Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Alexa]

This surgery is pretty unique in that most everyone on this board is a man and with other cosmetic surgeries it’s usually the complete opposite lol! I am actually surprised this surgery isn’t more popular with women I guess everyone is focused on getting a big butt like Kim K instead lol!

I was wondering if any ladies have had LL done and what type of procedure did you use precise or stryde? Or if you used external fixators how your scarring was? Also how much of a height increase did you receive?

I thought I did research and learned the best procedures but also read that certain procedures are better suited towards men. So now I’m not sure what to get, since the most cutting edge techniques work better for men apparently and I have not been able to find which procedures are the best for women. I am hoping to gain as much length as possible! If it matters I am 5’5”, 95ibs, and have a little bit of smaller bone structure but I hope to be at least 5’8” or 5’9” if possible. I am trying to get as much advice as I can because I have contacted a couple of surgeons in Russia and Colombia and am hoping to get on their schedule for this summer since the process takes so long! I’m trying to spend 10-20k but will spend more to be able to use the best technique. Any tips from men or women would be great

[Fox]

This surgery is pretty unique in that most everyone on this board is a man and with other cosmetic surgeries it’s usually the complete opposite lol! I am actually surprised this surgery isn’t more popular with women I guess everyone is focused on getting a big butt like Kim K instead lol!

I was wondering if any ladies have had LL done and what type of procedure did you use precise or stryde? Or if you used external fixators how your scarring was? Also how much of a height increase did you receive?

I thought I did research and learned the best procedures but also read that certain procedures are better suited towards men. So now I’m not sure what to get, since the most cutting edge techniques work better for men apparently and I have not been able to find which procedures are the best for women. I am hoping to gain as much length as possible! If it matters I am 5’5”, 95ibs, and have a little bit of smaller bone structure but I hope to be at least 5’8” or 5’9” if possible. I am trying to get as much advice as I can because I have contacted a couple of surgeons in Russia and Colombia and am hoping to get on their schedule for this summer since the process takes so long! I’m trying to spend 10-20k but will spend more to be able to use the best technique.

hello alexa,
i dont think methods being used  differentiates between male and female
basically there are couple of lenghtening methods around, stryde being the newest and best one, precice 2.0 follows.
so if finances isnt a problem for you, i'd suggest you choose stryde ( or precice )and a good surgeon depends on where you are from. its perfectly understandable if you want to be taller as a woman, if its going to help your self esteem.

[Alexa]

Thank you! I heard that the Stryde could only be used on bigger bones but am not sure how accurate that was anyway. I have never heard of precise 2 actually, that is something I am going to have to look into! I definitely don’t want to have to do any sort of external frames because I want to avoid scars so you’re right that spending more would deliver the results I’m looking for!

[Fox]

Thank you! I heard that the Stryde could only be used on bigger bones but am not sure how accurate that was anyway. I have never heard of precise 2 actually, that is something I am going to have to look into! I definitely don’t want to have to do any sort of external frames because I want to avoid scars so you’re right that spending more would deliver the results I’m looking for!

you can choose any method to lengthen yourself, every method practically lengthens your femur or tibia bone ( or both )  for example stryde is being used on both femur or tibia, but its the most expensive one. advantage of stryde is it has a full weight bearing so you will be able to walk after surgery ( more walking - more bone consolidation ) it can carry your full weight and healing time is faster.  precice only carries your weight to a certain percentage, but after surgery you need to use crutches, or walkers ( for short amount of time ) again faster healing time compared to external devices. but finances are the only limiting factor here. so it doesnt mean externals wont work too, it all depends on the doctor really. try to find a good doctor first. thats what i'd do.

[FormerKidd]

Thank you! I heard that the Stryde could only be used on bigger bones but am not sure how accurate that was anyway. I have never heard of precise 2 actually, that is something I am going to have to look into! I definitely don’t want to have to do any sort of external frames because I want to avoid scars so you’re right that spending more would deliver the results I’m looking for!

I have been told (at Dr. Paley's) that Stryde rods are too big for the tibias for some people (usually women) and they have to use Precice 2.  I don't think it's an issue for the femurs, however.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

I'd say about 25% of the patients were female in Beijing when I was doing my LL.  Even back then, on the old forum, it was mostly men posting about LL.

In general they had an easier time of it than the guys because they had less tissue resistance.

[Alexa]

Thank you all so much, that really clears up a lot of confusion for me! I was going to do the femur anyway so it is nice to know that I would still be a good candidate for the stryde nail. There is more to this surgery than most other cosmetic procedures so there is a lot to learn! I definitely need to research some more doctors though. I know that the stryde nail can hold a lot of weight so maybe it might be overkill for me and I could save at least a little money with precice 2 since I am not over 100 ibs, although it would probably still be a good idea to use crutches since almost 50 ibs to each leg is probably pushing it lol!

