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[tacoma94]

I'm about 169cm, and I come from a country where the average is 173cm. However, I studied in Australia, where I developed a height neurosis over the years due to people being taller where I went. I plan to go home soon.

My goal was to gain 3-4cm. If I could do that, I would be overjoyed, and I think I will genuinely have my height neurosis cured.

When I was first active on this forum 2 months ago, I first wanted internal femurs. But due to high risk of fat embolism and cost of Stryde, I said no. I then wanted to do pure externals. But I don't want 6-8 months of recovery. It's not worth it. I then wanted to do LON tibias. I have enough for Dr Donghoon Lee, along with backup for complications. But no procedure is absolutely safe. A lot of the risks of LL are not just lengthening (which you can control, for example stopping at 2cm if you have to), but surgical. You could get PE, Fat emboli, Compartment syndrome, deep infection, etc. And you will never know how your body will respond to this, until you do it. Do all the research in the world, but some people will have complications, and it could be you.

Then it comes down to how you can estimate risk. There seems to be a lot of misinformation around. Even for the best doctors. People have reported different numbers from Paley regarding his fat emboli occurrence rate. Some articles on this forum have provided competing accounts of true success rates with this surgery. In an article called compendium of outcomes, there are significant numbers of bad outcomes. Maybe they lengthened too much. Maybe they went to a bad doctor. But even if most of them did those things, there will always be some who actually went to a good doctor, and actually did what they were supposed to do. People say some doctors are the best in the world for this. Dr Lee looks like one of the best LON there is. But all doctors are also businessmen. Everyone, even and sometimes especially the best doctors, sell themselves pretty hard and say they are safe. Well sure, by their definition of safe. But I guess I am unsure how to really parse the truth. I will need to do more research here.

Everything else in my life is going well. I will return to a prestigious high powered career. I have a decent personality (not according to me). I am not Brad Pitt but I am maybe 6/10. And I guess I am not even that short in my home country.

Money aside (I would pay 100k if I could gain 4cm with guranteed safety), with everything that could go wrong, especially the risks I can't control (the 9 days after surgery and the way my body reacts to the assault of an extremely invasive surgery and being essentially drowned in painkillers), is this really worth it? I consider 3cm to be really good, 3.5 to 4cm would really kill off any height neurosis I would have (I would be average, what more could I ask for?). I don't care much for athletics. But the risks just seems so poorly defined, and there seems to me to be so much misinformation. I don't expect that I will be one of the good outcomes. I could be that one fluke who got fked up at a good doc with a short lengthening amount. I could have severe arthritis in old age. Catastrophe is a possibility. Why am I interested? The same reason you all are: women. I want to feel validated by being attractive, and this is superficial but I will be honest with you guys.

Sorry this is a long post but I am working through these thoughts. But to people who are considering LL, who have done LL. What is your honest advice for this. Is it worth it? How dangerous is it? Is this all...fking crazy?

[InFullStryde]

The surgery is absolutely safe when done by Dr. Mahboubian, Dr. Paley, and/or Dr. Rozbruch. I'm not sure of other Doctors but there appear to be other reputable doctors doing Stryde.   Recovery is not overwhelming and can be accomplished by the non-athletic men and complications levels are very low. In fact, the complication rate of CLL appears to be as low as many other common surgeries out there.  8cm is a safe amount to go it will change your life.   I'm not sure of the pricing for all the doctors; but when all was said and done, my cost was about $75,000.   

I think you should go forward with it if this is something you're very passionate about and if your height level is dominating your happiness.

Feel free to reach out if you have questions.

All the Best,

IFS

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Everything else in my life is going well. I will return to a prestigious high powered career. I have a decent personality (not according to me). I am not Brad Pitt but I am maybe 6/10. And I guess I am not even that short in my home country.

Good reasons not to do it, then.

the complication rate of CLL appears to be as low as many other common surgeries out there.

But not zero, and those people are sick.  You don't sound sick, tacoma94.  Not sick like I was before LL.

[Montreal172]

I say go back to your country, try to adjust and see If it stil bothers you.

