I took some time to decide if I should share my experience I had with femur lengthening with Dr Betz. I initially didn’t want to share but I wish I had known some of these things before making my own decision with whom I should have the surgery done. So I decided to post my experience, hoping it will help others.
Stats:
- female, American
- initial stature 5.2
- lengthening of both femurs 8 cm
- July 2020
Experience of surgery and lengthening:
Dr Betz was very nice and the experience was without any issues or complications. I reached my final goal of 8cm gain while back in America. Nails were not an issue. They don’t break and the clicking mechanism, while old school, is working fine.
Post lengthening complications:
I did have considerable issues with stretching my hip flexors and IT bands . What’s important to know (and not disclosed prior to surgery): dr Betz doesnt weaken these structures during the procedure while American doctors typically do that. So lengthening under Dr Betz is much tougher regarding these structures. I was working with the PT of Dr Robert Rozbruch starting the week I got back from Germany. I spent $600-900 per week on PT with his highly experienced LL PT. I did all exercises as prescribed by Dr Betz religiously by myself. However, 6 months post surgery I had major contractures that forbid me to walk normally (and without crutches). I’m far from healed or ok, even post 6 months.
Diagnosis Rozbruch:
Went to see Dr Rozbruch locally who said I needed surgery to release the structures Dr Betz failed to release in his original surgery. Dr Rozbruch seemed to be very “impressed” by my case and almost saw it as a case study of how bad recovery could be. He said there was no way for this to go away just by doing PT.
Response Betz:
I communicated with Betz and was very surprised by his response. He said he would “under no circumstances” operate me to release those structures. He prescribed another 6-12 months additional PT after which he felt I may or may not would be able to walk again normally and without crutches. He did not give me a reason as to WHY he rejected any kind of surgical help (besides that he never had done it before). Even after asking several times. I’ve been on crutches and out of commission for more than 6 months now, it’s not realistic nor practical to follow Dr Betz suggested “solution” to my problem.
So now I’m scheduled to get surgery with Dr Rozbruch, which I need to pay out-of-pocket. About $20,000
Takeaway:
I’m not saying do your surgery with Dr Betz, or don’t do it with him. In my opinion, if you don’t encounter issues, his surgery is as good as with anyone else. But don’t count on practical help if you have complications. He actually at this point stopped responding to me which is probably the most surprising and challenging part of the experience. If a surgeon does this surgery and takes international patients, ghosting when issues arise seems unprofessional and not constructive.
Author
Topic: Femurs lengthening with Dr Betz (Read 2498 times)