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[vincentfreeman]

Hello,

Feels surreal to be finally writing a diary. I remember reading these patient experience diaries nearly a decade ago and now here I am finally writing one.
I am writing this having just had my surgery a few days ago. with Dr Becker/Betz (I have primarily dealt with Dr. Becker throughout the experience).

Background prior to this:
- 171.5cm
- Mid 20s
- Goal (10cm+ Femurs) followed by Tibias once recovered (5-7cm)

My height has never matched my "residual self-image" to be trite. I started wearing shoe lifts in early high school once I stopped growing, and was obsessed with the idea of getting taller and general trying to overcome my genetic limitations in a number of areas. This weighed on me fairly heavily and consumed a lot of my thoughts until I saw a movie called Gattaca (I am sure many here have seen it), researched limb lengthening. As soon as I knew it was possible - I basically decided then and there when I was in my late teenage years that I would be getting LL surgery. Once I had a clear pathway forwards my height stopped bothering me, I effectively internalised that my height was post-LL height and focused on acquiring the resources and being in the right set of circumstances to get the surgery. I was basically nearly in a position to get the surgery around the start of 2019 but COVID travel restrictions and lockdowns threw a lot of things in my life up in the air both personally and with work and it's only now that I have been in a position to take the time off to do it.

Preparation:

Physical:
In the 6 months leading up to the surgery, I spent a lot of time getting physically in shape, consistent weight lifting, cardio, daily stretching, overall mobility work, quit smoking, lost almost 25kg of fat and put on a decent amount of muscle.

Obviously it's relative to my starting point but I am in the best shape I have ever been in my life.

Work: Taking a month of work/sick leave prior to Christmas period, then a month of annual leave. Told them I am getting an operation on my knees - didn't obviously specify what (nor did they ask). I will likely still be engaging in some amount of  work even while on leave (bits and pieces of comms and email) but being on leave means if I don't do any work at all for a few months there won't be any fallout

Mental:
In a sense I have been preparing mentally for this for almost a decade so my expectations with regards to the amount of pain, discomfort and overall suffering necessary to finish LL and make a decent recovery have set the bar really low. Anything better than absolute torturous amounts of pain and sleepless nights is basically going to exceed expectations.

Prior to the surgery for the last 6 months I have been practicing daily meditation to try and get a better overall focus/willpower/self-control and a more deliberate/'in the moment" thought process.

Financial: I work in the engineering sector, and have a very good salary, so while the cost of the surgery will definitely set me back, it's not going to damage my finances too much.


----
Pre-flights:

In general it didn't really hit me that I was about to have an operation I had been wanting for years until I was lying down on the operating table.
Everything moved fairly quickly, I contacted the Betz institute in October, got a slot in November by asking for them to put me on the waiting list if anyone cancelled, took the November date when it became clear, had my initial consultation with Dr. Becker over Zoom - who I immediately felt comfortable with (he comes across as fairly intelligent/competent and seems to be quite well versed in every aspect of the surgery already).

I did blood work to make sure there wasn't anything wrong with my health before I flew out, which came back clear. Booked tickets to be in Freiburg a few days prior to the in-person consultation. Everything was so chaotic with work that I didn't have a moment to let any of it sink in, did a rushed job packing and basically landed in Germany and continued to work immediately.

Day -7:
In person consultation + X-Rays, I was amused at how invasive the x-rays are - you are basically in your underwear for about 3 minutes moving your junk around in that protective casing to avoid x-raying your crown jewels XD

Consultation with Dr. Becker was as expected - it was extremely detailed but almost all of the information was stuff I was already familiar with from prior research, forums etc.,

Dr. Becker comes across as knowledgable, professional/competent and fairly trustworthy as per the zoom call so this added to my level of comfort (again though I really barely had a moment to soak in that this was happening so it's not like I was nervous).

I get the express PCR and antigen test the day before and I sleep as if nothing of significance is happening the next day...
 
Day 0/Surgery day:
I wake up. I hurriedly check out of my hotel grab all my luggage and get a taxi to the clinic.

I am a little bit late. I shake hands with Dr. Becker, speak to the anaesthesiologist... finally a brief moment of realisation that it's really happening. I get into the surgery gown and they put me under.

-----

To be continued!

[slowed & reverb]

Good luck man, 10cm for femurs hella a lot... but if youre decided i wish you all the best!

