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[jackson5]

Dear Sanity,
Everything is getting better and better. Still some little ballerina feet (specially left foot) which are fading with time... but slowly :-(. I can run but it's not yet comfortable as I can bent too much my feet due to this *** ballerina feet and a little pain in ankle. To summarize ballerina feet is just the sole thing to fight! I already start to see the benefits of my new heights. I don't want to go into philosophic debates about the place of height in our society and even in animal's societies but all I can tell you is that height definitely matters and height (not toooo tall) has huge benefits which little guys will never have access to!

[6'2_dream]

friend
has some crazy users who did 7-8cm in the tibias and had problems without speaking that it is very perceptible to have tibias larger than the femures so the femur is indicated for larger, warm values ​​the ideal would be 4-5cm for pacient with femur much long, above this is already problematic for the tendons, if you want to risk such a high try on the femur, the femur accepts 6.5 - 7.5cm, being able to risk 8-9 in some very specific cases where the user has a very high mobility and the partial loss still
leaves him with an acceptable mobility, he has pictures of patients who did 7cm in the tibias and it is very strange the short femurs and that gigantic tibia

8cm tibia   https://imgur.com/a/PHpwZGk

[montahn]

Hello

any update on your situation?

Thanks

[jackson5]

Hello

any update on your situation?

Thanks

Hi all,
it has been one year and half (18 months) since my surgery. Now I can run, I played football last week. I had a fear if I would be able to play foot and run but after some muscle warming up it was fine and I played for one hour, no pain during and after. No longer ballerina feet but I still have some discomfort in my feet as they push a little bit hard on the ground when I stand up. My left leg is slightly longer than the right and is more uncomfortable.
I have one fear at this time, I hear a cracking sound in my right ankle almost each time I extend it. Doctor Salameh told me it will go with time so I hope it will really be the case. If it is, my surgery will be almost perfect. I have also some very little pain in my knee (left mainly) when going upstairs but it seem to fade with time (even if sometime it seems to come back)!
I still don't want to do ATL but I don't know if I will regret it when old man. My feet are not comfortable as it is now (any advice?)!
Don't panic with your ballerina feet it will be fine with time.
I am very satisfied with Doctor Salameh, he did a good job
Hope this post helps you.

[Montreal172]

So how much did you end up lengthening, and how long did you have to wear the apparatus on your leg ?

[Gman23]

Hi how tall were you before the surgery and which surgeon did you do it with and the costs for the surgery. Can you walk properly, stand up for few hours possibly 12 hours?

Let me know thank you !

[jackson5]

Hello,
I was at night 168,5 cm. Now at 175 cm. I'm very happy with that. And I can see the difference in my life.
I can tell you also I have successfully done military level training after my surgery (run, extreme sport, etc.), it was just a little bit hard but largely doable. Now I have just a little bit discomfort when I stay long time straight (i.e. 5 hours standing in a night club for example). That means that almost all the pains are transitory and after 2 years they will likely disappear. The last thing which can remain or goes very slowly is the discomfort in the feet when I stand up long time at the same place as I told before. I have done 6.5 cm (less than 7cm, in fact perhaps 6 cm for right leg and 7 cm for the other because I have 0.9 cm difference between the two legs). When doing your LL, be sure from time to time to do the X-Ray of the whole legs together from top to bottom to check for discrepancies, I haven’t done that and as I was doing my lengthening at home, I didn’t think about that. Discrepancies less than 1.5 cm can’t be seen, it just can bring you back pain until your body readapt to it as I’ve read in some scientific article (and yes sometime I can sense this back pain when I make some move in my bed but for what LL bring to me this is a very small deal to me).

Heath status: very fine
Comfort level: slight discomfort (without ATL)
Surgery: Very happy with the result, this changes my life

Best regards and good luck for the newcomers
Jackson 5

[jan]

hello from sydney

Jackson5 i would like to congratulate on your new look
your diary is motivating and dragging me a step closer to Dr Salameh
 
what would be negative thing to say about Salamehs team pls
as iam considering him next year

[jackson5]