Then consider the next steps

[MirinHeight]

I'm about 169cm, and I come from a country where the average is 173cm. However, I studied in Australia, where I developed a height neurosis over the years due to people being taller where I went. I plan to go home soon.

My goal was to gain 3-4cm. If I could do that, I would be overjoyed, and I think I will genuinely have my height neurosis cured.

When I was first active on this forum 2 months ago, I first wanted internal femurs. But due to high risk of fat embolism and cost of Stryde, I said no. I then wanted to do pure externals. But I don't want 6-8 months of recovery. It's not worth it. I then wanted to do LON tibias. I have enough for Dr Donghoon Lee, along with backup for complications. But no procedure is absolutely safe. A lot of the risks of LL are not just lengthening (which you can control, for example stopping at 2cm if you have to), but surgical. You could get PE, Fat emboli, Compartment syndrome, deep infection, etc. And you will never know how your body will respond to this, until you do it. Do all the research in the world, but some people will have complications, and it could be you.

Then it comes down to how you can estimate risk. There seems to be a lot of misinformation around. Even for the best doctors. People have reported different numbers from Paley regarding his fat emboli occurrence rate. Some articles on this forum have provided competing accounts of true success rates with this surgery. In an article called compendium of outcomes, there are significant numbers of bad outcomes. Maybe they lengthened too much. Maybe they went to a bad doctor. But even if most of them did those things, there will always be some who actually went to a good doctor, and actually did what they were supposed to do. People say some doctors are the best in the world for this. Dr Lee looks like one of the best LON there is. But all doctors are also businessmen. Everyone, even and sometimes especially the best doctors, sell themselves pretty hard and say they are safe. Well sure, by their definition of safe. But I guess I am unsure how to really parse the truth. I will need to do more research here.

Everything else in my life is going well. I will return to a prestigious high powered career. I have a decent personality (not according to me). I am not Brad Pitt but I am maybe 6/10. And I guess I am not even that short in my home country.

Money aside (I would pay 100k if I could gain 4cm with guranteed safety), with everything that could go wrong, especially the risks I can't control (the 9 days after surgery and the way my body reacts to the assault of an extremely invasive surgery and being essentially drowned in painkillers), is this really worth it? I consider 3cm to be really good, 3.5 to 4cm would really kill off any height neurosis I would have (I would be average, what more could I ask for?). I don't care much for athletics. But the risks just seems so poorly defined, and there seems to me to be so much misinformation. I don't expect that I will be one of the good outcomes. I could be that one fluke who got fked up at a good doc with a short lengthening amount. I could have severe arthritis in old age. Catastrophe is a possibility. Why am I interested? The same reason you all are: women. I want to feel validated by being attractive, and this is superficial but I will be honest with you guys.

Sorry this is a long post but I am working through these thoughts. But to people who are considering LL, who have done LL. What is your honest advice for this. Is it worth it? How dangerous is it? Is this all...fking crazy?

external tibias are actually the least invasive form of this surgery for people who want to lengthen <5 cm. But US doctors like Paley do not want to do external tibias even though the rates of fat embolism/pulmonary embolism are near 0. Why? The doctors or the insurance companies that pay the doctors are paid off by the company that makes the precise nails (NuVasive).

Yes, internal tibias are easier than external tibias due to not having to wear an external frame.

But I would rather wear an external frame, if it meant lowering the rate of mortality/severe morbidity. Just something to think about...

Always remember medicine is a business. It is just as corrupt as other multi-billion dollar successful corporations

[TemakiSushi]

There is death case of External tibia, DVT then developed PE

External is not really the safest
need to find the best doctor possible to lower the chance of complications
Physicians skills are lot more important than methods
There are just too many unskilled doctors doing terrible jobs with externals

[5cm Stryde]

The surgery is absolutely safe when done by Dr. Mahboubian, Dr. Paley, and/or Dr. Rozbruch. I'm not sure of other Doctors but there appear to be other reputable doctors doing Stryde.   Recovery is not overwhelming and can be accomplished by the non-athletic men and complications levels are very low. In fact, the complication rate of CLL appears to be as low as many other common surgeries out there.  8cm is a safe amount to go it will change your life.   I'm not sure of the pricing for all the doctors; but when all was said and done, my cost was about $75,000.   

