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[jbc]

Deposit has been made and surgery date reserved. For those contemplating their choices, my criteria for selecting Dr. Paley was as follows:

• Experience. I don't think I need to belabor this when it comes to Dr. Paley, there is no one like him in this field and particular specialization
• Organization. Of the Drs. I considered, Dr. Paley's staff was leagues above the others in order, process, organization. This, to me, was indicative of the precision and detail that goes into patient care. This was a really really big deal to me in selecting a doctor for this surgery
• Emphasis on safety. It was literally in every sentence, and every shred of research I could get my hands on (and I went through a lot, including most of the diaries in this forum, from all the other surgeons) showed that Dr. Paley consistently has the lowest number of problems and complications with his patients. Drs. Paley and Packer's advice of "come to us healthy, and we will get you back healthy" really resonated with me. Same for the PT and other procedures (IT band release, etc.), and that are done both preventively and proactively to get me as fully back to normal activity, including my many athletic activities, as possible
• Supporting cast. Dr. Packer has thus far been wonderful, as has everyone at the Paley Institute. No one has never been not available to answer questions, return calls, etc.
• Transparency. I asked a lot of questions, and felt I got very honest answers. Both Drs. Paley and Packer were up front about the initial pain, every medical option, the new (close-to) full weight bearing nail, and whether that would be a better option for me (if it's available, I will use it, but I am not waiting for it), and so on

Physically, this will be the hardest thing I've ever done. I am as prepared as I can be, including a degree of flexibility I haven't had (full splits, JCVD style !!). I'm going to continue to prepare both physically and mentally to get there in peak condition, follow Dr.'s orders to rehab, and after 3 tough months, come out smiling.

The surgery is early next year. I'm not sure if I'll keep a diary (initially I wanted to, I've stated my reservations for doing so now on another thread). I will post a summary of lengthening process, recovery, and any complications (hopefully none of the latter), once I am off crutches and walking.

I hope my summary and posts helped someone. This forum has been a great source of information for me personally. At some point, medicine will have evolved to where a pill will be available instead of having limbs broken, but sadly, we're not there. For others considering this and looking at a variety of physicians and options, my advice would be examine the entire ecosystem around the surgeon, and do not look at cost as a driving factor. You get what you pay for seems to ring very true in this case. I suppose I will test that theory personally soon.

Regards,

--JBC

[Bander72]

Congrats if I had the money I would go to him as well but I want my height gain right know not a decade later.

[bravotobe]

hey jbc,
what did they say about the pain. What do you do to bring pain down - medications?

[programdude]

I wish you a good experience. If you get mike in PT tell him I say hi.

[The Kaiser]

Good luck with the God of LL

[jbc]

Thanks everyone. Some answers, in order .

bander72: I hope you find a doctor that you feel comfortable with within your price range. Keep in mind that consequences from this procedure going bad can be disastrous. This is mostly what drove my decision. I don't know if I would have saved for a decade - that's tough - but I would have certainly prioritized safety and track record over price.

bravotobe: The Drs. were very upfront about the fact that it will be painful for the first 2 weeks, and medication would be administered to control the pain.

programdude: Thanks and will do - do you recommend that I request him if possible?

The Kaiser: Thanks!! Going into this eyes wide open and preparing as much as I can, hoping for the best possible outcome

[femoral_indecency]

Right on, hope all goes well, jbc.

[EndGame]

Thanks everyone. Some answers, in order .

bander72: I hope you find a doctor that you feel comfortable with within your price range. Keep in mind that consequences from this procedure going bad can be disastrous. This is mostly what drove my decision. I don't know if I would have saved for a decade - that's tough - but I would have certainly prioritized safety and track record over price.

bravotobe: The Drs. were very upfront about the fact that it will be painful for the first 2 weeks, and medication would be administered to control the pain.

programdude: Thanks and will do - do you recommend that I request him if possible?

The Kaiser: Thanks!! Going into this eyes wide open and preparing as much as I can, hoping for the best possible outcome

Some people swear by Mike and others not so much... I advise you don't request him. Of course I watched him tear a young man's plantar tendon while the poor kid screamed in pain begging him to stop while he keep going. And later learned Mike had done this to his other knee a few years ago too. Mike in my opinion does not listen to his patients. He's a nice good hearted person, but while I know people who recommend him strongly i also personally know two people he injured. Plenty of good PTs. Bigger factor will be how much stretching you get done at the hotel.... everyone who slacks off gets tight...