[TheDream]

What did Betz & Becker say to 10cm+ in your femur?

[vincentfreeman]

What did Betz & Becker say to 10cm+ in your femur?

I only spoke with Dr Becker, the breakdown is basically the amount of lengthening you can do comfortably heavily varies per individual with everything from individual differences, stretching during the lengthening process adequately etc.

As far as proportions go, my arm span is ~185cm/6 foot 1 and my femurs are on the shorter side, so I have that going for me. Alot of recent Betz/Becker patients have been comfortably getting past 8cm and I think this is in part due to improvements like IT Band release being included in all surgeries helping femur patients get past the 8cm mark with less pain as well as a few of the current patients being very dedicated to rehab/stretching routine during lengthening.

Becker highlighted the key obstacle is maintaining a "balance" i.e. speed of lengthening versus soft & connective tissue stretching and to adjust clicking rate or stretching along the way to ensure you remain in a "balance" between the two. We discussed recovery, the various pain peaks that occur along the way why etc. he spent a few hours explaining differences between various devices, pros and cons of each etc. and recent patient experiences.

Basically Dr. Becker didn't really take a stance on how much lengthening I can do - it's a cosmetic operation so the only safe amount is no lengthening, but he said it's likely achievable if I can stick to the clicking program and stretching routine he provides and that a number of recent Betz/Becker patients have made it past 10cm femurs.

I don't have a magical number in mind to be clear, I want to get it as much out of it as I can, I will be guided by how my body responds, connective tissue and based on my conversations with a number of recent betz/becker patients it's definitely achievable if I am dedicated to the stretching/recovery program during lengthening. We will see how it plays out.

[vincentfreeman]

Recap of last few days:

Day 1-4:

Woke up from general anaesthesia. I immediately wiggled my toes - which was a pleasant confirmation that my legs still functioned! Dr. Becker let me know the surgery went well. Pain killers via drip I assume kept pain levels at a manageable 4/10. Things were a blur for the first few hours, I didn't fully recall what Dr.Becker had said so still was wanting some indication of how well the surgery had gone (even though he had already said this, my post anaesthesia brain was foggy).

Overall I was comfortable but dazed and and extremely hungry as well. Also in serious caffeine withdrawal.
 I got a falafel shawarma wrap delivery courtesy of Lieferando (German ubereats) - the hospital food was fine neither amazing nor terrible but in that state I needed something better taste bud wise

By the time the food arrived and I was fed, Dr. Becker came by, repeated details about how the operation went (i.e. success, no complications, 13mm nail) and with the help of another staff member they got me walking on crutches for about 5-10 metres just to show me that my legs are still functioning.

Most of day 1 was foggy, basically I did some light stretches in the bed every hour and got myself walking on crutches a few times and ate a lot while I still had my appetite. Slept fairly poorly, waking up every 30 mins to an hour, requested more pain killers from the nurse and that seemed to put me to sleep.

I definitely packed fairly poorly and found there were a number of items I needed such as power board/cable, more comfortable clothing (shorts), slippers etc. I also need to do something about nutrition here as I feel the food they provide is very high-carb, sugar etc. and  not enough protein.

Also I didn't mention this in previous post but the wifi is not amazing here (either in the hospital or the hotel) so I bought a 4g modem and this was one of the better decisions I made

Mood was quite good day 2, saw a lot of improvement in mobility and could now go for 500m+ walk on crutches. Feeling a lot better overall in terms of pain and tension, reduced swelling etc. - started to get some accidental clicking, day 1 it was just once while putting on shoes but by day 2 started to get about 5 clicks by accident throughout the day. At this point I started actually getting work done in a meaningful way, stopping every hour to do my stretches and then resume work.

This overall routine basically continued through to day 4, mood and pain levels would vary as painkillers wore off and came on, got 5 accidental clicks per day on my left leg until day 4 where I was shown how to click intentionally and given my post-op x-rays (which apparently look perfect according to Dr. Becker)

I clicked about another 5 times on my right leg to begin catching up to my left. Definitely can feel the increased tension after a total of 20 clicks on left leg, and now I just need to stretch all day to feel loose and mobile again. In general mood, energy and pain levels are a rollercoaster and I am have accepted this will likely remain the case for several months or even until the end of lengthening. In general I am being fairly productive, not having to deal with constant emails and calls has meant I can actually focus on the more cognitively challenging and difficult tasks I have on my plate and this has kept me preoccupied ( I am technically on leave but I will go crazy if I don't do something with my mind to stay busy).

