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[Wannabegiant]

Okey guys i decided to start my diary now because the only thing left preventing me from going is sorting out the Visa/Visum for Russia, which will probably take me about 5 workdays to be granted. After that Im going to Moscow as ive already made arrangements with the Clinic.

Starting height: 174-175 cm
Goal height: 178-179 cm (4 cm gain)

External Tibias with Dr. Bagirov in Moscow.

According to the Drs assistant, I am allowed to return home 5 days after surgery and lengthen at home, although I have planned to stay for the complete lengthening phase which will take about 40 days.

I was originally intending to go with Dr. Mirzoyan but i decided this was a better option because the flight is closer, the price is cheaper, the clinics reputation is better, and their external device is smaller and easier to hide.

I also opted out of getting the double incision, since i dont want my ankles to get any longer and skinnier. Its probably safer in the long run.

[Blackhawk]

Good luck buddy!!

How much do you think the whole process will cost you?

[Wannabegiant]

Good luck buddy!!

How much do you think the whole process will cost you?

Thank you mate!

Its 6000 USD for the operation and 1000 USD for a month stay at the hospital, and for both the flight tickets about 600 usd total. its definitely a manageable price, i know plenty of people who have debts from study loans that are significantly higher than that. I still live with my parents (im 23 years old) so i havent needed to take any loans, it evens out 

[KiloKAHN]

Sounds good man. Going external only it's a safe bet that you're in the best hands in Russia, birthplace of Ilizarov fixation.

[Wannabegiant]

Sounds good man. Going external only it's a safe bet that you're in the best hands in Russia, birthplace of Ilizarov fixation.

Yeah thats a good point , internal was never an option for me though because of the much higher price, the extra operation to get rods out and high risk of knee problems, also the idea alone of having metal inside my bones makes me feel uneasy :p

[Taller]

Hi. It's awesome to see a new diary from the patient such a potentially promising doctor, who will use such a potentially promising device. Would you mind elaborating on just how similar this device is to the Salamehfix?

Also, do the doctors and staff at Dr. Bagirov's hospital speak fluent English? If not, how is the language barrier overcome?

Have you met or learned of any past cosmetic LL patients of Dr. Bagirov?

I sincerely hope you have a very smooth and complication-free journey. People like you, who pursue their goals, regardless of how strange they may seem to others, inspire me greatly. I think you are very smart and responsible to limit yourself to 4 CM. We've seen too many cases of people who got too greedy with the amount they gained and ended up disproportional and never fully recovered. 4 CM is still a noticeable amount, and you will have a fantastic chance of achieving a full recovery, especially with external-only.

[Wannabegiant]

Hi. It's awesome to see a new diary from the patient such a potentially promising doctor, who will use such a potentially promising device. Would you mind elaborating on just how similar this device is to the Salamehfix?

Also, do the doctors and staff at Dr. Bagirov's hospital speak fluent English? If not, how is the language barrier overcome?

Have you met or learned of any past cosmetic LL patients of Dr. Bagirov?

I sincerely hope you have a very smooth and complication-free journey. People like you, who pursue their goals, regardless of how strange they may seem to others, inspire me greatly. I think you are very smart and responsible to limit yourself to 4 CM. We've seen too many cases of people who got too greedy with the amount they gained and ended up disproportional and never fully recovered. 4 CM is still a noticeable amount, and you will have a fantastic chance of achieving a full recovery, especially with external-only.

Thank you for the kind words Tall, this site and people like you make this journey seem much less frightening for me.

Everything ive heard about the doctor sounds great so far. I have only spoken to his assistant, a woman named Alida. However she speaks pretty good english so I assume the Doctor can as well. The only issue I have with them is their website which is severly lacking in information, but according to them an english version is under construction (im using google translate with the current one) so hopefully it will be easier for future patients.

This lack of information has made me have to ask a lot of questions to the assistant, and currently the only thing she hasnt been able to answer is questions regarding the Visa. I know I need a Business Visa to stay longer than 30 days because that is what the embassy in Sweden told me, and before I apply it at the embassy I need an invitation letter.

Now I noticed that invitation letters for Business Visa can be bought online, but the assistant of Dr. Bagirov made it sound like she was going to send me an invitation letter, but i havent gotten another response in 4 days now. Im kind of losing patience to be honest, I just want all of this to be over with, as my time window is now. I would hope to be out of the frames until summer but the more time i lose now makes it unlikely.

