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[Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo]

Hi Unicorn
By the way, how have you been doing recently?  Have you been able to recover?  When I read your post of so much complications many years ago, it was truly heartbreaking and shocking.  I really hope you to recover to a normal life as soon as possible and to enjoy happy life you deserve.  Thank you for sharking your thoughts and experiences!!

Hi everyone,

It's going to be close to 4 years now since I had my lengthening procedure in the summer of 2016.

I regret to report that not only is my right leg not fused after 4 surgeries, but the Guichet nail bent and broke, causing my right leg to fracture.

NHS is currently putting me on a waiting list for emergency surgery where they'll remove the Guichet nail, shorten me to my original height and wait for full healing.  Then, they'll restart leg lengthening on my right leg to match my left leg.  Estimated recovery time is 18 months.  But we're not even sure when there'll be capacity for the hospital to perform surgery.  In the meantime, I'm left alone with a broken leg.

I'm devastated.

Everytime I think I'm finally escaping this nightmare, it drags me down even deeper.  The current COVID crisis and economic recession have left me both physically and financially crippled.  I'm terrified of the future.

Without much sustenance left, I've resorted to asking any of you for financial assistance.  I truly apologize for this plea especially during such a precarious time affecting all our lives.  But I have nothing left to lose, much less my pride.

Be safe and be kind to one another.  It is a time of reckoning and our collective actions will make a difference.

Please take care of yourself.

[determination]

Hi everyone,

It's going to be close to 4 years now since I had my lengthening procedure in the summer of 2016.

I regret to report that not only is my right leg not fused after 4 surgeries, but the Guichet nail bent and broke, causing my right leg to fracture.

NHS is currently putting me on a waiting list for emergency surgery where they'll remove the Guichet nail, shorten me to my original height and wait for full healing.  Then, they'll restart leg lengthening on my right leg to match my left leg.  Estimated recovery time is 18 months.  But we're not even sure when there'll be capacity for the hospital to perform surgery.  In the meantime, I'm left alone with a broken leg.

Unicorn
Why don't you contact Dr Pili? I have seen may patients with similar problems treated by him!
He does LL but also does all this sort of surgery to correct bone defects with brilliant results.
He is also doing Skype consultations.
Give it a go.

I hope you'll recover soon

[REBORN]

You will be in prayers ,don't lose hope.

[helloworld]

wow.. there was a guichet patient who died of fat embolism i think.
it was on the news. Jezebel


I just came back to this forum after many months.
My main reason was to check on the health of unicorn as her case really made me sad.
But then I read the article. Horrible.
I feel so sorry Unicorn but also for the guy mentioned in the article. At the same time it makes me realize who lucky I have been.



here i found it

https://jezebel.com/stories-about-my-brother-1835651181

[Ice machine]

It disgusts me to think that I was initially thinking of doing it with guichet and had already booked a consultation with him. Unicorn’s diary is the reason I cancelled my consultation and finally did the surgery at Paley and everything went well. You literally saved my life by taking the time to write this diary. Im forever grateful🙏

[Arrogance]

 Dear Unicorn
I'm sorry I waited so long to write to you. I hope you are ok. I just made this account now to write to you because I just couldn't hold it anymore. I read your story in December last year. It took me days to read it. I scrolled for hours everyday. It was so enthusiastic, funny and full of hope in the beginning and then it got sadder and sadder. At one point it had gotten so sad I started to tear up. But know this: YOU ARE A HERO. To me and to a lot of people who were considering LL with Guichet. You exposed a lot of flaws. I emailed Guiched , I cursed him and called him all sorts of things and told him to refund you. Of course I doubt that is gonna happen.  Scammers are scammers for a reason. But you are the strongest woman I've ever seen and you deserve lots of love. I wish I could have been with you through all your hardships. I myself torn my ACL in 2016. That crappy year.... And I too was scammed by a doctor for 2 years (he tried to fix my knee without surgery , he didn't even know my ACL was torn). Until I went to another doctor to finally do the surgery. The pain from the epidural anaesthesia alone made me reconsider if I really want to to LL in the future.  I don't dislike my height THAT much. And I don't care about society says anyway. Few people deserve my attention. Even fewer deserve my love. But you earned it Unicorn.

[kats20]

Unicorn I hope you are ok. I have also wanted to write to you for a while. I am so sorry to hear about your financial troubles. Since you are based in the uk, don't you at least qualify for disability benefit?