To be continued

[Kanye Western]

Best of luck buddy! I'll be in the same position as you next year

[hippo60]

Great to hear everything went smoothly! For how long are you going to stay in the hotel? Until you're done lengthening?

[vincentfreeman]

Becker recommended I stay at least 4 weeks post-op as this is when the pain peak often is (as you approach maximum tension due to distraction). After that my plan is to head back home, but will assess how I am feeling and see if I stay longer.

[TheDream]

Can something be done about the food?
I don’t know why but I always assumed they would be feeding you lots of good healthy stuff like ossobuco, bone broth soup lots of servings with high quality vitamin D3 & K2 etc.
Or is that a bad idea because they don’t want the bone consolidating too fast during lengthening?

[vincentfreeman]

Can something be done about the food?
I don’t know why but I always assumed they would be feeding you lots of good healthy stuff like ossobuco, bone broth soup lots of servings with high quality vitamin D3 & K2 etc.
Or is that a bad idea because they don’t want the bone consolidating too fast during lengthening?

They do provide us with supplements - but I am still at the hospital not at the rehab centre (to be clear the food isn't terrible it's just not optimum nutrition wise). In the rehab centre there is more flexibility with food, you can ask for shopping to be done for you etc. so I will put together a proper diet once I move in there in a few days.

[lessthanavg8300]

Consider just doing 2.5inches on your femurs and calling it a day.  Youll be about 5'10 at that point which is a great height.  Doing more will cost you in many dimensions.  But you do you, not trying to discourage.

[TheDream]

They do provide us with supplements - but I am still at the hospital not at the rehab centre (to be clear the food isn't terrible it's just not optimum nutrition wise). In the rehab centre there is more flexibility with food, you can ask for shopping to be done for you etc. so I will put together a proper diet once I move in there in a few days.

Nice.
Is the rehab center exclusively for LL patients?

[Vogel]

I also work in the engineering sector. Do you plan on going back to work after your 2 months leave? Do you think it would be possible?

I’m curious on how things will work out for you, because I want to do this surgery but can’t take 4-6 months off work. However, I can take 2 months off work.

[Growth.journey]

Good luck Vincent.

I am currently almost 6cm in with betz and it’s going well.

It will be a super hard journey but worth it in the end. Clicking will be the main obstacle as it’s different for everyone , but happy to share some tips and eventually it becomes easy.

Happy to answer any questions.

[elanxr]

After weeks of internal agonizing over whether to do this, I'm ready to make a financial commitment and send €20,000 deposit to Dr. Becker's clinic.

Three quick questions:
1) does the €53,700 cost on the website include 19% VAT or is it extra?
2) are there any extra expenses you were charged for that you didn't anticipate.  For example, Dr. Becker mentioned it's about €700 to purchase the pills and vitamin supplements in bulk.
3) if I bring a large ice pack to Germany, is there a freezer to conveniently store and retrieve it?

[Growth.journey]

After weeks of internal agonizing over whether to do this, I'm ready to make a financial commitment and send €20,000 deposit to Dr. Becker's clinic.

Three quick questions:
1) does the €53,700 cost on the website include 19% VAT or is it extra?
2) are there any extra expenses you were charged for that you didn't anticipate.  For example, Dr. Becker mentioned it's about €700 to purchase the pills and vitamin supplements in bulk.
3) if I bring a large ice pack to Germany, is there a freezer to conveniently store and retrieve it?

1) all inclusive no extra
2) meds, hotels, taxi from airport 200 euro each way
3) the hospital can probably freeze it for you

[vincentfreeman]

I also work in the engineering sector. Do you plan on going back to work after your 2 months leave? Do you think it would be possible?

I’m curious on how things will work out for you, because I want to do this surgery but can’t take 4-6 months off work. However, I can take 2 months off work.

To be honest I have been working about 6-8 hours a day every day at maybe 70% of usual productivity since I flew here except operation day. I personally didn't find it difficult to focus, less energy and time obviously with constant stretching, exercises etc. but being busy with work has actually kept my busy and hopefully will help the time pass. That said I am not sure if that would work for other people. Also I have taken 1-2 months of leave in case my performance was poor, but ended up not really needing it. You just need a contingency plan if something goes wrong or you aren't able to think, and also assume your productivity will be greatly reduced and work can't be your number one priority (recovery/healing always comes first.)