[The Kaiser]

Some people swear by Mike and others not so much... I advise you don't request him. Of course I watched him tear a young man's plantar tendon while the poor kid screamed in pain begging him to stop while he keep going. And later learned Mike had done this to his other knee a few years ago too. Mike in my opinion does not listen to his patients. He's a nice good hearted person, but while I know people who recommend him strongly i also personally know two people he injured. Plenty of good PTs. Bigger factor will be how much stretching you get done at the hotel.... everyone who slacks off gets tight...

give me any doctor didn't make a mistake, simply no one

[EndGame]

give me any doctor didn't make a mistake, simply no one

To clarify Mike is not a doctor. He's a very tall and very strong physical therapist at the Paley Institute who some patients think is great and others have had very bad experiences with. If mistake is defined as tearing a tendon so badly Paley tells you that you need surgery to repair it, then Mike has far less company than you think... I could list several PTs at Paley who've not made that type of mistake before. But to be fair lots of patients think Mike is great and would recommend him.

[The Kaiser]

To clarify Mike is not a doctor. He's a very tall and very strong physical therapist at the Paley Institute who some patients think is great and others have had very bad experiences with. If mistake is defined as tearing a tendon so badly Paley tells you that you need surgery to repair it, then Mike has far less company than you think... I could list several PTs at Paley who've not made that type of mistake before. But to be fair lots of patients think Mike is great and would recommend him.

Aha, i didn't know any PT. if i did a surgery i will go with anyone or a smiley guy

[programdude]

While I can't attest to him causing damage to patients(which is obviously horrible), I can attest to him being brutal- And while there were days I HATED him, in retrospect I realize I seriously needed it since even with all that I was still fairly tight. Yeah going with one of the attractive, soft spoken, gentler female options is tempting, but I think you would benefit from having at least some of Mike.  For what its worth there were a day or two where I was at a low point- Once where I hadn't slept at all and nearly skipped, and once where I just felt miserable where Mike softened up for me.

Again though- LL is the world of the comfortable option not always being the right option.

[Iamready]

Mike is the only reason I was able to get to 11cm.  The other physical therapists complained that stretching me was hurting them.

[programdude]

Wow, 11 CM.

Amongst the cosmetic LL crowd, the people who went home/considered going home because of tightness were the same who were afraid of the pain of serious stretches with Mike.

[YourSpaceBoyfriend]

Unfortunely sometimes you need someone like that. You will feel like   at the time but for the long run it can make things way easier.

[The Kaiser]

Wow, 11 CM.

Amongst the cosmetic LL crowd, the people who went home/considered going home because of tightness were the same who were afraid of the pain of serious stretches with Mike.

i heard you said your recovery took long time because you don't have someone to stretch you in the room, so Paley not offering enough stretching classes?

[programdude]

I wouldn't say that was the reason per se. While its true I didn't have someone to stretch me- I worked with mike, did stretches myself, and at the end of the process was told I was in a good place for someone done with LL. I suspect something else is why recovery took so long.

[The Kaiser]

I wouldn't say that was the reason per se. While its true I didn't have someone to stretch me- I worked with mike, did stretches myself, and at the end of the process was told I was in a good place for someone done with LL. I suspect something else is why recovery took so long.

1- do you think 8 cm is the biggest reason for your long recovery?

2- i think you're completely fine nowadays?

3- is someone asked you for advice how much you suggest him to length? 7 sounds good?

4- i think you made the surgery secret for yourself, what you said to your parents and friend when you were crippled? did they buy your excuse?

[jbc]

Wow - thanks for the insight, this is incredibly useful!!

Regarding stretching: I plan to stretch all the time . I won't have anything else to do other than rehab, so I'm going to be doing this quite a bit. I also plan to put an exercise bike in the hotel room - any thoughts about this? Has anyone else done this?

Also regarding stretching: As I mentioned before, the EOS scan revealed that I have a scoliotic spine (moderate). I don't plan to have surgery for this, but I've been undergoing intensive PT and Pilates for this, as well as Yoga. After 2 months, I'm pleased to say that I've "grown" roughly 1.5 cm (maybe a bit less).