[Great321]

If you don't intend to become a model I would not recommend the surgery for you since it's not a typical cosmetic surgery. There are many risks, especially if you're only able to spend 10-20k. You won't recover 100% and a healthy body is priceless. You might regret it once you encounter complications that will "haunt" you for a few years at best.

What do you think will improve in your life?


Also with precise 2, you will be wheelchair bound for the first month(s), no matter how lightweight you are. (Not sure for how long though) If you really want to do femurs, you should do Stryde instead and save more money.

[limewalk]

Jolien was in a similar situation as you and wrote a diary. You should check it out.

[Fox]

If you don't intend to become a model I would not recommend the surgery for you since it's not a typical cosmetic surgery. There are many risks, especially if you're only able to spend 10-20k. You won't recover 100% and a healthy body is priceless. You might regret it once you encounter complications that will "haunt" you for a few years at best.

What do you think will improve in your life?


Also with precise 2, you will be wheelchair bound for the first month(s), no matter how lightweight you are. (Not sure for how long though) If you really want to do femurs, you should do Stryde instead and save more money.

no, just because you had many complications doesnt mean she will have them too. there many people underwent LL surgery and came out OK dont you think?

[FormerKidd]

Also with precise 2, you will be wheelchair bound for the first month(s), no matter how lightweight you are. (Not sure for how long though) If you really want to do femurs, you should do Stryde instead and save more money.

This is simply not true.  If you are close to or under the combined weightbearing capacity of the Precice 2 rods, you can use a walker.  I did Precice 2 on my femurs and switched to walker exclusively the day after I was discharged.

[limewalk]

This is simply not true.  If you are close to or under the combined weightbearing capacity of the Precice 2 rods, you can use a walker.  I did Precice 2 on my femurs and switched to walker exclusively the day after I was discharged.

If stryde nail is too big for someone, then they will need to use Precice 2 of smallest diameter which is 8.5mm. This diameter precice nail barely lets you stand.

[Great321]

no, just because you had many complications doesnt mean she will have them too. there many people underwent LL surgery and came out OK dont you think?

The only complication I had was slow bone growth and that can happen to anyone. Everything else like numb shin areas or pains is very common for most LLers. Also people shouldn't expect to be the one who will turn out perfectly. Expect a lot of physical and mental stress. I came out just fine too as I'm living my every day life now but still it's nothing that I would recommend to a person who will probably not benefit from LL at all. A woman who is 5'5 will not face discrimination in this world. That's about the average of German women.

Even if she recovers 95%, the 5% that she looses (athleticism for example) might not be worth it for a healthy average sized person

[Great321]

This is simply not true.  If you are close to or under the combined weightbearing capacity of the Precice 2 rods, you can use a walker.  I did Precice 2 on my femurs and switched to walker exclusively the day after I was discharged.

Well that's probably something doctors handle differently. Because I was under the weightbearing capacity and explicitely asked my doctor about that matter.

While "California's" doctor didn't allow him to walk unaided several months after LATN surgery, I was allowed to walk unaided a few weeks after surgery. So future LL should ask the same questions to different doctors and not expect that every doctor handles the surgery the same.

[Fox]

The only complication I had was slow bone growth and that can happen to anyone. Everything else like numb shin areas or pains is very common for most LLers. Also people shouldn't expect to be the one who will turn out perfectly. Expect a lot of physical and mental stress. I came out just fine too as I'm living my every day life now but still it's nothing that I would recommend to a person who will probably not benefit from LL at all. A woman who is 5'5 will not face discrimination in this world. That's about the average of German women.

Even if she recovers 95%, the 5% that she looses (athleticism for example) might not be worth it for a healthy average sized person

well you are right about that. BUT if she finds herself thinking about being tall every now and then, and IF its really going to help her self-esteem, i'd say %5 is nothing.

[FormerKidd]

Well that's probably something doctors handle differently. Because I was under the weightbearing capacity and explicitely asked my doctor about that matter.

Could be.  I was at Paley's for reference.

[limewalk]

Could be.  I was at Paley's for reference.

No doctor will let you walk on the 8.5mm precice nail. Do you know of someone on 8.5mm precice nail walking on crutches at Paley's?

8.5mm is the only precice nail which is smaller than the smallest stryde (10mm).

[Great321]

Could be.  I was at Paley's for reference.

I mean even if you are allowed to use a walker before, can you realistically say what you were able to do with it? How fast was your speed? Did you not need help when going outside the house? Because with externals I was allowed to use the walker the next day after surgery but I was quite slow and any time I left the house, I used the wheelchair with the help of others because it would have taken too long if I used the walker outside. How did you buy groceries for example?