[Walsandrew]

This is worth reading from beginning to end, eventhough there might not be a huge amount of insight into LL and it does sound like he got very unlucky and had unfortunately put himself in a vulnerable, very isolated position. More insightful as a indictment of the psychological impact of patriarchal culture, which I'm sure could be enlightening to some on here

[jem_semarc]

Thanks for sharing your story. I read through the whole thread, it took me days but it was well worth it. Let’s be honest, Dr. G has pretty much crippled you. It’s sad to say.

I think people need to seriously reconsider if they are thinking to go for Dr. G. I mean, why would they? Stryde is the way forward & Paley / Dr M haven’t had anywhere near as many complications. When I saw that Dr. G had two deaths, I immediately felt so sorry for those poor people.

I mean, if I had two deaths in my clinic from cosmetic procedures I had done, I’d surely quit and look at doing something else. The guilt would be crazy.

If anyone else is thinking about it, you may as well go all in and do Stryde.

Anyways, I wish you the best Unicorn. Tough times don’t last, tough people do!

[ghkid2019]

This is worth reading from beginning to end, eventhough there might not be a huge amount of insight into LL and it does sound like he got very unlucky and had unfortunately put himself in a vulnerable, very isolated position. More insightful as a indictment of the psychological impact of patriarchal culture, which I'm sure could be enlightening to some on here

Unicorn is a female.

[snowpiecer]

Thanks for sharing your story. I read through the whole thread, it took me days but it was well worth it. Let’s be honest, Dr. G has pretty much crippled you. It’s sad to say.

I think people need to seriously reconsider if they are thinking to go for Dr. G. I mean, why would they? Stryde is the way forward & Paley / Dr M haven’t had anywhere near as many complications. When I saw that Dr. G had two deaths, I immediately felt so sorry for those poor people.

I mean, if I had two deaths in my clinic from cosmetic procedures I had done, I’d surely quit and look at doing something else. The guilt would be crazy.

If anyone else is thinking about it, you may as well go all in and do Stryde.

Anyways, I wish you the best Unicorn. Tough times don’t last, tough people do!

Wait he had 2 deaths. How the fk is he still allowed to work as a surgeon?

[IwannaBeTaller]

Wait he had 2 deaths. How the fk is he still allowed to work as a surgeon?

Because death due to embolism is sometimes unavoidable even with the best surgeon.

[Walsandrew]

Sorry was responding to this story: https://jezebel.com/stories-about-my-brother-1835651181

[snowpiecer]

Does anyone know what happened to Unicorn now?

[Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo]

Hi everyone,

Just a small update before I go into surgery.

Sometime in January 2020, I suffered massice pain on my right leg. I tried going to A&E but it was full and my had seizures at the same time. So I took the cat first and waited until my end Feb'20 hospital slot.  The xrays showed that my right leg nail is bend/broken and it should be removed from my right thighs immediately.

As that heppens, total lockdown came into force and I had no choice but to deal with my broken leg at home with no painkillers.  From Feb to May, I contracted Covid, lost all my savings when oil crashed to negative space, my 20-yr old cat finally died and my right leg finally broke from the bent nail.

I'm now waiting for NHS to find me a spare bed so that they can operated on me. They need to remove the old Guichet stainless steel nail, and implant with a titanium trauma nail.  They plan to extract a piece of bone from my pelvis to graft the large 9cm non-union gap of my right leg.

Lastly, they'll shorten my rigth leg first, wait for it to heal before restarting lengthening so that it may finally match my left leg, with healthy bones.

It's a lot to ask in one surgery, but the dire situation I found myself in this year 2020 has made me so desperate that in a lot of ways, I stopped caring about anything. I only loved my cat and she had to die too.  I'm attached a GO FUND ME link here just in case you could spare anything.  It's to help me with my living expenses since I had wrecked up £63,000 of credit card debt during these last 4 years trying to get better.

I vaccilate btw being scared about what's awaiting me in the near future and panic at the same time to any more bad news that my mental and emotional system cannot cope.  So with this, I have succumbed to prayer and exercise.

Take care of yourselves and never be in my shoes, ok?

E

GO FUND ME
https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-unicorn?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1

INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/unicorn_gets_taller/?hl=en

EBAY
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324152452197?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

[kats20]

Thanks for the update. I know it won't feel like it now but there will come a point when you will turn a corner and eventually be able to start putting all of this is behind you.............

Have you thought about putting a best offer option on your ebay items? They are more likely to sell this way and this will obviously help your financial situation.

