Well if you say it is easy to blame the patient then by this logic it is equally easy to blame the doctor/clinic. You have no knowledge of the clinic in Volgograd, you have never been here. You have simply read a one-sided diary on the internet. If a patient is fed-up and depressed and insists the doctor remove the frames the doctor cannot force them to stay in Russia. For how long?? 4 months, 6???
Here is a good example of how some patients behave at the clinic to give some context as to why I write. Two patients were lengthening at the clinic and the doctor told them to stop at 6cm. The doctor’s would not treat them if they continued to lengthen and even took away the lengthening keys. The patients left the clinic, got an apartment nearby and went to the hardware store and bought a spanner so that they could turn the screws themselves and continue lengthening without any medical supervision. They lengthened to 11cm and 12cm respectively on their tibias. They then returned to the clinic weeks later and expected the doctor’s to correct what had clearly gone wrong. They could barely move! They became severely depressed but the doctor’s still took care of them as best they could.
Another patient made absolutely no effort after surgery and refused to walk in any way for weeks, and did not stop complaining of the pain. Of course there is pain!! Another patient wanted the doctor to take the frames off one day after surgery, saying he didn’t want to go through with it. The doctors said that he would have to wait at least three weeks before they could put a cast on his legs. Other patients would criticise the doctor’s as if they knew more about the procedure than them.
In truth, a number of patient’s undergo this procedure without researching what it entails. The only ‘research’ they do is reading these diaries. A number of patients (not all) also have varying degrees of personality/psychological disorders and other underlying forms/degrees of mental illness.
In the consultation before surgery, the doctors actually ask the patient to sign a disclaimer that the clinic can not be held responsible if the patient does not follow the doctor’s advice.
I know for a FACT that the doctor advised RGkey to stop at 6cm - he states this himself in his diary. He also states on numerous occasions how happy he is that he chose this doctor.
I had a look through his diary and have copied a number of quotes…
‘…you have no idea, I am so freaking lucky dude’ ‘I lengthened 9cms happily, ‘I love this girl Oxana, general manager of the clinic, I don’t have enough good words for her,so much love for her …I should have stopped at 8, I went over my physical limits, that last centimetre nearly killed me but Igot 9CM!!...the doctor here really prioritises your health which I think really should be number 1…if you are completely sure you want to go through with LL then choose this place…I don’t regret my decision even in my darkest moments, I would do it all over again…here in Volgograd doctors will tell you what to do but they will not force you…people get fked up because they did whatever the fk they wanted to do and not because the doctors are bad…do not rely purely on what people put in their diaries…(happy the doctors) offer a quick solution to my problems…if you were my family, my brother, my best friend and you decided to do LL I would force you to come here, that’s how much I love this place…Barinov, he is a master at what he does…after 8 hours walking, for the doctor to give me a compliment means a lot…I didn’t want to change these pins but Dr Barinov didn’t want me to risk anything, he always looks out for me, I love him!...I had hours of talk with Barinov about LL so most of what I know is from him, he is my source of knowledge…would I do it again? Yes, absolutely yes!... I might come back for my femurs, Dr Barinov told me I could do 5cm without complications!...i’m the luckiest motherfker alive, i’m’ so glad I did leg lengthening!!...I would do it all over again, I would choose the same doctor…
Re frame removal The doctor advised the patient that if he wanted to remove the frames then he would need to use crutches at ALL times…
Quote March 28 2014 - my legs are not fully consolidated but they can handle my weight and in a week the doctor will check if they are strong enough to walk without frames, fingers crossed now! 01/04/14, hopefully my legs won’t collapse, if they do life is life, no-one put a gun to head and forced me to do LL.. I feel I can walk with no problem now but doctor told me I must use crutches for 2 weeks, it is really annoying!!!!!!! this morning the doctor saw me walking with only one crutch and he got mad((( he told me that if I don’t use crutches my bone can bend and the correction I had can go off, and it wont look straight, so now I'm using crutches just because my doctor advice me so. I must be patient; I have gone so far to spoil my recovery for my stupidity…it is really annoying to walk with crutches!!! I will ask my doctor to check my legs on Monday, maybe I don’t need to wait another week, maybe my left leg is strong enough.. I think the correction of my left leg has moved just a little bit. I think it was my bad thou, I walked sometimes without crutches, I can only blame my self for that. But I don’t think is that noticeable.
April 18/02/014,Poster, why did he remove the frames, did you insist?
my legs were fine for walking but not 100% stable, I had 2 options he told me, keep the frames or remove them and walk with crutches. So I chose crutches of course!))
my last X-ray yes. everything was just ok to removed frames. he said that my consolidation was able to support all my weight vertically, but if I don’t use crutches, with movement they can bend to the side a little.
April 19 2014 So in this pictures I’m wearing 3.5cms lifts, plus the base of the shoe, today I am dating two girls! My legs hurt like a bitc*!!! especially after walking with lifts, my walking sucks!!! I need to start walking without lifts until I recover enough I guess,…must stop wearing lifts…
Thanx Sysop)) he said it (bowing) might be the muscle and also maybe the alignment moved a little bit. I know it was my mistake for walking many times without crutches when I wasn't supose to((((
Dec 2014 I was very lucky to end up in a good place…
Deathorb March 2015 Hello rgkey, I am in Volgograd at the same clinic. Could you answer two questions?
Why did you go against the doctors orders to come back to the USA? Was it depression or lack of sleep or something else? You appeared to have a good time in the clinic but also wanted to leave. And I believe you never got your own apartment, perhaps that would have been a nice change…’
Obviously there is now an issue with fixing his bowed leg.
It is not fair or accurate to slander Dr Barinov or the clinic on an anonymous internet forum. It is easy to say you do not recommend Dr Barinov - well I certainly do. So that balances that out!!
You should retract and apologise for such a cheap, nasty and baseless slander.
Dr Barinov treats 100’s of correction patients (mostly Russian females) every year as well as leg lengthening patients. He is an excellent surgeon and staff at the clinic - nurses, related hospital and admin staff - work very hard to achieve positive results and are dedicated to their work. Not every patient in any way chooses to write a diary. They strive to enjoy the journey and its challenges, make the best of life in Russia and work safely towards their dream of added height.
The issue is not the clinic or Dr Barinov - but that the patient felt that lengthening 9cm on tibias alone and to go against doctor’s advice would result in successful lengthening. This is a high- risk gamble.
One of the advantages of doing the surgery in Russia is that you are left to do a lot of the work yourself - this takes a certain amount of guts and courage that can only come from within the patient. It is not that difficult for the doctors to correct ‘standard’ complications - infections, axis etc - using the Ilizarov apparatus or with antibiotics etc. Most patients find that it is not as difficult as they thought it would be.
In relation to the visa, the patient could also - with the help of the clinic admin or on his own account - have taken responsibility and made the decision to leave Russia for a few days within the year ‘window’ (perhaps go the clinic in the Czech Republic or anywhere) and simply return with a new visa.
It is clear that Rgkey was more concerned with chasing girls then in committing to the journey of leg-lengthening and following best practice.
He should have decided to keep his frames on for much longer.
This is not medical negligence.