it‘s beneficial to be so much above the average concerning height?
isn‘t being average the best?

[Alexa]

I am grateful for all of the input! I have been busy researching but I still have lots more to do lol. Y’all definitely helped me get started! This website is a great source of information with so many people sharing their LL experiences.

And too bad we can’t switch Xenia! I would think it would be more beneficial to be supermodel height than average but to each their own lol!

[Alexa]

While I agree that Stryde would be a better option I think I am going to go with Precice 2 due to my financial situation. According to Dr. Paley in the journal, PRECICE intramedullary limb lengthening system, “Weight-bearing restrictions are essential to the use of this nail. They have been increased to 75 lbs during the distraction phase for the 12.5-mm PRECICE 2 from only 50 lbs for the 12.5-mm PRECICE 1.” (Paley, 2015). Although I should be confined to a wheelchair for some time following the procedure, I see no reason as to why I should not be able to walk with an assisted device during distraction, allowing for partial weight bearing to both legs, given that I am extremely careful never to place my full weight on one particular leg. Perhaps walking in a manner like this, I could prevent placing more than 50ibs on one particular leg- https://m.

Although I would still utilize a wheelchair, when I do walk using that method, I would only be placing well under the weight limit of 75ibs on the nails. Of course the doctor will have to okay it- I have not gotten around to inquiring about that specific aspect of post surgery yet lol.

I have not decided on a doctor yet as I have yet to hear back from all of them. However, most of the “cheaper” doctors that offer internal nail have a price that is the same or similar to Dr. Giotikas. In fact with everything totaled up it is impossible to find a significantly cheaper doctor than Dr. Giotikas with the cost of Precice being so high. Even the doctors who have their own nails charge significantly more and the cheapest of the fitbone doctors charge a similar price to Precice with Dr. Giotikas. Although there are several other qualified doctors at a similar price to him that I am also considering, I would prefer to schedule with him for the sole reason that he has the greatest amount of positive patient experiences shared here compared to the other doctors. Unless of course he has a long waitlist, in that case I will probably go with the doctor who I can schedule with the soonest. But I will keep y’all updated when I hear back! If anyone is interested lol!