Wow that's really cheap. For Tibias I'm sure you used the ilizarov frames but for femurs what type of internal device did you use?
I did all external.
Wow, did you ever make a diary? I'm searching and can't find one. Would love to hear about how things turned out.
Yeah it's there, check created threads
He didn't use internal. For that amount you can only do externals and for femurs externals is not only a torture device but causes more varus than internals.
First, it's not a torture device, but it is very uncomfy. Second, lengthening femurs with internals causes valgus (knock knees) not varus. Third, I lengthened with a circular frame and at the end of lengthening had the legs corrected for natural mechanical axis. In no way I have a valgus or a varus, xrays are in my diary.
And lastly, I surely didn't experience any disaster. I did read however about unfortunate cases with internal patients breaking their nails and having to pay for a new nail AND surgeries to replace it. Now that sounds like a disaster to me. How do you afford that unless you are a $ multi-millionaire? I don't know. Don't forget you also need surgeries to remove the nails in the end.
Now I won't be advocating lengthening femurs externally, because I really hated it, trust me. It wasn't painful aside from the fact I had to lengthen at the rate of 1.75mm/day, which caused soft tissue pain, but the pins didn't really add to the pain - it was from the lengthening and stretching of the soft tissue... You will have the very same type of pain with internals if you have to lengthen at such a fast rate due to risk of premature consolidation. Regardless, it's still an option considering the price and it has its ups (being able to correct for mechanical axis deviation, no risk of total breakage (individual pins still can break, but that won't do anything and won't cost anything to replace), less invasive surgery - no reaming of the intramedullary canal to insert nail etc), just don't lengthen 2 at the same time.