Just had the consultation last week. I also saw my family doctor two weeks ago, and I waited to update my journal until after I got back my lab results for a complete physical.
May 5th - X-ray Day
First thing I did when I got to the Paley Institute was sign in. I had already filled out and signed my forms prior to arriving. My appointment was at 2 PM, and I got the x-ray done at around 3 PM. The x-ray machine was called EOS, this was the first one in Florida. It does a fall body scan and gives high-res x-rays of the whole body. They gave me a green hospital gown and I stood for about half an hour in the x-ray machine, which was a circular cylinder looking machine with an opening for you to get it. If you were to look at the it from above, it'd look like the letter C. It stood about 8 ft high. They took only two scans. One with my legs staggered (right foot in front and left foot in back), and one without both legs together.
By 4 PM, I was out of the hospital, and I went to the outlet malls nearby and visited the Tesla dealership to pass time. All were only 10 minutes away from the hospital.
May 6th - Dr. Paley Consultation Day
The appointment was for 7:30 AM, but since I already registered myself, I came at 7:50 AM and was still okay. They don't officially open until 8 AM anyway. The first person I met was John the PA. He asked me a bunch of questions about my height and then made me stand on these wooden blocks that were 2 inches and 3 inches high. He asked how I felt standing on them. I said that I felt like I was at a normal height after standing on them. He told me that since I'm still young, I should expect a good recovery as long as I keep stretching every day: About 1 hour in the morning, 1 hour in the afternoon and 1 hour at night. The one hour of stretching in the afternoon will be with the PT, so it's really 2 hours of stretching on my own. It was recommended that I have someone for at least 2 weeks to help me stretch. Recommended is 4-6 weeks. I'll be having someone for 5 weeks to help me out.
About an hour later or so, Dr. Paley comes into the room and we talk about our lives. He was very interested in my life, because it's not normal for someone this young to pay for the surgery himself. Normally, it's parents paying for their kids. I explain that I was just a normal 9-5 office worker and living a normal life. But then I became a self-made millionaire app developer after I read and followed the advice from this autobiography from a successful app developer. The book's called Lifehacked and I highly recommend it as a good read even if you're not into app development - I wasn't prior to reading it. Anyway, I go to explain how my app helps people, and how I'm semi-retired and I mostly do charity work now. This part of the story is important, because later on, he helps me out with the surgery date because of my life story. I'll explain more at the end of this entry.
He has John do a flexibility test and confirmed that I needed an IT band release, because my legs don't drop when I lay on my side and make an open scissor shape with my legs. They stay straight and Dr. Paley explains that it's my IT band that's holding them up.
IT band release
In regards to the IT band, Dr. Paley explained that it shouldn't have any long-term effects. He said that after a few weeks, the area where he cuts heals up. And when he looks at the x-rays, it looks almost as if he never cut them in the first place. I asked if I'd lose any athletic ability for doing it. He said no.
Long-term effects of LL
I asked if he kept in touch with his old patients. He said that someone he operated on 26 years ago talked to him and the patient was still fine. He said that none of his previous patients have mentioned anything about arthritis or any other long-term effects. He said that since I'm in my 20s, I can expect an almost 100% chance that I'd have no long-term effects. He said that nobody in their 20s who had this operation had any long-term effects. He also explained that those with complications are usually the ones who don't follow the stretching or his advise. He said that there was one person who wouldn't return the device that stretches his nail.
What to do prior to surgery
Dr. Paley told me to start taking Silica supplements. These are mostly vitamins such as calcium and Vitamin D to promote bone growth. Seems expensive compared to other over-the-counter vitamin supplements. But Dr. Paley recommended them, so I'll be taking them. I was advised to start taking them a week before surgery. I asked if I needed to lose weight, and he said no. I have a suspicion that those with muscular legs will have a harder time with LL, so I'm going to not work out my legs prior to surgery. I hope that I'm correct with this theory. I asked him if stretching prior to the surgery will help, and he said that it probably wouldn't. He said that the effects of stretching only lasts for a few hours. I'm going to try to do some stretches anyway to get myself into a routine prior to surgery.