Btw, There is a video of the external device, and according to the assistant, it is almost completely invisible under regular trousers, not sure how true that is but it looks small, here is the video:

Also yeah 4 cm is perfect for me, it might seem strange, but i know that at that height I would be the person I always pictured myself as. And exactly like you said, I want to be conservative because this makes it more likely that: I will recover faster and hopefully 100%, it wont affect my proportions and biomechanical function much, and with an increase of 4 cm people i know might notice something is different but not to such a degree that they will bring it up.

I also have a perfect excuse just in case somebody might see me in those frames (despite how unlikely that is), I will just say that I did a bow leg correction. 

Edit: About other patients of Dr. Bagirov, the only ones I know about is "En" who made a diary at that old forum, and another patient posted in her diary as well, both of them seemed very satisfied overall.

[crimsontide]

I lost patience with the visa process too...

[Smallguy]

Thanks for writing this diary. Even though I may be busy at the gym or at work, I always check back on this website to know what is going on.

Honestly, I don't think anyone would notice your 4cm increase. Even at 8cm, no one talk to me about my height increase. But I agree with you, conservative is the best choice. There is no point in taking risk and you need to get back to 100% full recovery. Plus external only is a long process.

If I were you, bring these supplements along.

1. Bone builder supplements - like calcium tablet and other mineral
2. Vitamin C - I find it helped me with curing itches and fight off infection from the open wound
3. Melatonin - it's natural sleep enhancer. Pop a pill when you find yourself having difficulty sleeping

[Wannabegiant]

Thanks for writing this diary. Even though I may be busy at the gym or at work, I always check back on this website to know what is going on.

Honestly, I don't think anyone would notice your 4cm increase. Even at 8cm, no one talk to me about my height increase. But I agree with you, conservative is the best choice. There is no point in taking risk and you need to get back to 100% full recovery. Plus external only is a long process.

If I were you, bring these supplements along.

1. Bone builder supplements - like calcium tablet and other mineral
2. Vitamin C - I find it helped me with curing itches and fight off infection from the open wound
3. Melatonin - it's natural sleep enhancer. Pop a pill when you find yourself having difficulty sleeping

No problem mate, ive been reading your diary too, its very good and helpful

I agree that 4 cm would not be easily noticed by just looking at me, however when i stand next to my old friends and acquaintances, people will probably notice that im not noticably shorter than them like i used to be. I know a LOT of people who are 5'10, and many of those guys imo are likely to notice that we are the same height after the surgery, since its very obvious that many of them take pride in their small height advantage they have over me. This is apparent in their body language and sometimes some comment might subtly touch upon it.

Thanks for the supplement list  I already stocked up on calcium tablets and Vitamin D. I also actually have melatonin because i had trouble sleeping before, but i didnt think about bringing them with me with all the controls you have to go through when flying. I bougth melatonin online from amazon but I actually think it is illegal to buy in Sweden, not sure.

Im also thinking about buying Vitamin K, as ive read it stimulates bone growth and works in tandem with vitamin D, but im not sure if it actually works or if its necessary, im not familiar with this vitamin.

[Wannabegiant]

Update:

Finally recieved the invitation letter! Il be going to the embassy and then book the flight, so late next week or early in the week after that i will definitely be going. This Visa crap slowed me down a lot but its almost over now 

My first criticism starts now though, the personel they use to communicate with customers have pretty bad english ive come to realize, at least it seems like they understand most of what you are saying to them, however it is quite hard sometimes to understand what they are writing back to you. Also they are pretty slow to respond overall.

It also seems like they charge in EUR, not USD. So the prices i posted earlier might not be accurate. This is weird cause I heard from several sources here that it was USD, well it is still a cheap price so it wont matter 

[Wannabegiant]

Update:

feeling a bit down today even though it is valentines day (lol), Apparantly the cost for surgery in Moscow is much higher 16.000 euros. I asked them if the cheaper price that I have been told about was their price for surgery in Azerbadjan, and since they are so slow to respond I will probably not get a response until monday..so much time wasted.

If it is the same price in Azerbadjan then i might have to go to Dr. Mirzoyan anyway  However since Crimsontide mentioned that the price was 6000 USD after talking to the Dr recently, im fairly confident that the lower price is true for Baku. Bagirov only operates there once a month, so if i missed my opportunity for februari, i will just have to go in Mars 

I will also have to wait until they send me another invitation assuming the price above is true, which will probably take a week considering their response rate..

[mediocre]

I wish you all the best whichever you choose, not only on the pricing but for your health during LL.

