Hello everyone!
All my life i suffered from O shaped legs (inherited from my farther). No mini skirts, dresses or shorts all my life... I planned to do the surgery when i was 20 y.o. but lack of money and other issues didn't let me fulfill my dream. My dream came true in 10 years!
I was born in Soviet Union but last ten years i reside in the states. Of course i speak Russian and had no language problems while i stayed in the hospital.
I chose to do the surgery in Russia mainly because it was more than 20 times cheaper than in US! and of course Russia is the country where those famous Ilizarov frames were invented. I emailed to a lot of doctors, a lot, but at the end i chose Kaplunov.
Why? Well, after i talked with him on the phone and i just felt that this was my doctor. He sounded adequate , professional and honest. His father Anatoly Kaplunov worked together with Ilizarov in Kurgan orthopedic center and then carried on his work in Volgograd. I saw Anatoly in the hospital, he is already an old man but he still works there consulting people who need an advise from a specialist.
Anyway, my surgery was done on Fed 14, 2017. And the frames were removed in July. Before the surgery we discussed everything with my doctor. He even asked me if didn't change my mind. He checked my blood work and said i was good to go.
I had General Anesthesia. Surgery started at 9 am and lasted about 1,5 hrs. I woke up at about 2am and the nurse gave me some water and a cellphone. Later in few hrs, nurse and anesthesiologist helped me stand up for the first time with the help of a walker. It was so scary but we did it.
I can tell you that all i felt was that my legs are tightly tied and that i can barely move them. I can't say i felt pain.
At 9am they did re bandaging and took me to my ward where i lived with a girl who did limb lengthening.
I started walking with a walker normally on day 3. In two weeks i started using the crutches. And in about 1,5 months no crutches.
I stayed in the hospital for a month and flew to the states. I did bandaging by myself , it's easy once you see how it's done. Nothing bothered me. Overall i didn't feel extreme pain, i never took a pain killer shot or pill. But again, everyone is different. Other girls there told me they had bad pain in the beginning.
I did xrays in June and the doc said it was ok to remove the frames. In july i flew back to Volgograd and got my frames removed. They removed the right one first and the left one in five days. They tell you to use the crutches for some time and to be very careful.
Surgery and the hospital stay costed about $3000 plus the flights.
The stuff in the hospital is very friendly. The city itself is a historical place. The bloodiest battle in history took place here in Stalingrad in WW2. There are a lot of places to see there, of course the main sightseeing is Mamayev Kurgan. Also we did take a short cruise on Volga river. I loved the city and overall it was fun. It was even kinda sad to leave the city as i met wonderful people there and am gonna miss it a lot...
In the hospital there are two floors. First floor is Doctor Teterin's department and second floor is Kaplunov's.
Dr. Teterin is also doing such surgeries, i believe he uses his own method to "correct the legs" because his patients stay in the hospital for only two months and go home. But i believe with this method he cant do much manipulations, i didn't wanna risk and decided to correct the legs "all the way". Short period of healing sounds awesome but when it comes to the dream of your life, i decide to do it the classic way and picked my doctor instead of Teterin.
I adore my doctor, I can not thank him enough. Not just because he gave me new life, but because he was so down to earth with us. We talked a lot about everything, we laughed a lot. It matters to me because nowadays the medicine becomes a business and most docs care only about money. But speaking of Kaplunov, i can say it's and incredible human being with open soul, great mind and big heart. At least, from my own experience, i'm so grateful i chose Kaplunov.
Again, i speak as of my own experience.
If you have questions, please do not hesitate ask.
All i wanted to say that if you have bow legs and it bothers you, you need to do IT! The surgery is the only way out!
We are not only fixing our legs. we fix our head and our life in general.
Good luck!
Author
Topic: Bow Leg Correction Surgery in Volgograd, Russia. Doctor Oleg Kaplunov. 2017 (Read 2251 times)