Hey.
As we know from
research and the opinion of LL surgeons, lengthening over 20% of your initial bone length is far from recommended.
So, despite how much we talk about hard numbers (5cm, 6.5cm), the reality is that it all apparently depends on your initial bone length if you want to be on the safer side. Sadly, this means the people who will want increased height the most will most likely have a harder time reaching the bigger numbers and staying in better shape. Sadly, this also means that patients who'd look more proportionate after lengthening (i.e. they have short legs for a longer torso and arms) are at a disadvantage due to the smaller size of their leg bones.
However, many people here may get the impression that 20% is a safe target, specially due to how some posts can be
worded (look at the
recovery subsection).
The opinion of Dr.
Solomin and Kulesh
seems to be:
We recommend:
Lengthening no more than 10% of the initial length of a bone.
We consider admissible:
Lengthening no more than 20% of the initial length of a bone.
So, as crazy as CLL is, I'm posting this in the interest of those who want to stay the safest as possible with their lengthening, even though nothing is guaranteed with this surgery or its methods.
Reminder that these are possibilities within the realm of CLL: deep bone infection, deep vein thrombosis, fat embolism syndrome, peroneal nerve injury (foot drop), nerve damage, bone fractures due to a variety of reasons (locking screws, etc), compartment syndrome, pin-site infections, equinus contracture (ballerina foot), nail failure/breakage, complications/bone breakage/fracture during frame removal, bone mal-union, bone nonunion, more muscle contractures, neurovascular problems, increased arthritis risks, screw backout, etc.
I couldn't make a thread like this without reminding others how crazy CLL is. Consider if you really need this.