I am also very early into this, so will need more time to assess but If I was working day after surgery I think I will be able to continue to do so.

[Bagga]

Do you know how much is the Rehab accommodation per day (include food, PT and medication0?

[Vogel]

To be honest I have been working about 6-8 hours a day every day at maybe 70% of usual productivity since I flew here except operation day. I personally didn't find it difficult to focus, less energy and time obviously with constant stretching, exercises etc. but being busy with work has actually kept my busy and hopefully will help the time pass. That said I am not sure if that would work for other people. Also I have taken 1-2 months of leave in case my performance was poor, but ended up not really needing it. You just need a contingency plan if something goes wrong or you aren't able to think, and also assume your productivity will be greatly reduced and work can't be your number one priority (recovery/healing always comes first.)

I am also very early into this, so will need more time to assess but If I was working day after surgery I think I will be able to continue to do so.

Cool man, I’m very curious on how weight bearing will be once you reach 6-7 centimeters on your femurs. Good luck and stay consistent with stretching and PT.

[vincentfreeman]

Do you know how much is the Rehab accommodation per day (include food, PT and medication0?

 165 Euros per day I believe, the first 2 weeks are included.

[Kanye Western]

Hey man,

I also work in the engineering sector (construction) and planning on doing this surgery next April/May.

Do you think taking a month off work will be enough? I think if I follow a routine like yourself I should be OK. I’m trying to perceive to everyone I’m just going through a “late growth spurt”.

To be honest I have been working about 6-8 hours a day every day at maybe 70% of usual productivity since I flew here except operation day. I personally didn't find it difficult to focus, less energy and time obviously with constant stretching, exercises etc. but being busy with work has actually kept my busy and hopefully will help the time pass. That said I am not sure if that would work for other people. Also I have taken 1-2 months of leave in case my performance was poor, but ended up not really needing it. You just need a contingency plan if something goes wrong or you aren't able to think, and also assume your productivity will be greatly reduced and work can't be your number one priority (recovery/healing always comes first.)

I am also very early into this, so will need more time to assess but If I was working day after surgery I think I will be able to continue to do so.

[vincentfreeman]

Day 5
I feel goddamn amazing. I don't know if this is a honeymoon period because I was extremely flexible prior to the surgery and eventually the tension will catch up with me but I am walking very nimbly, and can actually walk slowly without crutches already. Slept 12 hours last night - they switched out the pain meds yesterday no more oxycodon, to pregabolin and honestly initially the pain was worse but by today, nerve pain is greatly reduced/nearly gone and I sleep so well on it.

I went for a long long walk today, maybe 15-20 minutes, was a bit tired by the end of it but I feel good.

Now up to 30 clicks in both legs total. Left leg clicking is insanely easy (lots of accidental clicks) right is a bit tougher, but so far it's not too difficult, I tried the "overextending the first click  technique and that seems to work - I can crank out 10 clicks in a few minutes on each leg. Obviously this will get harder as the tension increases but my fear of clicking is somewhat reduced for now anyways.

I transfer the rehab centre tomorrow at 3pm. Excited to have access to a gym, and train hard each day. My only fear is that this feels a bit too good to be true, very little pain, good sleep, rapid recovery and I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop and for everything to be utterly horrid as I expected. I imagine this will happen when I reach the point of maximum tension that Dr. Becker talks about.

[vincentfreeman]

Hey man,

I also work in the engineering sector (construction) and planning on doing this surgery next April/May.

Do you think taking a month off work will be enough? I think if I follow a routine like yourself I should be OK. I’m trying to perceive to everyone I’m just going through a “late growth spurt”.

Can you work from home? You can work after a month in the sense that you are on a laptop attending a few zoom meetings, maybe signing some paperwork, but you definitely can't get as much done as usual, and if you are going to the office daily that is simple not doable.
Expect that you will spend at least 6-8 hours per day in some way related to the surgery (stretching, clicking, physio, gym etc.) that leaves you with very little time and energy for anything else, so if you have to attend work physically I would take more time off work than that. Basically your number one priority needs to be the recovery not work, so try to set things up accordingly.

