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[171in2022]

First of all, big thank you to the forum because without this place I don't think I ever would have gone through with this surgery.

Okay, a little bit about me before I get into the details of my experience so far here.
I'm 30 years old, give or take, and my starting height was around 164cm (lunchtime measurement). I won't get too specific but I live in one of the major English speaking countries (UK, USA, Australia, Canada etc.)

For the past 9 or 10 years I have been using different types of shoe lifts, so my height during the day has usually been around the 169-171 mark. Unfortunately wearing shoes like this is really uncomfortable and taking them off every evening is also not a great feeling so I decided to look into leg lengthening. My decision really came down to wearing 6-7cm lifts for the rest of my life or doing Leg lengthening.

Long story short, because of Co-vid 19 I ended up in Vietnam and decided it was now or never. Which brings me to now, after 4 months of lengthening, I am 6.7cm taller so 0.3 short of my username and original goal! I will be having my frames removed in a few days so I thought this would be a good time to start my diary.

Beforehand, I thought that once the lengthening was done I would be 90 percent of the way to normal. In reality, I'm still using a walker to move around slowly and I understand I have a lot of work to go. I do however feel happy with the decision I made and can't wait to experience life outside again with my extra height and a renewed appreciation for life (believe me, if you go through this process you will appreciate normal life so much more. I guarantee this.).


For now I'll just touch a little on my experience here but any questions are welcome because I'm pretty bored now. So the best way to describe this process is exhausting. Throughout the months I haven't really been in any excruciating pain but the bone aches, muscle tightness, pinsite stings, constipation (a big issue for me) have a way of all coming at the same time and wearing you out. The best part about doing the surgery here is that these types of issues are taken seriously and addressed quickly and that is one thing i have appreciated. For example, I requested to go to the hospital for a checkup after being constipated for a week and they took me that very day I asked. Light bulb changes or similar you might be waiting a little longer but it is what it is, and it's a trade off that works.

Finally, on the amount I lengthened. Before the surgery 7cm was my goal, this changed multiple times throughout the lengthening process and I really wasn't sure how I would know when to stop. One morning I woke up with a strong pain in my ankles, a type of pain I can't really describe and one I didn't feel throughout the whole process and it felt like my body was telling me this is enough so I stopped then and there. 6.7cm is 20 percent of my original tibia length and a very substantial lengthening so I will keep everyone updated on my recovery process. As for right now I have about 2.5cm of ballerina but very little knee contracture.

I think this will be it for now, I will update more about the experience later but for now enjoy a picture of my sturdy frames.

[canterk]

Hi, first of all congrats. some questions:
1. how much did you pay and did you get a package with therapy, housing, etc?
2. how much did you lengthen each day?
3. did you develop ballerina or not?

[171in2022]

Hi canterk, thanks for the congrats

1. I paid just under $20000 USD and it included 4 months of housing, food and 1 hour of physical therapy Monday - Friday. For physical therapy they come to your room. They kept the same price for me from when I initially contacted them a year before the surgery which was appreciated.

2. Until I reached 2cm I lengthened at 1mm per day (4 turns on their device). From 2cm-5.5/6cm I lengthened 0.75mm per day and then just 0.5 for the last cm or so. I probably lengthened at the most cautious speed of everyone here at the moment because I was worried about nerve damage.

3. Yeah, I still have around 3cm ballerina, I think I will probably have to wear lifts for a month or two after surgery *frame removal* to keep my balance.

[canterk]

at what point did you get ballerina? was it when you reached 5cm lengthned or even earlier?

thanks for replying by the way and well wishes!

[marcjero]

Thanks for sharing. I wear lift shioes and I'm as short as you were. Congrats

[marcjero]

you are right ballerina can be managed for a while with lift shoes. Interesting to see how much time you will need  to recover.

[hoopdreams]

Hey bud, wishing you a speedy recovery. What made you choose LON tibs?

[171in2022]

Hey guys so just a little update, I had the frames taken off about 10 days ago. My legs feel a lot better now and not quite as tight as before. The first time my knees touched together it felt insanely weird because I was used to the metal clanging whenever my legs were close haha. I'm still resting so no updates about walking without frames yet.

