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[lengthenmemike]

Hello everyone, I’ve followed this forum for a long time and now I think is my chance to give back. I just had LON femur surgery with Dr. Halil Buldu yesterday, I’ll share the details with you in my diary.

Starting height 171cm
Goal: 8cm lengthen on femurs


Day 1
In the hours leading up to the operation I was absolutely terrified, but I went through the motions of preparing for surgery and the next thing I knew I was in my hospital room recovering. After the surgery I was really dizzy and out of it, the pain level wasn’t too much as the Dr. ordered pain medication to be administered through an IV. Honestly Dr. Buldu and his assistant Murat are very nice and they go out of their way to help. Before Turkey I was considering other countries for lengthening but I'm glad I chose Turkey.

Right now is about 24 hours since the surgery, my legs are still hurting but I'm receiving pain medication through the IV. Also, Dr. Buldu and his assistant helped me walk today (only about 10 steps), something I really didn't expect so soon after surgery - surprisingly this was not painful, just uncomfortable and awkward. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I'll gladly answer any questions and keep this diary going, also shout out to Meck who's diary actually inspired me to consider Dr. Buldu - and I'm happy with my choice.

[a]

Hello,

Are you turkish? and could you please provide pictures for the wannabe LL'ers ?
It'd help a lot.
also my prayers are with you, I wish you a good recovery.

Best Regards

[more]

Hello everyone, I’ve followed this forum for a long time and now I think is my chance to give back. I just had LON femur surgery with Dr. Halil Buldu yesterday, I’ll share the details with you in my diary.

Starting height 171cm
Goal: 8cm lengthen on femurs


Day 1
In the hours leading up to the operation I was absolutely terrified, but I went through the motions of preparing for surgery and the next thing I knew I was in my hospital room recovering. After the surgery I was really dizzy and out of it, the pain level wasn’t too much as the Dr. ordered pain medication to be administered through an IV. Honestly Dr. Buldu and his assistant Murat are very nice and they go out of their way to help. Before Turkey I was considering other countries for lengthening but I'm glad I chose Turkey.

Right now is about 24 hours since the surgery, my legs are still hurting but I'm receiving pain medication through the IV. Also, Dr. Buldu and his assistant helped me walk today (only about 10 steps), something I really didn't expect so soon after surgery - surprisingly this was not painful, just uncomfortable and awkward. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I'll gladly answer any questions and keep this diary going, also shout out to Meck who's diary actually inspired me to consider Dr. Buldu - and I'm happy with my choice.

Hello. LON what monorail ?

[lengthenmemike]

I am from the US, this is my first time in Turkey.

The method is Lengthening Over Nail which means the doctor inserts a nail while an external device stretches the bones apart. At the end of lengthening nail is locked and external device removed.

[Skyisthelimit]

I am from the US, this is my first time in Turkey.

The method is Lengthening Over Nail which means the doctor inserts a nail while an external device stretches the bones apart. At the end of lengthening nail is locked and external device removed.

Good luck on your journey! I wish you an excellent lengthening. Do you have any pictures of what your legs currently look like with the monorail device and of what your room looks like? It would really help potential patients if you could share that. Please keep us updated!
Regards,
Sky

[lolwhyamidoingthis]

LON monorail 

[lengthenmemike]

Today is my third day post op, things are going well and getting better everyday. The first 48 hours are a blur of you not really knowing what's going on, second guessing yourself and coping with the pain this surgery brings. But through all my doubts and worries the doctor and his assistant are very pleasant and I know I'm in good hands.

Also the hospital is very modern and beautiful, the nurses are quick to help with medicine/food etc. I use google translate to talk with most of them but the international patient coordinator at the hospital speaks perfect english and so does Dr. Halil and his assistant Murat.

I walk with the doctor everyday and had a custom made walker brought in (its wider to accomodate the external devices), the walking is slow and its baby steps for now but it's surprisingly not painful to walk, its just awkward. I have much more pain sitting in the bed all day.

On the fifth day after surgery I'll be released from the hospital and will stay in a hotel for a couple weeks or so before returning home to continue distracting there.

Here are some pics I uploaded or the room, food, legs. You can't really see the device because of the bandages but I'll upload more pics later on.

https://imgur.com/a/rYJJbjg

[Skyisthelimit]

Today is my third day post op, things are going well and getting better everyday. The first 48 hours are a blur of you not really knowing what's going on, second guessing yourself and coping with the pain this surgery brings. But through all my doubts and worries the doctor and his assistant are very pleasant and I know I'm in good hands.

Also the hospital is very modern and beautiful, the nurses are quick to help with medicine/food etc. I use google translate to talk with most of them but the international patient coordinator at the hospital speaks perfect english and so does Dr. Halil and his assistant Murat.

I walk with the doctor everyday and had a custom made walker brought in (its wider to accomodate the external devices), the walking is slow and its baby steps for now but it's surprisingly not painful to walk, its just awkward. I have much more pain sitting in the bed all day.

On the fifth day after surgery I'll be released from the hospital and will stay in a hotel for a couple weeks or so before returning home to continue distracting there.

Here are some pics I uploaded or the room, food, legs. You can't really see the device because of the bandages but I'll upload more pics later on.

https://imgur.com/a/rYJJbjg

I’m glad you’re in no pain at the moment. We appreciate the pictures! The hospital looks cleaner than I thought. When did they tell you will start lengthening?