Good luck and keep us updated, feel free to DM me any time you want a female perspective. XxX

[Arrogance]

Jesus. I can't believe how hard life tries you. As if you didn't have enough problems to deal with already, you also contracted the Covid virus AND your cat died.  Well.....that's another thing we have in common. My  dad died too shortly after I had my ACL surgery in 2018 so I know how you feel.  From my experience, troubles come in packages. Sometimes one leads to another like in your case. At least Guichet's damn nail didn't rust. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if I heard that too. But yeah kats20 is right. Once real doctors take care of you and your legs will heal you will finally be able to put all of this behind you. I just hope you will stay with us and remain an active member unlike so many people who have this surgery  and  then forget about this forum . We don't have many long-term stories and many people could use your experience and advice. You are an amazing and beautiful person. Seriously, I show my friends a picture of you and tell them to guess how old you are and they all say you are 20. The closest guess was 30

[Arrogance]

Because death due to embolism is sometimes unavoidable even with the best surgeon.

''By April 2017, I went to Milan for my 3rd surgery with Guichet where he accidentally broke his own nail in my left leg and had to hammer out components through my knees. He also extracted bone marrow from my pelvic bone to inject into my non-union right leg''

He broke his own nail and then he tried injecting bone marrow to fix a 10 cm gap. He was either high or he forgot how to be a surgeon

[Gman23]

First diary I’ve read which didn’t turned out well, are there any other diaries which have turned bad? I Hope you are well Unicorn, I am a guy and the same height as she (unicorn) was before, im 5ft1/2 I’m thinking of going for 2 surgeries with Dr mahboubian but this diary has made me loose abit of the confidence I had. If I was a girl I would most definitely wouldn’t do the surgery, a short female is cute, a short male isn’t thou, this surgery should only be done by guys tbh. Sucks to be short, anyways hope you get well soon unicorn, Praying for you.

Also guys what’s the percentage % of the surgery not going so well/ bad? If I’m right Dr mahboubian said 97% or 99% success rate

[frenchie]

I mean, if I had two deaths in my clinic from cosmetic procedures I had done, I’d surely quit and look at doing something else. The guilt would be crazy.

Yes Guichet seems borderline sociopath /psychopath. He is quick to attribute any negative outcome on the patient. He is unable to look at this from a broader point of view that his whole "practice" has deficiencies that has led to patients suffering and dying.

[IwannaBeTaller]

Guichet is a dangerous criminal and it's a horrible disgrace he isn't behind bars already.

[farfan21]

Wow, Im am without words, and im very sorry for what you had to go through. I wish you the best of luck, and realize we are all behind u in this!

[Ascending]

Wow, Im am without words, and im very sorry for what you had to go through. I wish you the best of luck, and realize we are all behind u in this!

I think the best way we can show support is to contribute to Unicorn's gofundme page listed above and shown below:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-unicorn?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1

[Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo]

Thanks for the update. I know it won't feel like it now but there will come a point when you will turn a corner and eventually be able to start putting all of this is behind you.............

Have you thought about putting a best offer option on your ebay items? They are more likely to sell this way and this will obviously help your financial situation.

Good luck and keep us updated, feel free to DM me any time you want a female perspective. XxX

Dear Kats20,

Yes, I will do that as well.  Basically, I don't need anything in my life anymore.  In fact, very few things actually interest me.  I just want to get this over with and be able to do simple things like taking a walk in the park without suffering.

Take care and stay safe, ok?

Best regards,
Unicorn

[Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo]

First diary I’ve read which didn’t turned out well, are there any other diaries which have turned bad? I Hope you are well Unicorn, I am a guy and the same height as she (unicorn) was before, im 5ft1/2 I’m thinking of going for 2 surgeries with Dr mahboubian but this diary has made me loose abit of the confidence I had. If I was a girl I would most definitely wouldn’t do the surgery, a short female is cute, a short male isn’t thou, this surgery should only be done by guys tbh. Sucks to be short, anyways hope you get well soon unicorn, Praying for you.

Also guys what’s the percentage % of the surgery not going so well/ bad? If I’m right Dr mahboubian said 97% or 99% success rate

Hi Gman23,

Actually, think of it like Covid.  The number of people who contracted it but actually do not show up in the statistics.  LL is somewhat similar in that.  The overall pool of people who opt for this surgery would not be shouting from their rooftops that they wanna become taller.  There's definite stigma to it.

From that pool of patients, you have a small subset of probably less than 2-5% who actually chronicle their journey in this forum.  Making comments and replying is one thing but a full blow by blow account is harder to come by.  Don't forget too that whilst once you've begun your LL procedure, the tables are quickly turned around and you're suddenly beholden to your doctor for fear of lashbacks and legal measures, should your journal be less than favourable.

Lastly, there are a lot more people who face complications for years who will never expose themselves here.  While it might serve to raise awareness with the entire LL community, most people are plagued with regrets or trauma or just simply trying to regain their pre-LL lives.  That's why many patients who've recovered from LL never visit here again.  It remains buried with the shorter versions of their former selves.

