I am currently a patient of Dr. Monegal, just as Auron. I do not know much about Dr. Parihar, except from this forum. I had been in touch with Guichet and Betz before. I am a PhD myself and have studied limb lengthening at length before getting it done.
So let me weigh in on the discussion.
The biggest difference is between internal and external limb lengthening. For cosmetic limb lengthening you definitely want to go with internal.
Most common internal nails are Guichet nail, Betz nail, Fitbone and Precise. I do not know which one is best, but I decided for Fitbone for these reasons:
1. developed by cooperation of Dr. Baumgart, an person that worked before together with Guichet (you can see them together on Guichet’s website) and Wittenstein, a German manufacturer of precision engines
2. Read good review
3. Dr. Monegal explained me advantages of Guichet and Betz nail, and that he also could operate with Precise, which would pay him a lot of commission for each operation, but he prefers Fitbone for medical reasons
I had a problem but I do not blame them for this. However, I still have to see if they take full responsibility for the complications, so my final judgement on Fitbone, on if they are not only good engineers but also an ethical company, is still out; they are still investigating what happend.
I decided for Dr. Monegal for these reasons:
I did not see much difference between Dr. Monegal, Betz, Guichet, Paley etc.
I talked to him and he was able to convince me of his reputation and skill
So far none of the patients that I have personally met have told me that in hindsight they might have chosen a different doctor. Even Musicmaker, a friend of mine, says she might not have done operation if she would have known complications but she would not have chosen a different doctor.
I decided against any doctor from outside Western Europe and US, because I am still a bit scared of surgery in a developing country.
Anybody, who thinks I am getting pushed by Dr. Monegal to write this, could just write me, or Auron or Musicmaker, for a private opinion.