[lengthenmemike]

Hey Sky - the lengthening process will begin on the seventh day after the surgery, so next wednesday in my case. The pain is not gone it's still there, but the hospital nurses help control it with the IV painkillers

[lengthenmemike]

Update: its been a while since I've posted on here but I figured its good to let to forum know how things are progressing.

I've reached 5cm in lengthening, things are getting more manageable than they were a few weeks ago in terms of pain, though I still take acetaminophen twice at night to help me fall and stay asleep. Walking has pretty much stayed stable since I've arrived home; I use crutches to get around and try to get about an hour of walking in per day to help with blood circulation (3 sessions of 20minutes of walking around the house or backyard). My family's been super helpful during this process and it's really good to have a solid support network, LL's no easy journey.

During the day the pain is mostly from muscle aches and some slight nerve pain in my knees, more often than not though if I'm sitting there's usually no pain - but this shouldn't be underestimated because it still definitely hurts at times. I can see how physio is very important now especially at my stage in lengthening when everything is getting more and more tight.

I will say that for those considering LL it is probably if not more than 50% a mental challenge, and the other 50% being a physical/pain challenge, its important to mentally prepare yourself for this journey. It definitely helps to have a good doctor and I have to say I really lucked out having Dr. Halil as my surgeon, and his assistant too, both are really attentive and helpful.

I'm going to turkey soon to get the fixators removed and hope to get back to regular life soon after; after going through this journey i've decided i will be happy with 6.5 or 7cm now and plan to stop lengthening around then.

[Hagane]

hey are you backin the states atm? and then heading back to turkey? or are you still in europe?

[lengthenmemike]

yeah I'm back in the states, I flew back around two weeks after surgery. my original plan was to stay in turkey for the entire distraction period but things change and i figured it'd be much more comfortable to be at home plus having family around helps

[ghkid2019]

Did you are wearing the monorail on the plane I guess? And you have to send him x-rays ocassionally from now on? And are u flying back for removal of da monorail or nah let local surgeon remove

[Highest]

Is the pain levels much different lengthening with monorails vs internal nails?

[lengthenmemike]

yes i had monorails while on the plane, it was a bit of a challenge because they're bulky and its a long flight to the states, but I paid extra for business class so I could have a reclining seat (seat pretty much lays flat), I really recommend this for people flying home with externals on...of course it depends on the individual but I knew I needed more comfort on the flight (I think it took 18 hours total with 1 layover). and yes, I'm flying back to turkey soon for the nail removal

as for the difference in pain levels between monorail and internal nails I have no idea, I've only experienced the monorail (which does have a nail inside as well) but after about a month after surgery any pain from the operation subsided for me and now any pain is mostly muscle/joint related from growing

[ghkid2019]

Hi Mike, thank you for response. I'm interested in why you decided to get LL, since you are from Murica and so am I. Could you tell us your backstory without incriminating yourself and doxxing yourself and keep it all anonymous, I truly just want to know and am interested in your story but do not want to bother you. Height neurosis, or for dating improvement, etc

Thank you Mike. Hopefully you will be 179cm after this whole thing is over or at least above 177 which is officially above average in usa, congrats man. You went from 5'7 to likely will be5'10. That is amazing Mr. Mikecrophone.

[lengthenmemike]

hi ghkid2019, not a problem i'm glad to give back to the forum and help others know the process.

As for backstory, basically my motivation for doing LL is just to be an average height and not stand out, and just to not be the shortest among my peers - you're right about 177 being average for males and thats why I'm more than happy to stop lengthening once I reach that point. I actually didn't have any issues with height until I went to college but even then I didn't really pay much attention to comments made, but it made me more aware that I was below average height-wise and I guess it gnawed away at me ever since. I've never had any issues with dating or anything like that so that wasn't part of my decision, I've learned people will like you enough for look past things society shames etc. and humans definitely have other things to offer each other than simply being tall or whatnot.

Before I did LL i wore lifts for a week just to test out what my goal height would feel like and it felt really good, its totally different to imagine it than to actually experience - it felt like a relief to be average and not have to look up at people all the time - even though 5'7 isn't all that short I think the difference of 2-3 inches in gain is enough to change how you feel.

[ghkid2019]

That's really good Mike, and it's very telling that you will be completely satisfied being average once you get to 177 so a 6cm or 7cm gain. Soem ppl want more and more and that's fine but you just want to not stand out and remove that nagging neurosis. You prob are the ideal candidate for this surgery, youd know better than me since ur living thru it and am almost done. It's cool you don't have any troubles dating and   and it's definitely cool your spirit and mindset is very open, I agree people will like you for your character and ignore all that superificial  .

I'm excited for when you recover Mike. 177 or 178 is an absolute perfect height and definitely will make you no longer stand out amung ur peers. You are what, 176 now? So even if you stopped now you are flat out average and there's no regrets. Maybe push that last cm or two, let's test your mental toughness (although if you got to 5cm ur already tough as fuc haha).

Anyways I wish the best to you Mike. Certainly a good person doing a life-changing surgery. You will feel amazing, not only because of your height gain but because of your wisdom that lets you realize height isn't everything either, so you are modest in approach and are doing this for the right reasons and for yourself

Cheers mike