This was expected, so it's not a surprise, but figured I'd post it here for people that wonder whether Yoga and Pilates help increase your height. They do, when your spine is out of alignment, as it is for most people. It's not a miracle, you just get back what you lose due to poor spinal alignment. I have been told my spine will never get to 100%, and that going forward, I can expect incremental gains at most (so most likely another 1 cm, maybe another 1.5).

My results are not typical - my scoliosis was not severe, but it was not a light case either. I'm thrilled I got the EOS scan, it was an unexpected medical discovery that needed to be fixed. Also, postural alignment does not help with scoliosis, my posture was good to begin with, but supposedly Yoga and especially Pilates help with that as well.

FWIW. Thanks so much for the tips on PTs, I'm now sufficiently scared of Mike .

Best,

--jbc

[programdude]

Just remember, the person you're afraid of isn't always the person you should avoid.

1- do you think 8 cm is the biggest reason for your long recovery?

2- i think you're completely fine nowadays?

3- is someone asked you for advice how much you suggest him to length? 7 sounds good?

4- i think you made the surgery secret for yourself, what you said to your parents and friend when you were crippled? did they buy your excuse?

I probably would have been totally fine at 6 CM, so yes 8 is probably a big reason for my situation. Im mostly fine, I still need to get screws out I believe. How much you lengthen is totally independent to what you need- I would have considered the surgery a waste at 6 CM but yes recovery would be great I expect. I told my roommates what I did(though none of them guessed what I had done, it was another friend who figured it out), and I laid low so it wasn't very relevant for others. I did tell my mom eventually too.

[The Kaiser]

Just remember, the person you're afraid of isn't always the person you should avoid.I probably would have been totally fine at 6 CM, so yes 8 is probably a big reason for my situation. Im mostly fine, I still need to get screws out I believe. How much you lengthen is totally independent to what you need- I would have considered the surgery a waste at 6 CM but yes recovery would be great I expect. I told my roommates what I did(though none of them guessed what I had done, it was another friend who figured it out), and I laid low so it wasn't very relevant for others. I did tell my mom eventually too.

damn how your friend knew? its really very rare that people know about LL, did you tell him the truth, or lied? did he believe it?

[LLuser1]

Some people know about this coz it's in the media

[The Kaiser]

Some people know about this coz it's in the media

but very difficult to imagine one of your friend make it, if you see him taller unless you're a member of this forum lol

[LLuser1]

Or if you see he's taller and you see his scars and remember the news about LL in the media

[The Kaiser]

Or if you see he's taller and you see his scars and remember the news about LL in the media

scars is not an issue if you do Internals right?

[YourSpaceBoyfriend]

You still need to insert nail somehow.

But ofc, there is almost no scars comparing to externals.

[LLuser1]

If you do internals in tibia they can be seen of course if you wear short trousers
Femur scars are less noticeable but also seen
Some people get soft scars but some people get very ugly scars even with internals. I know some cases, Musicmaker, an American guy and the teenage boy all from Monegal.
I have seen good results in Paley doe, I do't know about Programdude but his patients as a whole get good scars

[programdude]

damn how your friend knew? its really very rare that people know about LL, did you tell him the truth, or lied? did he believe it?

He is in the medical field. No one else has come close to suspecting something. He is really an anomaly.

[DoingItForMe]

He is in the medical field. No one else has come close to suspecting something. He is really an anomaly.

Oh, good, you're back on the forums. I've been always meaning to ask you this question all these years and I hope you can answer, because I believe you're the only one who can answer it: How is the scarring from Dr. R in NYC after rod removal version Dr. Paley after surgery? Dr. Paley claims to do the minimum amount of scarring during surgery, but I'd like to know if Dr. R does as good of a job. For reference if you forgot how small Dr. Paley's scars were, my scars are about a little smaller than the tip of my pink finger.

[The Kaiser]

He is in the medical field. No one else has come close to suspecting something. He is really an anomaly.

hahahah so you're lucky just done with this crap process. am trying to tell my parents i injured my self when i played football or something more reliable. do you think they will know? they have no any single idea about LL btw

[jbc]

Some people get soft scars but some people get very ugly scars even with internals. I know some cases, Musicmaker, an American guy and the teenage boy all from Monegal.

I hope a moderator, somewhere, is paying attention to this. I'll write a diary when this guy is banned. Otherwise I won't.

Dude, please get off my thread, spew your garbage elsewhere.