Limb Lengthening Forum

I used to live a few kilometers from this hospital, it is in a good area, situated about 20 minutes from the heart of Bangkok and several international hospitals - one of which uses Fitbone.

This is probably childish and off-topic, but I just have to say, that's the funniest doctor name I've seen in years.

I know right, I was gonna comment but I didn't want to be seen as taking the piss too much.

It's got it all, porn, tard, thong. 

Lucky he does not live in the west otherwise he would have untold amount of jibes at his name.

Hey guys,

I got a feedback from him about his Fitbone surgery price.

It is absolutely too much though... 3 Millions Thailand Dollars which is equivalent to 90,000 USD 

and, accommodations not included.

Only a little cheaper than Dr. Xia/Li for much less experience in an even less developed country? Doesn't seem worth it.

The facilities do look nice. But I think the overall development, like in terms of infrastructure for example, can be relevant. Another factor is that Thailand could be further from some patients than Beijing.

The assembly line point is a good point, but actually the opposite currently concerns me. I've been in recent contact with Beijing and was told there are presently 5 foreign patients there. There were no patient diaries for Beijing in 2013 on old forum , where previous years had as many as 7. There seems to be a significant decrease in foreign patients and I'd like to know why. Anyways, I'd prefer the greater experience and positive anecdotal reviews for a 10% higher price. The sample size seems too small to draw any conclusions on this doctor.

Welcome to the forum, doctor. 

I hope this doctor is coming here for help and not for promotion... I will give him the benefit of doubt. I like Asian people. They're serious.

On top of Bangkok and Phuket you have other cities and places like Bang Bua Thong, Bang Sue, Baan Sukchoke, Dong Rak, Ban Pornpis.  Food names like gang dang, phat prick and tons of Porn names...

That is one decadent country! 

I live in Thailand . It's nice here in Thailand ,the most important thing to be extra careful of is the traffic. I would love to have my LL here bud sadly I can't afford it . If Dr.PornAnek is on this forum please pm me about Thai price . I live 2 hours from Bangkok. I can speak Thai.

Why not you call him?

I went to visit him and when I asked.
He said he has done it before and the last two guys he did was one Asian, Korean guy who did 8CM in just lower leg and he had it without complications.
Then there was a another guy, from the UK. Who did one leg at a time and did in 6 months plus 6 months span for 6cms.

Prices is about 800K baht plus another ~180K.
When converting about 25k $

I had mixed feelings when I went and asked.
I was happy I was able to meet and looks like he understands what the patient is going through but all I could think was
missing out on life for a year being bed ridden and then the 25K $.

Goodluck !

Dr. Porn Thong, now that sounds like a surgeon I would be interested in, is it a she ?

Originally posted by user CantDecide: (original post removed to prevent repeat threads).


Hello everyone!

I contacted Dr. Porn-A-nke Tardthong a couple of days ago and I got this reply from the hospital:

"We are proudly to inform you that you can take advantage of Limb Lengthening procedure in Vejthani Hospital
by Ilizarov Technique.

Moreover, these are the information regarding your inquiry; we perform limb lengthening surgery  in  our  hospital by Ilizarov Technique.  I  provided  some information about the surgery below:

The height that you may get will be about 5 -6 centimeters (about 2 inches) depending on your anatomical  structure. One important caution about this procedure is you should follow our instructions strictly; absolute bed rest and a good understanding of why you need to use the wheelchair and restrict strenuous activities.

•The operation will be 4 majors and 1 minor operation.
•Total time of treatment will be around 14 months.
•Total cost will be around 2 million THB
•This is by Ilizarov Technique.

External Fixator:
There is a limitation in height increase: if only your tibia (lower leg bones) is treated, the limit is  usually  about  5  to  6  cm  (about  2  inches).  But  you  can  gain  more  by  treating  your upper legs(treatment of upper and lower legs should not be done simultaneously).

*Please  note: That  this  limit  may  vary  a  bit,  depending  on  your  individual  anatomical structures. If your legs are rather short compared to your upper body, you are a suitable candidate for limb lengthening or height increase surgery. However, the maximum length somebody can gain is about 12 cm or more.”


