I’ve always wanted to be taller. My starting height is 161 cm during the day and drops to 160 cm at night. After years of living with this height, I decided to undergo limb lengthening surgery. Living in Canada for several years, I realized Montreal was the best option for me. The United States was far too expensive, and I never considered countries like Turkey. Even though I’m originally Eastern European, I’ve never trusted Turkish surgeons or clinics.
I’m genuinely surprised when I hear people, especially from Western countries like the U.S., considering Turkey. It’s not just about safety—there have been numerous reports showing the risks—but also the cost. If you compare the price for the Precice nail in Montreal, it’s even cheaper than Turkey by a few thousand dollars when factoring in the currency exchange rate. Turkey may seem affordable for the LON method, but that procedure is much riskier. I don’t mean to advertise, but I want people to know that there are better, safer options in North America compared to Turkey and other countries that patients should avoid.
Back to my story: when I was younger, I used to stretch a lot and even believe I gained a few centimeters. Still, my height was short. Over time, I started wearing lifts in my shoes. Now, in my mid-30s, I’ve realized that height lifts were taking a toll on my knees. I started feeling discomfort and decided I didn’t want to rely on them anymore. That’s when I made the decision to pursue surgery.
Initially, I waited for the Pmax nail to become available, but when it didn’t, I scheduled my surgery for the fall of 2024. Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous. I had complete trust in Dr. Marie Gdalevitch after watching her videos on the Cyborg YouTube channel with Victor. She seemed like a skilled specialist and a genuinely kind person, which calmed me down entirely before the procedure. She is also straightforward and I liked it!
On the morning of the surgery, I arrived at her private clinic (was little bit late and they called me when I was in elevator coming up). The operation lasted around two and a half hours, and when I woke up, everything was good. I've seen Dr. Gdalevitch standing above me. I also got big nail, with my weight I was close to have weight bearing nail (it gave me more confidence walking and I knew big nail is stronger).
After the surgery, the staff encouraged me to start walking with a walker. On the first day, I managed to get to the bathroom and back without any significant pain. Later, I was moved to a private room, where I stayed overnight before going home the next day. When you are at private clinic you will get medicine and food.
Dr. Gdalevitch recommended starting with 1,500 steps daily and gradually increasing to 3,000–4,000 steps. She explained that walking stimulates bone growth and promotes faster healing. Unlike some other clinics where patients use wheelchairs, this clinic emphasizes using crutches and walker instead (you will have these for free).
Lengthening started at day number 7. By the 10th day post-surgery I stopped taking Tylenol because I wasn’t experiencing significant pain, lately I took Tylenol from time to time rarely but never had serious paid, may be I have good pain tolerance or my mindset is just right! However, at around 1.5 cm of lengthening, I began feeling discomfort in my left calf. This persisted until I reached 4.5 cm, lasting about a month, but eventually, it went away entirely. During this time, I only used strong painkillers at night (every 2nd-3rd day) to help me sleep better when the calf issue disturbed me. During the day, the discomfort was manageable and didn’t interfere much with my routine. After calf issues was gone (4.5 cm) everything went smoothly up until I reached 8.2 cm.
Dr. Gdalevitch slowed down the lengthening process a few times due to tightness around my knees, but it was never anything too serious, it was just me telling her how I feel in details when she asked and then she said - "you should slow down, it's also better for the bone growth". Few times I was coming back lengthening to 1mm or 0.75mm and then to 0.5cm for the last 5mm of lengthening. She is very cautious, maybe too cautious, but I appreciated her concern for my overall health. Ultimately, she allowed me to lengthen up to 8.2 cm, taking advantage of the extra 0.2 cm the nail offers.
Now, I’m in the consolidation phase, focusing on walking around 4,000 steps daily to speed up the healing process. I’m hopeful I’ll be able to walk without crutches within a few months.
Looking back, I’m really happy I chose to do this surgery here in Montreal with Dr. Gdalevitch and the team at CLLC. This is a great place, and I felt like I was in good hands throughout the process. Physio guys are also friendly and helpful! Physio was 5 days per week.
For anyone considering this surgery, I want to clarify that I’m just an average person who went through the procedure and decided to share my experience. If you have questions, I recommend reaching out directly to Dr. Gdalevitch’s office—they are the best resource for accurate information.
Don't ask me questions as I wanted to share my story but I don't want to be a consultant for others!
Motivational advice - before doing the surgery I was thinking about soldiers at war, how they can be injured and what they can feel, how they recover.. and I told myself that this surgery is nothing too serious, I'll make it!
Another THANK YOU I want to say to Body Builder from this forum! This guy is experienced with information and he answered all my questions especially that I asked before my surgery, he was basically the only one who I asked questions. Thanks bro for spending your time being here and helping others!
Thanks for reading, and I wish everyone the best in their own journeys!
P.S - I wrote my diary with the help of chat GPT as I would be too lazy to write this much
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Topic: Limb Lengthening Femurs with Dr. Marie Gdalevitch in Montreal (Read 807 times)