Hi Wannabegiant,
I am considering getting bilateral tibias with Dr. Bagirov as well; crimsontide's diary is highly informative about the whole process (the lack of after-care part sucks though). It would seem that issues like pin-bending do not feature if you're using his frame.
I am interested in lengthening around 7.5 cms or so, along those lines I was wondering how freely can you move around wearing these frames during distraction and then during consolidation period? I mean, I probably would have to wear them for at least 8 months, so is walking up stairs, standing on commuter rails etc. possible? Is there still a lot of pain after the distraction is done?
Thanks in advance for replying!
The frame uses some thicker pins, i dont think its completely immune to pin-bending though but if it happens it would be like 3 mm or less, very slight.
It depends on how fast you lengthen and on the individuals ability to recover i guess, but in general if you follow the instructions of the doctor you should be able to start walking about 2-3 months after surgery, but im not sure if this takes longer if you are still lengthening at this point.
Btw, if you are going to lengthen 7.5 cm, i can almost guarantee that you wont be done in 8 months, its likely 7.5 cm will take like 10 months or even 1 year. And it might take even longer than that if you have complications (like in crimsons case he got ballerina feet, and that prevents him from walking normally, the longer this problem lasts the less effective your walking and weightbearing will be to increase the consolidation.
Guys like Rgkey are the exception to the rule, and he used a different doctor who might do his bone incisions differently and make them heal faster, who knows, but dont expect it to go that fast, you will most likely be dissappointed.