This will probably be my last post in this forum.
I had nail extraction on June 13th, but I was waiting for a full recovery before posting again. There was a complication in surgery: a small part of the nail on my right leg broke or fell down during surgery, so Giotikas had to drill through my knee to push it out. He warned me about this posibility the day before, it seems it's not that uncommon. It's not a major problem though, it just means a longer recovery in that leg (maybe 3 weeks more). After surgery, my left leg literally felt like nothing had happened. I felt I could run or jump. Nail extraction surgery is truly mild in comparison with the original surgery as long as you have no complications. However, my right knee was hurting a lot due to the knee drilling. Giotikas told me I had to keep stretching it despite of pain in order to keep my ROM. I kept strectching, but I'm not exagerating when I say that it caused as much pain as the original surgery. I was just a bit unlucky in that regard, but it was just pain.
Most people don't even use the crutches after surgery. Due to my complication, I had to use them for like 10 days, as my right knee was extremely weak. I felt I would fall without the crutches, and I had a lot of inflammation. I left hospital on the same day, and left Greece 5 days after that. I started walking with no crutches after 10 days, and I recovered fully normal gait after 30 days or so. Take into account that this is not normal, it was just due to my complication, and I lost a lot of leg muscle during that first month.
Normally, you have to wait at least 6 weeks to start working out again. However, it seems I had a very very strong consolidation, so Giotikas allowed me to start jogging at around 4 weeks post surgery. I waited 5 weeks just in case, and started slowly jogging. Comparing my performance with pre nail extraction is CRAZY. You feel so much stronger and flexible. I truly encourage all of you to take the nails out, as you won't fully recover until you do. Before doing any lifting, I took X-rays at 6 weeks post surgery, and Giotikas said it all looked good.
11 weeks after surgery I can say that I think I will get to 95-100% of my pre LL athletic abilities. I'm hiking at least 2 hours per day, boxing again, running, deadlifting (with low weight just in case for now)... I feel extremely good. The only thing that feels weaker is squatting with proper form due to the changed biomechanics, but I'm working on it. I'd say before extraction I was at 80% of my previous abilities, but taking the nail out allows me to get back to where I was before LL. In fact, I just measured and I'm 3 mm taller than pre extraction. It probably was because the nail was restricting my hip mobility by a lot, causing strain to my lower back. This means that I FINALLY have truly gained the full amount that I lenghtened: 6 cm.
I'm very happy now, and I just must be careful not doing anything stupid that could cause a fracture. If I don't post again, everything is ok. I'm glad I did this surgery, as it changed my life. Finally now, after 2 years, I can put my height obsession behind. I also want to thank Dr Giotikas for his work, as I have no complaints about him. He's been very professional and kind to me, and I certainly recommend him as a Dr.
I wish you luck to all of you.