[Wannabegiant]

I wish you all the best whichever you choose, not only on the pricing but for your health during LL.

Thank you kindly!

Well there some semi good news at least. I recieved response from Bagirovs personal email finally during the weekend (I guess as a doctor he has to work weekends while his assistants only works weekdays).

He told me price for Moscow was 6000-6500 Euros for surgery and 5-6 days stay. And on average 80 euro per day if i want to remain longer at the hospital.

Thats more expensive than initially thought but still acceptable for me (16.000 is too much though so i hope that was an error on the assistants part), and I rather go to Moscow than Baku even if the price in Azerbadjan is lower.

If i get clarification today about price, then i will go to embassy today as well and my Visa will be ready on friday, so then i will travel hopefully monday the week after. Much later than initally planned but the Visa and the communication with this clinic has been pretty bad and slow.

[Wannabegiant]

Update.

Good news now everything is in order, the Visa will be ready next week tuesday. I will perform surgery on the first of mars (01.03.2014)
So im going to book the flight today.

However, to anyone planning to go to this clinic, it doesnt seem like they have dealt much with foreign patients, or at least the staff seem pretty clueless when it comes to Visa information etc. Communication has been a hassle, but with patience it can be done, even though it delayed my trip by about 2 weeks.

[jerry]

Congrats on your visa. Did they confirm the pricing?

[Wannabegiant]

Congrats on your visa. Did they confirm the pricing?

Thank you mate, hope its going well for you too with your plans.

Yes, they confirmed the 6000-6500 Euro price for surgery and 5-6 days hospital stay, not sure what the price interval is dependant on, but its a good price still.

Im considering renting an apartment rather than staying longer at the hospital though, as hospital stay seemed more expensive than initially planned. Honestly the only reason Im not going home earlier during lengtening is because i want them to confirm that I actually gained 4 cm when im done. I guess that can be done at home if i go to an ortopedic and get x-ray but it will be akward to tell them about the whole story. id rather have Dr. Bagirov do it, but i havent decided yet if im going to stay for the whole lengthening phase.

[Ali]

Go for it man. I wish you a good luck, and hopefully everything turn out to be just fine. Keep us updated here.

[Wannabegiant]

Go for it man. I wish you a good luck, and hopefully everything turn out to be just fine. Keep us updated here.

Thank you man! yes il make sure to keep you guys posted:)

[Wannabegiant]

UPDATE:

Im in Moscow now, at the clinic. Everything went smoothly, 2 hour flight from Sweden, and they picked me up at the airport. The only negative thing was that the traffic is insane here, took about 2 hours to drive to the clinic from the airport i landed on. Supposedly there is another one closer by but i didnt have the option to choose with this time schedule.

The clinic is quite small but feels safe and the personnel are all nice and friendly, very few of them know english though but it was no problem in the end. A translator came and told me how we where gonna proceed, they served me a warm meal and now i can relax and sleep whenever i want, I have my own room with Bed, TV, refrigerator, and the Wifi is pretty good. Toilets are clean and everything looks fresh. No complaints.

Tomorrow I wont be allowed to eat because they are gonna do blood tests and other tests in preparation for the surgery, I will talk to Dr. Bagirov as well and make the payment. Then I will do surgery on saturday and stay about 5 more days, then i will make the decision if i want to stay longer or go home and lengthen. Im leaning on staying a bit longer but since i cant stay for the full lengthening phase anyway because my Visa only lasts until the first of april (my insurance certificate didnt allow for longer), i might stay for ten more days to see if there is any problems, after that i might feel it is safe enough to travel home, then i will come back for a check up in about 2 months.

I took some pics of my room, will upload them soon.

[mediocre]

It's happening Wannabe...
All the best!

UPDATE:

Im in Moscow now, at the clinic. Everything went smoothly, 2 hour flight from Sweden, and they picked me up at the airport. The only negative thing was that the traffic is insane here, took about 2 hours to drive to the clinic from the airport i landed on. Supposedly there is another one closer by but i didnt have the option to choose with this time schedule.

The clinic is quite small but feels safe and the personnel are all nice and friendly, very few of them know english though but it was no problem in the end. A translator came and told me how we where gonna proceed, they served me a warm meal and now i can relax and sleep whenever i want, I have my own room with Bed, TV, refrigerator, and the Wifi is pretty good. Toilets are clean and everything looks fresh. No complaints.