I think you should go forward with it if this is something you're very passionate about and if your height level is dominating your happiness.

Feel free to reach out if you have questions.

All the Best,

IFS

IFS, no offence but in my opinion, you are really misleading future potential patient.
CLL is just the most dangerous cosmetic surgery ever done (no other way to put it). The risk of dying is higher than any other cosmetic surgery , the recovery time way higher, and the long term outcome is just unknown (even by Doctors)

I don't understand how can you say it is absolutely safe as people already died from it (Paley's patient also almost died) and it will happen to the other US doctors, it is just statisitics (a basic information but do you know that even in the US, every 1 out of 400 die from a hospital Acquired Infections ? so the argument of US doctors/hospitals is just not true, every surgery is risky and should always be the very last option for patient)

Regarding the recovery as a non athletic man not being over overwhelming, I am also quite surprised by your statement. Unless mistaken, you took half a year for just walking normal and even after a year post surgery, unless mistaken, you cannot run properly (so even more far away from doing sports!). So basically, your lifestyle is more like a grandpa lifestyle than a healthy young man of 37 years old (your age I believe). So I am really surprised you are saying it is not overwhelming...And once again, doctors have no idea of possible arthiris but if you ask them, they will reply for 8cm : it will probably happen at some points...

I really appreciate you sharing your experience but as I said, according to me, post like the one you just made really underestimate the most dangerous cosmectic surgery out there. And it can definitevely mislead people who are just thinking about it without really having the knowledge to understand this crazy process.

Tacomaca94, I am like you, I really thinking about the procedure but all your concerns are definitevely justified. Thus, I would more listen to advise of Montreal172 and Medium Drink Of Water in this post.

 

[TheAlchemist]

Tacoma94 good on you for putting deep thought into this, you are thinking through CLL in a rational manner. Everyone should reflect deeply into why they are doing CLL and do the proper research and be informed of the risks and costs of this surgery before stepping forward. CLL should be the last resort to addressing height neurosis.

I successfully did 8 CM Stryde femurs with Paley. Having said that, I would only recommend CLL if height neurosis is consuming ones life and one cannot resolve height neurosis through other, less risky means.

CLL is by far the most risky, costly (both time and money), and difficult cosmetic surgery that exists today. It will test you both physically and mentally in ways you could never imagine.

Cases of fat embolism and pulmonary embolism are rare but have happened. Even with Paley. There has been one death that I'm aware of relating to pulmonary embo with Dr. Guichet. Having said that the risk of FE or PE is low with the proper preventative and detective measures, but still exists.

Lengthening your bones and soft tissues will forever change your biomechanics and functionality. At your desired length of 4 cm to a much lesser extent but still a factor to consider. I had a text book successful surgery, maxed out the rod at 8 CM, and am recovering well but many of my LL friends have not had the same fortune - some had to quit early before reaching their goal due to tightness, some had pre consolidation, some had prolonged nerve pain complications.

The sacrifices and opportunity costs are real. You will have to take a break from your career/school to dedicate yourself to this procedure. Some have worked through it but I guarantee they weren't 100%. I had to take a leave of absence from work. Moreso than the financial cost of not having an income while going through this, is the opportunity cost. The same applies to our personal lives. This process will put a strain on any relationship you have and if you are married or have a girlfriend....will be difficult for that person as well. I started to unexpectedly date a co worker before LL, and I had to end that to move forward with LL. This procedure requires you to dedicate yourself to it and put everything else aside. 

Having said all that, for me it came down to performing a deep dive risk assessment and weighing the pros and cons.

My height neurosis was deep and had taken over my life. It put a real constraint on living out my purpose as a man, as a friend, as a family member, as a lover, and I needed to address it. I became addicted to shoe lifts and never went out without them. I was living a lie every day I put those on and felt depressed every time I took off my shoes. I declined one of my best friends weddings because it was on a beach w/ a barefoot dress code and I couldn't wear my shoe lifts. My life was no longer logical or rational. Height neurosis had taken a hold of my life and I was determined to change that.