[Alexa]

I am very grateful for all this info, thanks everyone! I remember reading somewhere that the weight bearing potential of a precice nail was 50-75ibs but I didn’t see anything about whether you can put weight on it or not lol I guess I just assumed! It makes sense that each doctor would have their own rules. I think the low prices that I was reading about did not include the nail method too. Since I want to use the nail I am definitely going to end up spending at least 40-60k so that means a bit more of saving is to be done but I should still be able to have the procedure soon I actually do plan to try and model but who knows if that will even work out so it is not even my main reason, I mostly just want to look better lol. And at the very least I should be able to stop having to wear heels everyday lol a little leg pain will just be a trade in for all of my foot pain!

[Fox]

I am very grateful for all this info, thanks everyone! I remember reading somewhere that the weight bearing potential of a precice nail was 50-75ibs but I didn’t see anything about whether you can put weight on it or not lol I guess I just assumed! It makes sense that each doctor would have their own rules. I think the low prices that I was reading about did not include the nail method too. Since I want to use the nail I am definitely going to end up spending at least 40-60k so that means a bit more of saving is to be done but I should still be able to have the procedure soon I actually do plan to try and model but who knows if that will even work out. At the very least I should be able to stop having to wear heels everyday lol a little leg pain will just be a trade in for all of my foot pain!

there is a doctor named giotikas in greece. people saying he has fair amount of experience and considerably cheap compared to other doctors. just letting u know....

[Alexa]

I will look into him thank you! I would definitely not mind staying in Greece during this procedure either  I would just ask them to wheel me to the beach and I would be happy just sitting there while recovering lol.

[Fox]

I will look into him thank you! I would definitely not mind staying in Greece during this procedure either  I would just ask them to wheel me to the beach and I would be happy just sitting there while recovering lol.

yeah greece has an excellent weather for sure, not so hot, not so cold.

[Montreal172]

In Greece you're looking at around 35k to 40k in euro dollars.

[Zamii]

In Greece you're looking at around 35k to 40k in euro dollars.

For LON yeah (which is a decent method) but for stryde you would need at least 50k-60k euros for nail and accommodation etc

[Alexa]

On this forum he made a post that stated femoral lengthening with Precise-2 nails was priced around 36950 Euro although I’m sure with physical therapy and rent it’s going to end up to be a lot more! I didn’t see any info about Stryde pricing though, just the Precise 2 and LON method. Wheelchair or not I don’t even mind which nail I get so much as long as I save enough to be able to do solely the nail. Even the LON method where the external frames are on for only a short time, still seems to produce pretty big, permanent looking scars. I saw that Jolien used this method with Dr. Giotikas which she wrote about in her diary that was recommended to me and although her results seem to be good, those scars are pretty gnarly! I am grateful for her sharing, not many patients share pictures of their post op scarring.

[Fox]

For LON yeah (which is a decent method) but for stryde you would need at least 50k-60k euros for nail and accommodation etc

is this a verifiod information that we need at least 50 or 60 thousand euros for giotikas / stryde? because i'm pretty sure that people were telling giotikas is not only a very experienced surgeon but also relatively cheap. couple of people here i saw were considering about choosing him instead of america. or was it precice 2.0 ?

On this forum he made a post that stated femoral lengthening with Precise-2 nails was priced around 36950 Euro although I’m sure with physical therapy and rent it’s going to end up to be a lot more! I didn’t see any info about Stryde pricing though, just the Precise 2 and LON method. Wheelchair or not I don’t even mind which nail I get so much as long as I save enough to be able to do solely the nail. Even the LON method where the external frames are on for only a short time, still seems to produce pretty big, permanent looking scars. I saw that Jolien used this method with Dr. Giotikas which she wrote about in her diary that was recommended to me and although her results seem to be good, those scars are pretty gnarly!

depending on your financing, i'd choose precice 2.0 over stryde. i really dont think its that different from stryde and you should be able to walk within couple of days if not day 1 like stryde. i'd go for that, ( probably gonna go for that actually ) so not being able to walk for couple of days or 1 or 2 weeks isnt really a deal breaker considering the price difference. it does the same job anyway.

i'd stay away from externals, ( i will stay away lol ) not because of scars - but its acceptable that you dont want scars because as a woman you'd want good looking legs ) but because of pin site infection risk. and externals healing time are slower compared to internal nails. if you're from america, it would be relatively easy for you to choose at least precice, due to your money currency.