Tomorrow I wont be allowed to eat because they are gonna do blood tests and other tests in preparation for the surgery, I will talk to Dr. Bagirov as well and make the payment. Then I will do surgery on saturday and stay about 5 more days, then i will make the decision if i want to stay longer or go home and lengthen. Im leaning on staying a bit longer but since i cant stay for the full lengthening phase anyway because my Visa only lasts until the first of april (my insurance certificate didnt allow for longer), i might stay for ten more days to see if there is any problems, after that i might feel it is safe enough to travel home, then i will come back for a check up in about 2 months.

I took some pics of my room, will upload them soon.

[Smallguy]

I'm very happy for you... and I wished I should have gone to Russia one year earlier for LL if old forum  didn't pimp India so hard.

Russia is where LL was born. And I think you're very brave for being the first person I know of who make this journey to Russia. It's almost like an uncharted territory and it is rewarding because of the price but there are a lot of unknown.

[Wannabegiant]

Thank you guys, yeah its quite uncharted territory, but I have been talking to a psycologist in preparation for this surgery. He had access to the healthcare records of former patients from Sweden who has done this surgery, according to him most swedish patients go to Russia for this surgery, because of price and proximity, majority of them where very satisfied with the results as well, thats all the details he could share with me, but it seems legit.

But so far im very impressed here, I feel very safe here because everybody is so nice, also there is a russian patient here who speaks very good english, his name is Sasha, it looked like he was doing external femur lengthening which is odd since i didnt know they did femurs in this clinic, he told me his situation was complicated and i didnt want to ask to much.

I just did a blood sample test this morning (man they took a lot of blood, filled like 5 tubes), but now i can eat and drink again. in a few hours I will talk to the Doctor, so im going to write down some important questions for him, so that i am prepared.

[Wannabegiant]

Update:

Did a test with a cardiologist, no problems there. And they scanned my legs for a computer measurement. Pretty cool machine actually, looked sci-fi:ish

After that i had to sign the papers, the cost was 6450 euros to be exact. I will make payment tomorrow, dunno why it was delayed. I also didnt get to meet the doctor today, will meet him early tomorrow and then the surgery will be done about 12 pm (noon)

I took a shower, and got a meal, now i have nothing to do. i could go outside and look around in the vincinity if i wanted to but i rather stay inside to avoid getting a cold or any other trouble. Feel bored and nervous at the same time, weird..

[jerry]

All the best . Will you be posting pictures?

[Wannabegiant]

All the best . Will you be posting pictures?

Thank you man! Yeah at first I was gonna wait to do it until i get home, but since i got nothing better to do right now i might as well upload a few pics of the room. I use dropbox with my phone and computer so it should be easy. But after i have surgery tomorrow i wont upload any pics until i get home :p

[Wannabegiant]

Update:

Pics of my room:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pz9oy3lk0ahxdxx/Photo%202014-02-27%2019%2039%2048.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1l02w628j3ezjgg/Photo%202014-02-27%2019%2040%2000.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4zjltoLL Forumszrab1/Photo%202014-02-27%2019%2040%2003.jpg


the toilet is nice:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fc58rt28esujdpr/Photo%202014-02-27%2019%2043%2029.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9p0dxr3htvbrgu1/Photo%202014-02-27%2019%2043%2034.jpg

[Sweden]

There seem to be a lot of Swedish people doing this surgery everywhere around the world.

Best of luck now. I remember the nervous feeling 

[Wannabegiant]

There seem to be a lot of Swedish people doing this surgery everywhere around the world.

Best of luck now. I remember the nervous feeling 

Yeah lol, i think it is a combination of Swedish people being tall in general and people here being self centered and status obsessed, and because of that a certain height requirement is required to be accepted as one of the "cool guys".

I could never move permanently from this place though, mainly because it would feel like i "lost" and ran away. I rather be a big fish in the big sea, compared to a big fish in a small pond (if i moved someplace where people are shorter or something).

Also, thank you, i hope everything gets better with you too, ive been reading your diary at the old forum 

[Disobedient]

Congrat in starting your journey..

the cost of the surgery is really cheap, if I got replay form any clinics that contacted in Russia, I wouldn't do LL it in India!

I took a look at the pics, and your room looks small, but who cares..
I'm not sure if it's wise to return home before finishing distraction phase, may be you could extend your visa if your clinic provide you with a letter that indicates you have to stay longer to avoid the complications and so on ..

Good luck ..

[Taller]

Would it be possible to extend your visa if you wanted to?