In my case, the pros outweighed the cons and I'm very much happy with the outcome. The benefits of the freedom of height neurosis were in my opinion, greater than the risks and costs of doing this surgery.

I had a textbook successful surgery, maxed out the nail at 8 CM, and am recovering nicely in consolidation. I'm truly blessed and thankful....but still, I would not recommend this surgery until you have done a deep analysis of the risks and sacrifices you will have to make for this surgery. CLL should really be the last resort to addressing your height neurosis.  Before moving forward with CLL, I literally drew out a venn diagram of the pros, cons, and risks of doing this.  I had a few sessions with a therapist to see if I could address my height heurosis issue through therapy. I tried meditation. I tried different hobbies and lifestyle adjustments. Only until going through this process was I able to make a truly informed decision around doing CLL. This was all in all a 2 year process of me assessing whether this was the right decision before deciding to move forward.

Listen, it's a calculated risk, the risk is still there, pulmonary embo, fat embo, long term complications, you can do preventative and detective work to stack the odds in your favor, but a lot of it is out of your control and you have to leave some of it to fate. It was worth it in the end for me, but that is after some very deep deep reflection into myself and my height neurosis. Good luck my friend!

[cena]

I had a text book successful surgery, maxed out the rod at 8 CM, and am recovering well but many of my LL friends have not had the same fortune - some had to quit early before reaching their goal due to tightness, some had pre consolidation, some had prolonged nerve pain complications.

Hi TheAlchemist,

What prolonged nerve pain complications did you notice there and how many cases? Did it result in chronic pain? Do you think the Dr. Paley's claims of under 1% complication rate is true?

Thank you

[TheAlchemist]

Hi TheAlchemist,

What prolonged nerve pain complications did you notice there and how many cases? Did it result in chronic pain? Do you think the Dr. Paley's claims of under 1% complication rate is true?

Thank you

One friend still has mild nerve issues (slight burning sensation on shin) 2 months into consolidation. I still have minor nerve pains in my shin 1 month into consolidation. I expect these to go away with time.

Dr. Robbins said he had 1 stryde patient who had numbness in one leg over a year out from surgery.

So pretty rare but it happens.

[Antoine187]

Great feedback The Alchemist !

[cobalt]

This surgery has been done for decades already, and it continually progresses to be safer than it was in the past. There's risks but procedures like drilling venting holes have been invented to prevent fat embolism and blood thinners prescribed. Just because some people chose to go to bad doctors doesn't mean the whole field of LL did not improve its methods. You have the best chance of a successful LL if you do it right the first time, save up the funds, using the best up to date device and technology available with the reputable doctors. Yes there are risks like with many things we do in life. Driving a car probably has more risks than dying during this surgery if done in a first world country under hands of some of the World's First Class Surgeons because the circumstances of your surgery are very controlled with reliable medical devices monitoring the whole process. They are equipped to respond accordingly as issues arise. Just like the one Paley patient that was saved from suffering consequences of a blood clot. That is why some overseas pt around the world would rather pay the money and prefer doing it in USA because of safety.

The body is actually very resilient and can adapt to the bio-mechanical changes that occurs after LL finishes if no additional deformity was introduced during your LL and you did not suffer some drastic complication. Just like some people are born with shorter femurs or shorter tibias and people of different heights already. Your body will compensate and you will not notice too much if you do not lengthen some crazy amount. 5 cm gives you the best chance for recovery and not reducing your quality of life.

Stryde is the way to do it if you consider femurs and now I'm beginning to be pro-Stryde for tibias because external fixator devices is showing to have a higher chance of lasting nerve damage through the pins if you happen to be unlucky, although not everyone suffered the same fate. Just keep in mind there will be some small percentage of deviation caused from the lengthening device itself the more you lengthen.

[TemakiSushi]

Dr. Robbins said he had 1 stryde patient who had numbness in one leg over a year out from surgery.

Is this numbness a superficial skin numbness or mobility reduction such as drop foot?

[TheAlchemist]

Is this numbness a superficial skin numbness or mobility reduction such as drop foot?