So these might be reasons why there're very few sad diaries.  Remember, I started this diary being optimistic and happy too.  It wasn't meant to be a warning for everyone.  But I do believe, if able, any diary we get, affords all of us the benefit of better knowledge.  Relying on the promises of one doctor is simply reckless.

Of course, lastly, I know several doctors who actually encourage, force or incentivize their former patients to write glowing reviews.  Any journal that sounds too good to be true, is simply that.  Too good to be true.

[Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo]

BROKEN NAIL




CAT HELD MY HAND UNTIL SHE DIED

[Arrogance]

Unicorn, you said the doctors from NHS told you what went wrong with your LL and what could have been done to prevent the problems. Could you tell us exactly what could have been done to prevent them?

[Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo]

Unicorn, you said the doctors from NHS told you what went wrong with your LL and what could have been done to prevent the problems. Could you tell us exactly what could have been done to prevent them?

1)  Better to wait a week before starting to lengthen to let the leg settle a bit

2)  Choose a nail diameter that is appropriate for your bone width

3)  Pay attention to the curvature of your femur

4)  Do not lengthen quickly, watch and wait to make sure your callus are growing and joining

5)  Stretch your soft tissues a lot because contractures will prevent you from standing straight (duck ass) or keeping your legs together or inward turning feet

6)  Make a realistic length goal with your doctor relative to your original height because while 7cm might be 7cm, it has an exponential higher risk to someone of 150cm vs someone of 170cm

7)  Take xrays every 2 weeks or more often, to monitor whether you have callus growth.  If there's none or very little, you should see your doctor and revise the lengthening rate or slow down until evident callus is formed.  Once the distracted gap is too far apart, callus union becomes near impossible.  Hence, in my case, 4 years later and my bones cannot fuse, even after 1 bone graft

Most important advise is DON'T RUSH IT!  It's not a marathon.  It's you keeping your body safe!

[Arrogance]

1)  Better to wait a week before starting to lengthen to let the leg settle a bit

2)  Choose a nail diameter that is appropriate for your bone width

3)  Pay attention to the curvature of your femur

4)  Do not lengthen quickly, watch and wait to make sure your callus are growing and joining

5)  Stretch your soft tissues a lot because contractures will prevent you from standing straight (duck ass) or keeping your legs together or inward turning feet

6)  Make a realistic length goal with your doctor relative to your original height because while 7cm might be 7cm, it has an exponential higher risk to someone of 150cm vs someone of 170cm

7)  Take xrays every 2 weeks or more often, to monitor whether you have callus growth.  If there's none or very little, you should see your doctor and revise the lengthening rate or slow down until evident callus is formed.  Once the distracted gap is too far apart, callus union becomes near impossible.  Hence, in my case, 4 years later and my bones cannot fuse, even after 1 bone graft

Most important advise is DON'T RUSH IT!  It's not a marathon.  It's you keeping your body safe!

That's totally the opposite of what Guicet does. He treats this operation like it's a challenge, a race. He failed all of the above except the stretching part which he stresses a lot

[BetzLandLiberator]

1)  Better to wait a week before starting to lengthen to let the leg settle a bit

2)  Choose a nail diameter that is appropriate for your bone width

3)  Pay attention to the curvature of your femur

4)  Do not lengthen quickly, watch and wait to make sure your callus are growing and joining

5)  Stretch your soft tissues a lot because contractures will prevent you from standing straight (duck ass) or keeping your legs together or inward turning feet

6)  Make a realistic length goal with your doctor relative to your original height because while 7cm might be 7cm, it has an exponential higher risk to someone of 150cm vs someone of 170cm

7)  Take xrays every 2 weeks or more often, to monitor whether you have callus growth.  If there's none or very little, you should see your doctor and revise the lengthening rate or slow down until evident callus is formed.  Once the distracted gap is too far apart, callus union becomes near impossible.  Hence, in my case, 4 years later and my bones cannot fuse, even after 1 bone graft

Most important advise is DON'T RUSH IT!  It's not a marathon.  It's you keeping your body safe!

I'm quite shocked that Guichet does not do any of that. That's pretty much the standard practice for good LL. I know people love to hate Betz here but he applied every single one of those rules to me when I did LL with him. Including the waiting one week for lenghtening (in my case he asked me to wait 10 days because of some muscle pains).

I hope everything goes well with you Unicorn. Your story is heartbreaking and I can't believe Guichet is still operating after what happened to you and the Jezebel guy.

[Unicorn888 by Elaine Foo]

4 YEARS LATER 

2016 - My left leg broke from an additional fracture created during first surgery

2020 - The guichet nail broke and fractured my right leg