Hello Jan,
For me Dr Salameh is a very good doctor and have word to comfort you when you are in panic (and by reading post on this site sometimes you will panic, you will have doubts, etc. but don't worry). Dr Salameh works with Dr Schmidt in Germany and their clinic is a very good one. I have a friend there who told me that the clinic is the choice of wealthy Germans. The device Salameh fix have no problem.
What annoyed me a little bit is that Dr Salameh is a bit conservative and will configure device for 7 cm max only at the beginning. Then later he can change it but when you are in a wheelchair at home it is very difficult to plan a trip to German to change the pin for a few cm. The after-surgery service which is in charge of Dr Schmidt was not as good as I would like. When I had my surgery, the apartment was under renovation, no one to help when Dr Schmidt wasn't present. But I think after renovation things got better.
They both Dr Salameh and Dr Schmidt are kind (my personal feeling Dr Salameh is very kind, Dr Schmid is just kind but very professional as every service provider in Europe). Their services are largely good for their prices.
I don't regret all my choices for the Doctor and the device. The only thing I regret is to forget to do the X-Ray of my entire leg together to seek for discrepancies at each X-Ray. So, you know now, DO IT, DO IT, DOT IT!
(in my case 0.9 cm discrepancies is not a problem for me as I can dance, run, jump, play football, etc. perhaps at 70 years old it will be a different story but .... perhaps I will die before :-))

Cheers

[jan]

thanks a alot for staying in touch Jackson5

i feel relieved a abit , i have no clue  what german visa will allow (an australian citizen)me to stay longer than 6 or 7 months but in 2 months time,iam booking a flight to berlin to see my brother he lives there and from there to frankfurt to have an appointment with Drs salameh+schmidt, what do u say i should do before i get to germany regarding the appointment? i have only contacted Salameh via email 4 years ago about the LL surgery in syria but he didnt recommend it in syria as it was cheap there, now i have saved up to do it in germany, are they available for appointments anytime or not really ?

[Canon]

Hey, I am also thinking of Salameh because I am a German and live quite near to him. I am following your story. Wish you all the best.

[jan]

hello Canon

when is ur plan for the Ll surgery ? if i may ask

[cyborg4life]

Great post my man! I love hearing stories of a successful surgery. I got it done to balance a height imbalance almost 8yrs ago. In fact I was in one of the initial PRECICE 1 studies. Only gained almost 2" as this is what I needed but my posture got better too and confidence truly does soar. Wishing you the best going forward!

[jackson5]

thanks a alot for staying in touch Jackson5

i feel relieved a abit , i have no clue  what german visa will allow (an australian citizen)me to stay longer than 6 or 7 months but in 2 months time,iam booking a flight to berlin to see my brother he lives there and from there to frankfurt to have an appointment with Drs salameh+schmidt, what do u say i should do before i get to germany regarding the appointment? i have only contacted Salameh via email 4 years ago about the LL surgery in syria but he didnt recommend it in syria as it was cheap there, now i have saved up to do it in germany, are they available for appointments anytime or not really ?

Hello all,
If you want to see Dr sSalameh you must plan it with him because his doesn’t live in Germany (he is Syrian). He told me that on 23rd of march his has a surgery in Germany so you can meet him at this time. You can join him at ghassanorth@yahoo.com, he is very reactive on what’s up (+963 944 363 15 six : I putted the last number in word to avoid spam robot, please be sure to add that digit to the number) I mainly used this communication channel with him and Dr Schmidt. He told me that for consultation you can join him in Germany from 22nd of March or plan it on what’s up.

Best regards

[jan]

hi Jackson5
how are u going mate ? seems like you r living the life

please update us sometimes
thanks

[jan]

hi Jackson5

how are u doing mate ? tell us alittle bit

[jackson5]

Hi every body,
Today is a big day because to be comfortable I decided to do ATL with Doctor Salameh. On this web site many guys tell that to not do it. But I want that final comfort and to have less stress on my joints because I don't know how it will end up at my old days (if I get there ;-)). By discomfort, I mean one at the front foot level when I stand up at the same place for an hour (walking is fine, I walked for more than 1h with no problem), after extreme sport some very slight pain in my knees like Sinding Larsen Johansson syndrome, bad posture (like a little duck ass) and with no pain little bone's internal side arthritis in my right ankle. Is this arthritis due to LL or just the stress reveals it, I don't know. What I know is that I can live with it if it doesn't get worse at m old days.
Doctor Salmeh's method of ATL is different from other but as I think my case is a success until now, I have fear to loose my advantages if that last thing gets wrong. I hesitate long time to NOT do it at all, to do it in my country at NO cost (public insurance) or to do it with Dr Salameh (and Doctor Schmidt, they work together) as he is an expert in his field. I decided to do it with Dr Salameh.
As the last time I was too busy to read this forum, my news are: I am still proud of this life changing surgery. At this time even if I decide to not do ATL, I can live with my discomfort. In fact the discomfort is only when I try to stand straight like an alpha male or if I must do a presentation stand up for an hour or two. If I decide to stand like a beta male it fine :-) (beta male is always slightly bent to be discrete). Guys, I can't imagine my old self with 6.5 cm less and all the psychological pains with it. But I don't reject that version of me because these pains allowed me to be far better in my life at psychological level, more stress resistant, etc. I was at my optimal self. Now with LL I'm at my irresistible self. Just waiting to see if that ATL will bring comfort and still allowing me to do extreme sport with all the strength needed in my Achilles tendons.
So wish me good lucky
Jackson 5