Precice 2.1
I was told that at around December 2014, he switched to Precice 2.1, which is an update to Precice 2.0. He said that it had better welding and was improved after his experiences with the Precice 2.0. I asked if this was the final nail version and can't be improved further. He said that things always have room for improvement, but that I shouldn't keep waiting for the next best thing, because I'd always just be waiting then. He explained that he's working on a nail that will be completely weight-bearing with much stronger material.
Finally, a nurse named Mary came in to take my vitals, such as height and weight and blood pressure, and then I was given the okay to leave. It was around 10 AM when they were all done. I tried to book my surgery date while I was still there, but the doctor was too busy to give me an available surgery date. I told them that I wanted a late June surgery.
I found out that I'm actually 164 cm from the test at Dr. Paley's office. And 164.5 cm from the test at my family doctor's office. So I'm actually 5' 4.5" - 5' 4.7". With 8 cm added, I'll be 5' 7.9", which is still very close to my realistic goal of 5' 8". Ideally, I'd like to be 5' 10" or 5' 11", but I don't think I'd want to do tibias.
Rundown of the Pricing
Paid by credit card:
$300 for x-ray
$750 for the consultation with Paley
$10,000 deposit for surgery
$159.95 for 3-month supply of Silica 1, Silica 2, and Silica Boost supplements.
$7,291.20 for 3-month stay at Hilton Homewood Suites (93-nights * $70/night + 12% tax)
Paid by wire transfer:
$75,000 surgery - Total surgery was $85,000 which includes the $5000 IT band release. Originally, it was $90,000, but I got a $5,000 discount for mentioning that I was part of the old forum, which was true.
My health insurance might have helped pay partially for these, but here's my out-of-pocket expenses:
$77 for Vitamin D test
$8 for one month supply of Vitamin D supplements
In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have paid for the Vitamin D test, because my complete physical tested my Vitamin D levels. Also the nurse at St. Mary's who gave me the test, didn't bother finding a good vein. She just stabbed in a seemingly random location (not even close to the crease on my elbow), and this left that area bruised (internal bleeding).
In terms of accommodations, the Hilton Homewood Suites seems like the best choice. I was given the option of $70 for a studio suite or $80 for a one-bedroom suite. I chose a studio. It comes with free breakfast everyday and free dinner from Monday-Thursday. There is a swimming pool with a lift. The discount price is offered when you mention that you are a patient at the hospital. Normally it's $99 a night for the studio suite. Internet is free and comes with wired and wifi. Kitchen comes with a coffee pot, and free beverages. It also has pots and pans and dishes. The housekeeper can clean the dishes for you everyday. There's a $100 fee if you have a pet (up to 2 pets and 75 lb each). The $100 fee is to pay for the cleaners to clean the room after you leave, so that the room is allergy-free for the next person staying. I don't know how long I need to stay the hotel, but I was told that lengthening starts 5 days after surgery, and 80 days are needed to stretch 80 mm (1 mm per day). They told me to book the full 3 months to just be on the safe side, in case some days I might not lengthen the full 1 mm. I booked 93 nights just to be on the safe side. I was told by the hotel that I could shorten the days if I explain my situation when I arrive. We'll see how true this is. Be sure to book early, because there were only two studio suites left in my time frame when I booked.
My lab results from my family doctor found that I'm mostly healthy. My cholesterol levels are a bit high, and my doctor told me to go on a low-carb idea to lose weight. My glucose levels are also a bit high, so I'm going to cut back on my sugar intake (which coincides with my cut back on carbs anyway). I'm currently at 153 lb. Dr. Paley said that my weight is fine, but I plan on being a bit more fit prior to surgery to get into the routine of having a strict diet and ample stretching and exercising.
My surgery date is booked for June 30th with June 29th as a pre-op day. Dr. Paley actually was going to be on vacation in those two weeks. But he explained that he liked who I was, and was willing to come during his vacation to do the surgery. The next available surgery date if he didn't do that was in September. He said that most people book a year in advance to get a summer date, because summer is usually when his patients don't have school, so thus is when he is the busiest. While I don't need to go to school, the person who's taking care of me for 5 weeks is in college and is only available in July. So that's why I requested a late June surgery date, and Dr. Paley was nice enough to help me out. He explained that he meets with many prospective stature patients but rarely does he take the interest he did with me. I guess you can call it karma.
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Topic: DoingItForMe's Precice 2 Internal Femurs with Dr. Paley (Read 258524 times)