I would recommend to do at least 4 cm. This is a painful surgery and you want to get the most bang for your buck while being safe. You will defiantly feel taller with that amount. Regarding getting the funds needed you're gonna have to save up a lot because there won't be any cheap places.If I do externals im going to russia with barinov and I factor everything there would be 25k total but he won't do full weight bearing but latn is very good as you can get rid of the frames a lot sooner. So you should consider if you can find another good doctor with a lower price or just save up the money that you calculate.
I am a premed student (taking MCAT soon) and after doing a lot of research and reading many scientific articles, External Tibias is the best way to go if you want safety (pin site infections usually only seen risk after procedure). Internal femur is the worst due to risk of fat embolism. And Latn comes in second place due to permanent knee pain and fat embolism risk due to reaming of the bone (less chance than internal femur do to the femur being the longer bone).
That is why I am choosing External Tibias with Dr. Salameh. 3 cm should take approximately 5 months after surgery to recover from and I should be full weight bearing during these months as well. Furthermore, his fixators are small and cant even be seen underneath loose pants/sweats.
Also, I am only looking to do 3 cm because I want to be out of the fixator as soon as possible and don't want my family,friends/gf finding out. The reaction I want to get from them is... "oh you look a little taller today" or "you look slightly different today"
I will be out of state for medical school and I will most likely get this surgery done during first summer break of medical school.
I have a wonderful gf and great friends. I consider myself an above avg looking dude. I am doing this surgery for myself. I have a very long torso, a 6'2 wingspan and I wear 30 inch inseam. Furthermore my brother is 6'1. I just feel small in general due to my short legs and doing this surgery will make me feel better about myself. I love the height I am when I wear Nike Shox and that is around what I am going for.