[Highest]

Did you end up finding out exactly how much you lengthened each leg? Will you be getting ATL on both legs?

[Tartar]

You told you were able to play football without problem, pay attention cause after ATL most of the people claim to be totally different. If you have just a little discomfort I would avoid it.
BodyBuilder here has done it and a shortening after that, you can ask him something more before.

[jackson5]

Hello
Yes I read BodyBuilder's posts this is mainly why I did not want to do it. And if I knew I will end up doing it I would go for more than 8 cm. But my discomfort is not improving with time and Dr Salameh told me that I will keep my strength after that surgery. But to be frank I can say I want to do it at 55% and 45% not to do it. I will take that risk as I took the same and even bigger risk to do LL.
Some time, I think online posts make us fear everything than in real life. For example, if we read posts on this web site, LL seems to be a very dangerous thing but in realty I meet other Doctor Salameh's patients, they including myself have no problem. In general but not everybody, we tend to express ourselves online mainly when things got bad.
I will let you know the outcome. I want Dr Salameh to do all of his best so I will not regret my choice.
Best regards friends
Jackson 5

[jackson5]

Did you end up finding out exactly how much you lengthened each leg? Will you be getting ATL on both legs?

Yes I want to do it at both legs

[Tartar]

Hello
Yes I read BodyBuilder's posts this is mainly why I did not want to do it. And if I knew I will end up doing it I would go for more than 8 cm. But my discomfort is not improving with time and Dr Salameh told me that I will keep my strength after that surgery. But to be frank I can say I want to do it at 55% and 45% not to do it. I will take that risk as I took the same and even bigger risk to do LL.
Some time, I think online posts make us fear everything than in real life. For example, if we read posts on this web site, LL seems to be a very dangerous thing but in realty I meet other Doctor Salameh's patients, they including myself have no problem. In general but not everybody, we tend to express ourselves online mainly when things got bad.
I will let you know the outcome. I want Dr Salameh to do all of his best so I will not regret my choice.
Best regards friends
Jackson 5

I did LL too (even if not tibia) and I think that the pain and complications rate is definitely overrated, so I agree with you, but if you can avoid ATL I think it’s better. ATL is used even in the Flat foot surgery and I’ve heard about many people that can’t come back to the previous status, unable even to run.
I just say this to warn, this is what I’ve heard in other contexts, I hope the best recovery for you beyond the choice you’ll make.

[jackson5]

I did LL too (even if not tibia) and I think that the pain and complications rate is definitely overrated, so I agree with you, but if you can avoid ATL I think it’s better. ATL is used even in the Flat foot surgery and I’ve heard about many people that can’t come back to the previous status, unable even to run.
I just say this to warn, this is what I’ve heard in other contexts, I hope the best recovery for you beyond the choice you’ll make.

Hi Tartar,
Thank you for your message. Dr Salameh's technique seems different from other's one. I will try and told you the truth as always. I plan to do it the 25th of this month. How much did you lengthened and what's your starting height?

Best regards
Jackson 5

[Highest]

Hi jackson5 how did your atl surgery go?

[jackson5]

Hi jackson5 how did your atl surgery go?

Hi Highest,

Yes I did it finally and only good news. Now I know for sure it was a better choice to do that surgery with Dr Salameh and Dr Schmidt. I had many doubts at the beginning but now I made the best choice. I'm recovering at home so I will keep you updated but now I have all the strength in my feet. And a BIG BIG surprise for me is that Dr Salameh's per-cutaneous ATL is a magic thing. When he told that to me, I thought it is not far from other techniques but it is. I will post photos and video I made with him int the patient's room after cutting my faces (lets stay anonymous :-)) but I only have two small points on each foot almost not noticeable. I though I will return with two big scars on my feet but nothing. In two weeks the scars will disappear as they are very very small. That's magic for me.