Superficial skin numbness. From what Dr. Robbins told me she is ambulatory but has lost sensitivity / any feeling on the skin of her shin.

[TemakiSushi]

Thanks
Skin numbness seems to be quite common with this surgery,
but her case maybe a bit severe than usual if she really got no sensitivity after a year
Very interesting, femur lengthening actually affect a lot to the lower limb nerve
A dropfoot was reported with the femur side of cross lengthening in Russia

[MirinHeight]

There is death case of External tibia, DVT then developed PE

External is not really the safest
need to find the best doctor possible to lower the chance of complications
Physicians skills are lot more important than methods
There are just too many unskilled doctors doing terrible jobs with externals

not if done with a good surgeon who prescribed blood thinner medication..

[AimHigh]

Yeah this is a tough surgery during extension especially and even consolidation when you are trying to get range of movement back. This Surgery has resulted in ongoing issues for me, both my Tib's (anterior) have skin numbness and tingling still after 4 years (Precice 8 cm LFemur, Fitbone 5.3 cm RFemur - both Retrograde i.e through the knee insertions).
LKnee now has max 130 Deg flexion with at times a strong pain in my distal anterior/lateral femur and superior lateral Patella, with variable associated uncomfortable swelling, RKnee is now very noisy and "clicky", which makes even light semi-Squats uncomfortable - both knees are always stiff (even worse in the mornings, and horrible in winter) and are at times quite sore around top of patella.
I still have a 2.7 cm LLD, and getting down and up from the floor is a struggle (even though I am  a pretty fit/strong  62 KG/179 cm) and I find it very hard to pick up something from the floor especially with a baby/toddler in my arms!).
Basically I dont take pain killers (I value my brain) , but I need a hot bath at the end of each day to soothe my aching knees and stiff back (and I try to eat a low inflammatory diet).
I can no longer run (chasing kids is out !), as my knee range is limited, and I do some kinda weird shuffle instead.
The Tib/Femur ratio feels strange (my tibias now feel stubby and ineffectual), and the Tib/Fem ratio looks weird and I am quite self-conscious about it (it was about 0.83, (ideal is 0., now about .74 Right leg and .70 LeftLeg).
Basically to feel 'Normal" I think I need to add the missing 2.7 cm to my R.Femur, and also add at least 4 cm to my Tib's (5cm would be ideal but time and risk factors preclude this ), this would bring my T/F ratio to ~ .77 i.e within the range of normal variation.

[TemakiSushi]

Yeah this is a tough surgery during extension especially and even consolidation when you are trying to get range of movement back. This Surgery has resulted in ongoing issues for me, both my Tib's (anterior) have skin numbness and tingling still after 4 years (Precice 8 cm LFemur, Fitbone 5.3 cm RFemur - both Retrograde i.e through the knee insertions).
LKnee now has max 130 Deg flexion with at times a strong pain in my distal anterior/lateral femur and superior lateral Patella, with variable associated uncomfortable swelling, RKnee is now very noisy and "clicky", which makes even light semi-Squats uncomfortable - both knees are always stiff (even worse in the mornings, and horrible in winter) and are at times quite sore around top of patella.
I still have a 2.7 cm LLD, and getting down and up from the floor is a struggle (even though I am  a pretty fit/strong  62 KG/179 cm) and I find it very hard to pick up something from the floor especially with a baby/toddler in my arms!).
Basically I dont take pain killers (I value my brain) , but I need a hot bath at the end of each day to soothe my aching knees and stiff back (and I try to eat a low inflammatory diet).
I can no longer run (chasing kids is out !), as my knee range is limited, and I do some kinda weird shuffle instead.
The Tib/Femur ratio feels strange (my tibias now feel stubby and ineffectual), and the Tib/Fem ratio looks weird and I am quite self-conscious about it (it was about 0.83, (ideal is 0., now about .74 Right leg and .70 LeftLeg).
Basically to feel 'Normal" I think I need to add the missing 2.7 cm to my R.Femur, and also add at least 4 cm to my Tib's (5cm would be ideal but time and risk factors preclude this ), this would bring my T/F ratio to ~ .77 i.e within the range of normal variation.