I was warned the frame removal would be tough but I didn't have much pain. The worst part was the IV drip, I hate having those in.

@canterk I got ballerina a little before that maybe started at 4-4.5cm

@marcjero haha so you can relate then, at our starting height I think this surgery or wearing lifts makes a big difference. Which country/part of the world are you in ?

@hoopdreams Thanks for the well wishes. I was pretty torn between femur and tibia for a long time, I thought about it for a maybe 2-3 years and ultimately I decided Tibia because lower risk of P.E/ fat embolism - cheaper with external/LON methods - and I chose LON because I knew mentally I couldn't handle frames for a year or so.

[ilovescience]

Hey guys so just a little update, I had the frames taken off about 10 days ago. My legs feel a lot better now and not quite as tight as before. The first time my knees touched together it felt insanely weird because I was used to the metal clanging whenever my legs were close haha. I'm still resting so no updates about walking without frames yet.

I was warned the frame removal would be tough but I didn't have much pain. The worst part was the IV drip, I hate having those in.

@canterk I got ballerina a little before that maybe started at 4-4.5cm

@marcjero haha so you can relate then, at our starting height I think this surgery or wearing lifts makes a big difference. Which country/part of the world are you in ?

@hoopdreams Thanks for the well wishes. I was pretty torn between femur and tibia for a long time, I thought about it for a maybe 2-3 years and ultimately I decided Tibia because lower risk of P.E/ fat embolism - cheaper with external/LON methods - and I chose LON because I knew mentally I couldn't handle frames for a year or so.

That IV drip is a bit more painful than the legs feeling after LL? Quite a lot of work in there, congratulations on new height.

[171in2022]

That IV drip is a bit more painful than the legs feeling after LL? Quite a lot of work in there, congratulations on new height.

Thanks! I haven't really had a chance to enjoy it yet but I'm sure I will.

About the IV, most of the time it's fine when connected to the drip but when the nurses come to inject antibiotics/pain killers (not sure what is was) with a syringe into the IV it would make my arm feel cold and ache really bad. I guess because of the painkillers though my legs didn't hurt much. But yeah the doctors and staff warned me it would hurt after frame removal so I don't know lol.

[Charizard]

Congratz How is your pain so far?

[id0n4x]

I enjoyed reading your updates, I plan to go to the same doctor, how is your walking now

[171in2022]

Hey guys

Sorry for the slow update but better late than never I guess! Life keeps ticking and living alone during consolidation is a bit of a pain especially with how busy I have been but it's more enjoyable than living at the center.

I read in another diary a while back that their recovery was like two different experiences between their left and right legs. That's definitely been the case for me, my left leg never gets tired and there's no pain in the ankle, my right leg muscles gets very tired and sore after about 15 minutes walking with crutches. It is pretty frustrating because when my muscles are warmed up I can walk with a fairly normal gait without crutches until the pain kicks in. If my right leg was at the same point as my left I would say I could go back to work etc.. In saying this, I haven't been using any painkillers because I wanted to kick the habit for my consolidation but I think I'm going to go get some tomorrow.

Okay so ballerina has been a nice surprise, it's down to about 1cm left on both feet so I'm really pleased with that, I can wear normal shoes or even walk around bare foot now.

I have some inflammation around a screw on my right leg so I will keep a close eye on that. That's pretty much it for the moment, it's frustrating feeling close to normal but hey it's worth it.

As for the height, the country I'm living in now I'm actually above average height which is just such a weird experience since back home I was 5-6 inches below average height before. I'm only staying here while I recover but so far I can definitely notice a difference despite being in a different country (talked to a few tourists so I can get a feel for height), 164cm to 171cm is a huge improvement imo.

Btw I might sound pretty casual because I'm feeling good at the moment but consolidation is a slog no doubt, I don't want to make anyone think this was/is easy because it's not.

Alright might be a while for another update but if you want pics or videos let me know and I'll see what I can do.

[LL2022]

Hi there! First of all congrats on your journey! I’m also during the consolidation phase after doing LON tibias. My left leg callus is hwaling much faster than my right aswell, but overall my right leg feels ”stronger”. How’s your xrays? If you don’t mind sharing here maybe you could PM me. I would like to compare our progress!