[Knik]

On this forum he made a post that stated femoral lengthening with Precise-2 nails was priced around 36950 Euro although I’m sure with physical therapy and rent it’s going to end up to be a lot more! I didn’t see any info about Stryde pricing though, just the Precise 2 and LON method. Wheelchair or not I don’t even mind which nail I get so much as long as I save enough to be able to do solely the nail. Even the LON method where the external frames are on for only a short time, still seems to produce pretty big, permanent looking scars. I saw that Jolien used this method with Dr. Giotikas which she wrote about in her diary that was recommended to me and although her results seem to be good, those scars are pretty gnarly! I am grateful for her sharing, not many patients share pictures of their post op scarring.

there is still a few way to hide scars as much as you can like small tattoos or laser
and jolien scars looks almost perfect in comparison with other pictures of externals patients i've seen. It seems that doc really tries to make it better on women patients

[cam007]

On this forum he made a post that stated femoral lengthening with Precise-2 nails was priced around 36950 Euro although I’m sure with physical therapy and rent it’s going to end up to be a lot more! I didn’t see any info about Stryde pricing though, just the Precise 2 and LON method. Wheelchair or not I don’t even mind which nail I get so much as long as I save enough to be able to do solely the nail. Even the LON method where the external frames are on for only a short time, still seems to produce pretty big, permanent looking scars. I saw that Jolien used this method with Dr. Giotikas which she wrote about in her diary that was recommended to me and although her results seem to be good, those scars are pretty gnarly! I am grateful for her sharing, not many patients share pictures of their post op scarring.

For LoN he had his post at 32k UsD.  His externals i believe uses the small tsf frames which let you walk and weight bear right away and cost 26k usd. But you have to stay in the externals until the bone gets solid.

Neither of those include accommodations. So LoN would probably cost you 40k total in Greece.


Also don’t listen to greater talking about if you go to a cheaper doctor there are risks.  Some countries have a weak exchange against the dollar/euro.  Whats important is who trained that doctor and how much experience s/he has.
Either way as long as you’re lengthening within the “safe limit” where the risks run small, and use a competent respected doctor, you’ll be okay.

There are a lot of people who don’t lose ANY thing.  The ones that lost lengthened beyond medical suggestions for them, or didn’t bang out the exercises in their lengthen part or didnt go to a good doc.  You can recover definitely 99%.

We can never “theoretically” be 100% once we do a surgery.  I have fractured my wrist and got it fixed, surgery for scar removal, stitches from accidents.. technically I’m not100% becuase there was trama done to the body and surgery to repair it.  But I am “100%” .  Understand what I mean?

 This surgery is the same way. Modify yourself ina. Safe way (imho NOT the longest cm the nail allows a person to go) , be determined and focus in your exercise and stretching , and find a good doctor that necessarily isnt the most expensive. And you’ll be fine.

Good luck on your journey !

[Alexa]

Thanks for all the advice

I did not know about those issues associated with external’s. That definitely gives me all the more reason to choose Precice!

And I’ve definitely got to research all of the doctors, I would not be opposed to going anywhere as long as the doctor was qualified!

[FormerKidd]

I feel like there's some confusion here so I want to clarify.

No doctor will let you walk on the 8.5mm precice nail. Do you know of someone on 8.5mm precice nail walking on crutches at Paley's?

Walker is not the same as crutches.  Some of us were pretty much exclusively using the walker with Precice 2 from the get-go, but you couldn't really "walk" -- you had to "hop", basically either both feet on the ground, or neither.  You could not put your weight exclusively on one leg, like you can with Stryde.

I mean even if you are allowed to use a walker before, can you realistically say what you were able to do with it? How fast was your speed? Did you not need help when going outside the house? Because with externals I was allowed to use the walker the next day after surgery but I was quite slow and any time I left the house, I used the wheelchair with the help of others because it would have taken too long if I used the walker outside. How did you buy groceries for example?

I was able to go out, and I would occasionally Uber to restaurants and go to stores for small purchases and things like that.  The two big problems with using the Walker were that (a) you can't go up and down stairs, and (b) you can't carry anything in your hands.  So for transporting items, you either had to rely on your pockets or buy a carrying pouch for the walker.

I had somebody else help with groceries and laundry.

depending on your financing, i'd choose precice 2.0 over stryde. i really dont think its that different from stryde and you should be able to walk within couple of days if not day 1 like stryde. i'd go for that, ( probably gonna go for that actually ) so not being able to walk for couple of days or 1 or 2 weeks isnt really a deal breaker considering the price difference. it does the same job anyway.

What?  With Precice, you most likely cannot walk until the bones consolidate.  With Stryde, you can walk far sooner.

[Fox]

Thanks for the advice! I did not know about those issues associated with external’s. That definitely gives me all the more reason to choose Precice!

be aware that those issues are minimal (like infection), so to avoid infection you need to pay much more attention to your fixators.  so definitely not saying that you shouldnt go for externals but its a lot of work. and if you have the luxury to choose between externals or internals, definitely go for the internal nails.