Basically, the procedure is divided into 2 parts:
a)Distraction period: during the surgery, the bone is cut and the Ilizarov External Fixator applied. The surgeon uses Ilizarov to distract your tibias. By the time the surgeon performs the operation with Ilizarov, he will put the interlocking nail into your bone before breaking your bone. The interlocking nail will not lock the distal screws at this time. The bone will be stretched to gain about 5 cm. within the next 50 days, starting from the 10th day after the surgery, a total of 60 days. After that, the Ilizarov Instrument will be removed. You will be in a wheelchair during the distraction period.
b)Consolidation period: When we reach the required length. The surgeon will put the distal screws to lock the interlocking nail and remove the Ilizarov. So in this period,the patient will live without Ilizarov at your legs but you can't put the weight on them. About 2 to 2.5 times is the length of the distraction period. The bone is fixed to an internal metal fixator just like the ones used after suffering a bone trauma. Within this period of 100 to 120 days, the bone becomes harder and stronger and the mobility of the patient gradually increases. Walking with crutches is possible after about 1/3 to 1/2 of this period.

Length of stay:
After the surgery, you must stay in our hospital for 5 days during the first resting period for the bone to be grown (rate 5 cm. per 2months). At this time, your mobility will be greatly limited. You must stay all the time on the bed and on a wheelchair. After taking out the nail and there is no complication, you can go home, but you still need bed rest and use a wheelchair for the next 3 months. Finally, you are advised to visit our surgeon or if you do not want to come for follow up, you can send monthly X-ray to confirm that the bone is completely healed. After receiving our confirmation and the doctor's advice, you can start to walk without a wheelchair.

Recommended length of stay in Thailand:3 –6 months

Our limb lengthening surgeon is  Dr.  Porn-A-nke Tardthongand he  has  performed many limb lengthening surgeries, both on Thai and foreigner, and all patients are satisfied with the results. Furthermore,  if  you  wish  to  consult  with  Dr.  Porn-A-nke for  the  possible  treatment  and recommendation, kindly send an X-ray image of the legs for evaluation.

The estimated cost for the procedure:  around  +/-2 Million THB  for the procedure only.
($62,932)
(£48,209)
(€55,876)

Limb Lengthening, what are the side effects?
Yes, there are risks with any type of surgery, although Leg Lengthening has been practiced for many years now and the risks are not as great as they once were.The risks can be put into two groups: minor and major.

Minor Risks & Complications
Infections:
when the lengthening apparatus is put into the body, there is a risk of infection at the sites where it touches human tissue.With external methods, infections are very common at the pin-sites where it is connected through the skin to the bone, but these infections can normally be treated very quickly. They can be avoided by regular cleaning of the pins sites and good general cleanliness and health.With internal methods, infections are very rare, but when they do occur, they can be very serious as the infection will be trapped inside the body and may not be identified quickly.In both cases, antibiotics can also help and, ultimately, the removal of the apparatus.

Scars:
The surgery involved in Leg Lengthening requires various incisions to be made in the skin and flesh, and this can lead to scarring. This can be particularly bad when it comes to external methods which can create multiple scars, some of which can be very deep and long.However, the scars can normally be removed quite easily by a cosmetic surgeon, and scarring can be minimized by using special lotions and creams.

Major Risks & Complications:
Non-Union:
All Leg Lengthening methods involve separating one or more bones into two parts (osteotomy) and then slowly separating those two parts (distracting) and relying on the bone's natural ability to regenerate.If the rate of distraction is faster than the rate of regeneration, there is a chance that the two halves of the bone will become totally separate and fail to grow together. This is a form of non-union.This is a serious complication that sometimes needs bone-graft surgery to rectify it, or can result in the lengthening having to be reversed.

Nerve & Blood Vessel Damage:
Leg Lengthening results in stretched nerves and blood vessels. Sometimes, the stretching of them can result in damage to them which may require treatment by medication or surgery.

These are more common than non-union but can be mitigated by ensuring that the rate of lengthening is not too fast for the body to cope with.

Premature Consolidation:
if the rate of lengthening is too slow, the bone can heal before the lengthening process is complete preventing the target height from being achieved. This can normally be avoided by careful monitoring, but if it happens, unscheduled surgery will be required. Other Complications each different technique may bring its own unique risks, and these should be discussed with your surgeon in detail before the operation. An example of this would be pin-breakages with external methods."

_______

I hope this helps!

I did ask them a couple more questions but they said it's  better that I see the doctor first. I may go to Thailand sometime this year. So, we I will see how it goes.

Response from Vejthani Hospital, located in Bangkok, Thailand.  Contact them for specific information and latest updates.
Note: please refer to our disclaimer about The Doctors Directory http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=55.0

Background and Qualifications:
Dr. Porn-A-nke Tardthong has performed many limb lengthening surgeries, both on Thais and foreigners.

Medical School
Medical Doctor, Faculty of Medicine,
Phramonkutklao College of Medicine

Board Certifications:
- Thai Board of Orthopaedics.
- Underwater Medicine, Panama City, Florida, USA.
- Bone Transportation by Ilizarov Lecco, Italy.
- A.O. Spine Course Nottingham, U.K.