Stay tuned photos and videos are coming.

Jackson5

[jackson5]

Hello Guys!
As I promise you, below the photos taken the day after the surgery. We can see only two small points, now they disappeared on my skin as if have nether done that surgery.

https://imgur.com/oHs7yij
https://imgur.com/APz56TN

Almost all my discomfort have gone. I'm now as if I have nether done LL . I can say this height is all natural
The cracking sound have reduced at almost 90%
No discomfort when standing still or walk for hours. I have not yet experiment standing still for something 2 hours but after that surgey with my day to day life, I never experienced that discomfort feeling in my feet again even after running as it was the case before.
I have done a video with Dr Salameh where he explained how he did that surgery but I need to cut my face before posting it.
Yes I would do that ATL perhaps more sooner but I don't regret to try my best before doing it.
If I think back to the wall story, I made a better choice to go to Dr Salameh and Dr Schmidt and to be frank with you I didn't know what per-cutaneous surgery means but the end result is here, it's like I have never done ATL surgery.
And with that ATL well done, I'm like my height is natural because I no longer have discomfort in my legs and feet. This all journey is at its end now and it was the better choice of my life to do the surgery and to choose the right doctors. You can do LL with another doctor and then do ATL with Dr Salameh.
I will try to post the video as soon as possible.

Good luck for the new LLers!
Best regards
Jackson5

[SpeedDialer]

Wait you did 9.5 cm on your tibias?

[jackson5]

Good question, because it's very very difficult to know exactly what you have done.

1- All mark you putted on the device will fade out.
2- The cut in the bone on x-rays will fade out with time
3- Track strictly every turn of the screw but sometime screws will loosen and you don't know where they exactly were before
4- You height change in the same day so you must take your height before and after the wall process at the same hour in the day.

So if I went for the last option, I've gone from 168.5 cm to 175 cm so 6.5 cm but "I think" I have done 7 cm on left leg and 6 cm on the right.

At mean 6.5 cm one leg (left) needed ATL and the other seemed not but after doing ATL I'm very satisfied and sense to be free from inflexibility.

[Body Builder]

Good question, because it's very very difficult to know exactly what you have done.

1- All mark you putted on the device will fade out.
2- The cut in the bone on x-rays will fade out with time
3- Track strictly every turn of the screw but sometime screws will loosen and you don't know where they exactly were before
4- You height change in the same day so you must take your height before and after the wall process at the same hour in the day.

So if I went for the last option, I've gone from 168.5 cm to 175 cm so 6.5 cm but "I think" I have done 7 cm on left leg and 6 cm on the right.

At mean 6.5 cm one leg (left) needed ATL and the other seemed not but after doing ATL I'm very satisfied and sense to be free from inflexibility.

Hello my friend.
It is very soon to know the final results of your atl because your tendons are still healing but I really want to come and wtite us your honest opinion after at least 6 months post atl surgery and tell us if you feel your walking as stable and strong as before, if you can jump at least 30cn tall and if your balance is as before.

You did a percutaneous cut which lengthens achilles not much and of course, the less lengthening the better the results.
But I am really curious if you'll feel your legs the same as before. Personally, I felt really bad and although people couldn't see something very bad in my walking (except from I walked a little slower than normal) my sense of walking and the lack of tension were so bad that I almost lost my will to walk.
Of course I did atl with Z plasty and my moron doctor overlengthened my tendons a lot and thats why I had si major problems but I really believe that even small cuts makes the walking sensation different than before and harms athletic abilities much more than LL itself.

Anyway, all these are past for me as I shortened again my tendons and although my flexibility is really bad (every morning I wake up with 2-3cm equinus that subsides after walking), I feel so good that I really don't care about it, as my sensation of the ground and the tension is almost as before LL and this is more than enough for me.

I really hope you'll have flexibility and strong legs too after atl.
Please tell us your situation after 6-7 months, I am really curious and I hope the best for you, although I still believe anyone should avoid it, even if your results were good.
AT is veey delicate, there is no need to cut it if the flexibility after LL is not that good, after months of walking and stretching things will become better even without atl.
Anyway.

Keep strong !

[Vibes]

Hello my friend.
It is very soon to know the final results of your atl because your tendons are still healing but I really want to come and wtite us your honest opinion after at least 6 months post atl surgery and tell us if you feel your walking as stable and strong as before, if you can jump at least 30cn tall and if your balance is as before.