You’ve done fitbone with Monegal, right?
Did you do precice with Monegal also?
Why Monegal put IMnails into femurs through knees?

[TheAlchemist]

Yeah this is a tough surgery during extension especially and even consolidation when you are trying to get range of movement back. This Surgery has resulted in ongoing issues for me, both my Tib's (anterior) have skin numbness and tingling still after 4 years (Precice 8 cm LFemur, Fitbone 5.3 cm RFemur - both Retrograde i.e through the knee insertions).
LKnee now has max 130 Deg flexion with at times a strong pain in my distal anterior/lateral femur and superior lateral Patella, with variable associated uncomfortable swelling, RKnee is now very noisy and "clicky", which makes even light semi-Squats uncomfortable - both knees are always stiff (even worse in the mornings, and horrible in winter) and are at times quite sore around top of patella.
I still have a 2.7 cm LLD, and getting down and up from the floor is a struggle (even though I am  a pretty fit/strong  62 KG/179 cm) and I find it very hard to pick up something from the floor especially with a baby/toddler in my arms!).
Basically I dont take pain killers (I value my brain) , but I need a hot bath at the end of each day to soothe my aching knees and stiff back (and I try to eat a low inflammatory diet).
I can no longer run (chasing kids is out !), as my knee range is limited, and I do some kinda weird shuffle instead.
The Tib/Femur ratio feels strange (my tibias now feel stubby and ineffectual), and the Tib/Fem ratio looks weird and I am quite self-conscious about it (it was about 0.83, (ideal is 0., now about .74 Right leg and .70 LeftLeg).
Basically to feel 'Normal" I think I need to add the missing 2.7 cm to my R.Femur, and also add at least 4 cm to my Tib's (5cm would be ideal but time and risk factors preclude this ), this would bring my T/F ratio to ~ .77 i.e within the range of normal variation.

Aimhigh would you say a contributor to your complications was the surgery with the insertion of the nail through the knee? I've heard there is a much higher complication rate when the nail is inserted through the knee.

Paley and all other US doctors, to my knowledge, insert the nail through the piriformis fossa at the top of the femur which Paley explained to me is the much safer method with low risk of long term complications.

 

[California2]

There is little doubt that purely external procedures have the lowest overall risk and most flexibility; however, a purely external procedure also takes the longest.

However again, you appear to want to lengthen only about 10% of your tibia length or less (which is the medically accepted ideal amount).

Because of the small amount of distraction you desire, you could be out of frames in four-five months.  About seven weeks for the initial surgery and to complete distraction (surgery + 7-10 days before beginning distraction + 40 days to distract = 47-50 days.)  Then, consolidation until you are cleared to bear weight without frames.

So, if you are willing to carve six months out of your life, you could reasonably and safely achieve your goal.  Contact an expert in externals like Kulesh if you are interested and discuss the situation with him.

However again, it does not seem that a 1.5 inch gain will really change your life.  For a 1.5 inch gain, it would be far easier to change your shoes.

[AimHigh]

Hi Guys,
The surgeries were done independently, i.e two years apart by two different expert/experienced Surgeons on two different continents , neither Doctor had an issue with retrograde insertions(one of the Doctors has worked with Paley before WP Beach) .
But now personally, if I could turn back time, I would definitely prefer a surgeon perform Ante-grade insertion, and go no-where near my precious knees !.

[5cm Stryde]

I also read some scientific paper saying that the Antregrade method has for result some permanent hips pain for about 10-20% patients
Does any LL warrior experiment such thing ?

[5cm Stryde]

Superficial skin numbness. From what Dr. Robbins told me she is ambulatory but has lost sensitivity / any feeling on the skin of her shin.

Do you know if her case result from the surgery itself or from the lengthening (which could have been stoppen/slow down) ?

Thanks!

[IwannaBeTaller]

IFS, no offence but in my opinion, you are really misleading future potential patient.
CLL is just the most dangerous cosmetic surgery ever done (no other way to put it). The risk of dying is higher than any other cosmetic surgery , the recovery time way higher, and the long term outcome is just unknown (even by Doctors)

This is your opinion on LL, yet you still plan LL for 2 inches. I don't understand why?