Take care!

[Unknown]

Any videos of you walking? Would love to see!

[luckyboy86]

Looking forward to more updates senpai. I'm just getting started.

[171in2022]

Hi guys back for another small update.

Just gonna dot point it cause im busy af

- Walking 5-10km per day without crutches - 2 weeks ago I was still using one crutch so this has been a very sudden progression.
- Always walking with shoe lifts - when the pain in my right calf and ankle stopped I was in no hurry to stretch them out again and I still have some ballerina so it's shoe lifts for a while.
- Gait is normal with shoe lifts - without them its not, i still need to stretch things out more
- 8 months (now) is the point where I would say I feel normalish, just going downstairs is bs
- Glad I went for 6.8cm, less I would have felt I should have done more, and more was just out of my risk tolerance. I think doing this surgery also means committing to a life of healthy living, staying at a reasonable weight and taking care of your joints.
 
Last month I felt I need about 3 more months to get to where I am now, so i'm happy with the progress.

[Nat369]

First of all, big thank you to the forum because without this place I don't think I ever would have gone through with this surgery.

Okay, a little bit about me before I get into the details of my experience so far here.
I'm 30 years old, give or take, and my starting height was around 164cm (lunchtime measurement). I won't get too specific but I live in one of the major English speaking countries (UK, USA, Australia, Canada etc.)

For the past 9 or 10 years I have been using different types of shoe lifts, so my height during the day has usually been around the 169-171 mark. Unfortunately wearing shoes like this is really uncomfortable and taking them off every evening is also not a great feeling so I decided to look into leg lengthening. My decision really came down to wearing 6-7cm lifts for the rest of my life or doing Leg lengthening.

Long story short, because of Co-vid 19 I ended up in Vietnam and decided it was now or never. Which brings me to now, after 4 months of lengthening, I am 6.7cm taller so 0.3 short of my username and original goal! I will be having my frames removed in a few days so I thought this would be a good time to start my diary.

Beforehand, I thought that once the lengthening was done I would be 90 percent of the way to normal. In reality, I'm still using a walker to move around slowly and I understand I have a lot of work to go. I do however feel happy with the decision I made and can't wait to experience life outside again with my extra height and a renewed appreciation for life (believe me, if you go through this process you will appreciate normal life so much more. I guarantee this.).


For now I'll just touch a little on my experience here but any questions are welcome because I'm pretty bored now. So the best way to describe this process is exhausting. Throughout the months I haven't really been in any excruciating pain but the bone aches, muscle tightness, pinsite stings, constipation (a big issue for me) have a way of all coming at the same time and wearing you out. The best part about doing the surgery here is that these types of issues are taken seriously and addressed quickly and that is one thing i have appreciated. For example, I requested to go to the hospital for a checkup after being constipated for a week and they took me that very day I asked. Light bulb changes or similar you might be waiting a little longer but it is what it is, and it's a trade off that works.

Finally, on the amount I lengthened. Before the surgery 7cm was my goal, this changed multiple times throughout the lengthening process and I really wasn't sure how I would know when to stop. One morning I woke up with a strong pain in my ankles, a type of pain I can't really describe and one I didn't feel throughout the whole process and it felt like my body was telling me this is enough so I stopped then and there. 6.7cm is 20 percent of my original tibia length and a very substantial lengthening so I will keep everyone updated on my recovery process. As for right now I have about 2.5cm of ballerina but very little knee contracture.

I think this will be it for now, I will update more about the experience later but for now enjoy a picture of my sturdy frames.

[Nat369]

is the doctors using general or local anaesthrsia

[Mickxe]

Hey I read all your messages since 2016! That’s a long time thinking of this surgery. I thought about it for a long time too but just came across this forum a few months ago. I was wondering how you were doing? I sent you a request on instagram

[a9284850]

Hi I also want know more about LL with Dr Quynh. My email is a9284850@gmail.com

[sphenopetroclival]

If you have recent imaging data please put it at this thread. Redact any information that could be used to dox you.