You did a percutaneous cut which lengthens achilles not much and of course, the less lengthening the better the results.
But I am really curious if you'll feel your legs the same as before. Personally, I felt really bad and although people couldn't see something very bad in my walking (except from I walked a little slower than normal) my sense of walking and the lack of tension were so bad that I almost lost my will to walk.
Of course I did atl with Z plasty and my moron doctor overlengthened my tendons a lot and thats why I had si major problems but I really believe that even small cuts makes the walking sensation different than before and harms athletic abilities much more than LL itself.

Anyway, all these are past for me as I shortened again my tendons and although my flexibility is really bad (every morning I wake up with 2-3cm equinus that subsides after walking), I feel so good that I really don't care about it, as my sensation of the ground and the tension is almost as before LL and this is more than enough for me.

I really hope you'll have flexibility and strong legs too after atl.
Please tell us your situation after 6-7 months, I am really curious and I hope the best for you, although I still believe anyone should avoid it, even if your results were good.
AT is veey delicate, there is no need to cut it if the flexibility after LL is not that good, after months of walking and stretching things will become better even without atl.
Anyway.

Keep strong !

I am curious to know the answer to this as well! It seems that if small cuts ARE safe at all, then it is the easiest way to more legnthening.

But if it still causes so much issues as with your ATL, then we should rule it out entirely and you are the savior to the forums to tell us all this news. Truly we are indebted to your experience Bodybuilder and for you to take your time to share your experiences shows much character. Thank-you!

[jackson5]

Hello my friend.
It is very soon to know the final results of your atl because your tendons are still healing but I really want to come and wtite us your honest opinion after at least 6 months post atl surgery and tell us if you feel your walking as stable and strong as before, if you can jump at least 30cn tall and if your balance is as before.

You did a percutaneous cut which lengthens achilles not much and of course, the less lengthening the better the results.
But I am really curious if you'll feel your legs the same as before. Personally, I felt really bad and although people couldn't see something very bad in my walking (except from I walked a little slower than normal) my sense of walking and the lack of tension were so bad that I almost lost my will to walk.
Of course I did atl with Z plasty and my moron doctor overlengthened my tendons a lot and thats why I had si major problems but I really believe that even small cuts makes the walking sensation different than before and harms athletic abilities much more than LL itself.

Anyway, all these are past for me as I shortened again my tendons and although my flexibility is really bad (every morning I wake up with 2-3cm equinus that subsides after walking), I feel so good that I really don't care about it, as my sensation of the ground and the tension is almost as before LL and this is more than enough for me.

I really hope you'll have flexibility and strong legs too after atl.
Please tell us your situation after 6-7 months, I am really curious and I hope the best for you, although I still believe anyone should avoid it, even if your results were good.
AT is veey delicate, there is no need to cut it if the flexibility after LL is not that good, after months of walking and stretching things will become better even without atl.
Anyway.

Keep strong !

Hi Body Builder,
Sorry, I now come on this site less frequently. From your experience I told to Dr Salameh to be very careful to avoid the same problems as you had. Yes your warnings had been a big yellow flag for me, thank you. Now 8 months later, I know it has been a good choice to do it. Before I had hard time to go from knee down position to stand up with a bag of 10kg on my back due to flexibility issues. Now I no longer have this problem. Also before when I stay stand for 2 to 3 hours, I had this pain in my feet due to compression of them on the ground (ballerina feet) now I hardly have that pain and when I have it it's very very little. I even ask myself if perhaps I needed a slightly more ATL lengthening but it's fine I will not plan a new surgery for that. Also I could not stand "very" strait and be stable (not trying to fall back) now I can do that. Let me be factual.

Flexibility (my estimation) before LL: 90% I never can do the splits :-)
Flexibility after LL before "ATL" : 60%
Flexibility after "ATL": 80% I can do all a normal guy can do in a daily life or heavy sport

And just now Body Builder I have tested the jump, I can jump as high as half a meter (around 65 cm)

But something to tell you. I will ask the details to Dr Salameh but as he told me he did not cut my Achilles tendons, he cut a band I don't remember which one exactly now but I will ask. Perhaps this method is for small "ATL" lengthening only.
I also have a nerve which is recovering slowly for the left leg.

One question I'm still wondering: for the LL we do a lot of stretching, but when we get older, can the length gained by the muscles (soft tissues in general) shrink back. During the lock down as I don't walk much, I have the feeling that I'm loosing a little flexibility... it's good to a have a feedback from others specially the very old LLiers.

Best regards
Jackson5