[BetzLandLiberator]

CLL is just the most dangerous cosmetic surgery ever done (no other way to put it). The risk of dying is higher than any other cosmetic surgery

This is simply not true. LL is much safer than a lot of  other cosmetic surgeries, like liposuction for example.

[5cm Stryde]

Hi BetzandLiberator,

I would be happy to be wrong but according to documentation (I give some example), LL is more risky.

For Liposusction, the major complication rate is 0,7% as described here : https://academic.oup.com/asj/article/37/6/680/3744817

For LL, it is a bit more difficult to find data but we can use as source the youtube video of Paley where it shows a 4% fat embolism incidence which is by itself already a major complication.
We can also use external source not directly related to CCL as this one : https://riskcalculator.facs.org/RiskCalculator/Outcome.jsp  => the rate of serious complication is about 4-5% so really more risky than Liposuction.

If you have other figures, please share as I find it always interesting.
But don't be biais because your surgery went well, it does not mean it will be the case for others. I have looked on various studies and asked various Doctors, and my result is that CLL is really the most risky cosmetic surgery. If you have different results, I am happy to discuss.

[BetzLandLiberator]

Hi BetzandLiberator,

I would be happy to be wrong but according to documentation (I give some example), LL is more risky.

When I have the time I'll look some sources and put here but I remember quite well comparing the statistics before I did my first LL and it's not even closer. You have tons of death cases with Liposuction, Bariatric surgery and others. Not so much with LL.

Keep in mind that a cosmetic LL is exactly the same as a non-cosmetic LL and those are performed all the time. And the principles of LL are well understood and practiced since the 1950s.

Most complications of LL occur after the surgery.

[5cm Stryde]

This is your opinion on LL, yet you still plan LL for 2 inches. I don't understand why?

Hi Wannabetaller,

It is a good question. Rationnaly I think CLL is a big mistake for everyone. Emotionnaly, it is a different story as fI soon as I go out, I feel depressed about my height.
So at this end of the day, it is a personnal decision between pros and cons.

My previous post was more to show that CLL is indeed a really risky procedure (in cosmectic terms) and according to FullStryde's comments or other users, it sometimes appears it is not. So I just wanted to clarify and maybe help some people to get an appropriate picture.

[5cm Stryde]

When I have the time I'll look some sources and put here but I remember quite well comparing the statistics before I did my first LL and it's not even closer. You have tons of death cases with Liposuction, Bariatric surgery and others. Not so much with LL.

Keep in mind that a cosmetic LL is exactly the same as a non-cosmetic LL and those are performed all the time. And the principles of LL are well understood and practiced since the 1950s.

Most complications of LL occur after the surgery.

Hi BetzandLiberator,

Thank you for the reply and I will wait for your sources.
Just a last comment on my part is the fact that for the death or major complication part, I don't use source from Ilizarov procedure but only for femoral nailing (which is by far more convenient but also more risky regarding major complication).
Otherwise, the fact that a surgery is made all the time doesn't proof it is safe : Knee replacement is one of the most made surgery in the US and really well understand but still the death rate is about 1/400 (Liposition death rate is about 1/5000 so knee replacement is 10 times more risky regarding death).

And on top of that, you are right, most complications of LL occur after the surgery.


Edit : I just made a quick check and you are right Bariatric surgery seems by far more risky

[readyprecisestryde]

Hello,  About 1% of Dr. Paley's patients experience complications. I met him for consultation and felt very comfortable during the consult. He told me not to worry about complication and he has solution if it does happen. I am moving forward with him and I am definitely scared of complications. My biggest reason of choosing Dr. Paley is his track record.

Complication rate will go up choosing an  unexperienced surgeons or doing too much lengthening.

On page 10 of this link is a source to Dr. Paley's complication statistic.

https://sa1s3.patientpop.com/assets/docs/126372.pdf

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 Dr. Paley had total five fat embolism and he treated all with oxygen masks. No deaths, none of the 5 patients went to intensive care unit or any serious sequella of this fat embolism complication. Please look at page 20 of the same link.