Active Memberships:
The Royal College of Orthopaedics Surgeons of Thailand.

Hospital profile page with patient testimonials: http://www.vejthani.com/web-english/Our-Physicians/Our-Physicians.php?id_sr=159

Process (LON Method):
 
The height that you may get will be about 5 - 8 centimeters depending on your anatomical structure. One important caution about this procedure is you should follow our instructions strictly; absolute bed rest and a good understanding why you need to use the wheelchair and restrict strenuous activities.

*Please note that this limit may vary a bit, depending on your individual anatomical structures. If your legs are rather short compared to your upper body, you are a suitable candidate for limblengthening or height increase surgery. However, the maximum length somebody can gain is about 12 cm or more.

Basically, the procedure is divided into 2 parts:
 
1. Distraction period: during the surgery, the bone is cut and the Ilizarov External Fixator applied. The surgeon uses Ilizarov to distract your tibias. By the time the surgeon performs the operation with Ilizarov, he will put the interlocking nail into your bone before breaking your bone. The interlocking nail will not lock the distal screws at this time. The bone will be stretched to gain about 5 cm. within the next 50 days, starting from the 10th day after the surgery, a total of 60 days. After that, the Ilizarov Instrument will be removed. You will be in a wheel chair during the distraction period.
 
2. Consolidation period: When we reach the required length. The surgeon will put the distal screws to lock the interlock nail and remove the Ilizarov. So in this period the patient will live without Ilizarov at your legs but you can't put the weight on them. About 2 to 2.5 times the length of the distraction period. The bone is fixed to an internal metal fixator just like the ones used after suffering a bone trauma. Within this period of 100 to 120 days, the bone becomes harder and stronger and the mobility of the patient gradually increase. Walking with crutches is possible after about 1/3 to 1/2 of this period.

Length of stay
 
After the surgery, you must stay in our hospital for 5 days. During the first resting period for bone to be grown (rate 5 cm. per 2 month). At this time, your mobility will be greatly limited. You must stay all the time on bed and on wheel chair. After taking out the nail and there is no complication, you can go home, but you still need bed rest and use wheelchair for the next 3 months. Finally, you are advised to visit our surgeon or if you do not want to come for follow up, you can send monthly X-ray to confirm that the bone is completely healed. After receiving our confirmation and the doctor's advise, you can start to walk without wheelchair.

Cost Estimate:

1) Height Surgery (insert Ilizarov and interlocking plate):   800,000 Baht ($25,332 USD)
2) Remove Ilizarov and remove Interlocking plate              120,000 Baht ($3,800 USD)

The estimated price includes the following charges:

1) Operating room, ICU 1 night and standard room for 5 nights (including nursing care, meals, room rate and room service), totaling 6 nights starting from the date of surgery.

2) Surgeons, Anesthesiologists fees

Cost Excludes:

1) Pre-operative study (pre-op check up, x-ray)
2) Pre-operative room and service expenses. Post-operative expenses incur in the case of requiring additional days to recuperate.
3) Take home medicine, medical supplies.
4) Special medicine
5) Cost incurred during follow-up periods
6) Miscellaneous expenses i.e. telephone calls, additional food and beverage
7) Special medical equipment (if necessary)
 
Please note that the actual cost will vary on the severity of the case, medicines and medical supplies used. Charges to other procedures or tests that the doctor may order will apply. Price is subject to change without further notice.

Accommodation:
We can offer you our Service Apartment located within our hospital's premises for easy access to the hospital. Service Apartment charge ranges from 1,300 THB - 1,700 THB ($41.00 USD - $54.00 USD) per day. We also have package price for the clients who stays more than 15 days in our service apartment.

Contact Details:
To make an appointment with the doctor, please advise the following to pre-register in our system.         
 
Full name of the patient       
Date of birth         
Nationality       
Requested date and time of appointment   
 
After all identifications have been confirmed, we will proceed to schedule your appointment with our specialist. A prompt response from you will speed-up the process and help me to book your appointment in your most convenient time.

Warm Regards,

International Correspondence Team
Vejthani Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand
English Hotline : +6685-223-8888
Arabic Hotline   : +668 4875 6677
Call center         : +662-734-0000
Website: www.vejthani.com
Facebook Account: www.facebook.com/Vejthani

Called me immature but I haven’t laughed this hard in a while

Doctor Porn tard thong I’m rolling 

Does anyone have an update on this doctor/hospital or know of any patients treated by him?