Regarding what to tell work, I told them I was having IT band release surgery and bow leg correction and would be on crutches for a while but could return to work remotely after 4 weeks. I was wearing like 3.5 inch shoe lifts for a while prior to the surgery at work, so don't really thing anyone will notice the height difference. t

I haven't needed any time off work (laptop based, emails, light programming etc.) except surgery day, but there is a lot of variation between people and I don't know how normal my body's reaction has been - I have had one of the fastest recoveries of any patient according to Dr. Becker a day after surgery, so this may not be your experience. I am a little bit obsessive so I think constant, constant stretching of multiple kinds (static, PNF, active etc.) pretty much at least 8 hours a day has helped. But in 2 weeks time I could be in severe pain and unable to work as much so I wouldn't rely on my experience just yet to determine what is realistic.

Hope that is somewhat helpful, I will keep you posted how it plays out, but I suggest maybe read a few other becker/betz patient diaries and see what their journey is like

[vincentfreeman]

Consider just doing 2.5inches on your femurs and calling it a day.  Youll be about 5'10 at that point which is a great height.  Doing more will cost you in many dimensions.  But you do you, not trying to discourage.

I appreciate the concern, obviously it's fairly individual - it's not about a particular number I want to achieve the best possible version of myself - whatever that means in terms of proportions height etc. I don't want to be a good height, if I am going to break my legs open and spend 1-2 years of my life recovering I don't want to be "okay" I want to be at the upper end/"ideal" height (what that means varies based on your proportions, starting point, aesthetic etc.). This is just me though, if you are happy with less more power to you.

I'm young, fit, my wingspan is 6 '1, my femur to tibia ratio is more tibia weighted so this will improve my proportions/biomechanics closer to the ideal not make them worse, I am extremely flexible as a starting point and I have spoken to a lot of Becker patients who have done 10cm+ and their recovery is quite good (better than I even required/expected). Obviously there is some luck, genetic differences, training/rehab differences between people but I am confident I can lengthen 10cm+ and recover full eventually (will take a very long time). I just don't see any reason to stop at 2.5 inches unless something changes along the way - I will still listen to my body and be informed by other patient experiences - if everything starts to be severe and debilitating at like 6-8cm than maybe I stop then, but my goal at the moment is the maximum amount.

[vincentfreeman]

Good luck Vincent.

I am currently almost 6cm in with betz and it’s going well.

It will be a super hard journey but worth it in the end. Clicking will be the main obstacle as it’s different for everyone , but happy to share some tips and eventually it becomes easy.

Happy to answer any questions.

Thanks man! been reading your diary and lots of really useful tips there (I have a lot of things in common with you including left leg being a lot easier to click than right!) let me know anything else you discover along the way and good luck with your lengthening phase as well!

[lessthanavg8300]

Youre very lucky with that wingspan and leg proportions.  Id def shoot for the longer amount on femurs then.  For me, my wingspan is about 5'9, so my new height will match almost perfectly.

[elanxr]

Vincent, do you find the cold weather in Freiburg challenging as far as warming up & stretching the muscles? Are the sleeping rooms relatively warm?

[Bagga]

165 Euro per day including all meals, PT sessions and massage in Rehab?
I was told it was 311Euro per day

[vincentfreeman]

165 Euro per day including all meals, PT sessions and massage in Rehab?
I was told it was 311Euro per day

I think 165 is just the base accommodation at the centre, the rehab first two weeks are included in the package anyways, at a certain point you are moved to a hotel inside the same building as the rehab facility and the rooms there are 165 a night. It might be more for physio and massage *after* the first two weeks which are included. I will ask today and confirm.

Vincent, do you find the cold weather in Freiburg challenging as far as warming up & stretching the muscles? Are the sleeping rooms relatively warm?

The weather in Freiburg compared to most of Germany is actually not too bad because it's in the south. Local says that it is the sunniest place in Germany.  Given it's winter it's still very cold but it has been reasonable. Everywhere you go is very well heated, obviously going for a walk at night is difficult if you dont have like thermal under garments and many many layers given the cold, but if you are mostly indoors everywhere is extremely warm with adjustable heating settings. I would say half of the days I have been in Freiburg have been 10-14 degress (celsius) with very sunny nice weather and the other half like  6-8 degrees and with a lot of wind and rain. Overall the weather was better than expected. But warming up indoors is a non-issue just make sure to bring thermal layers for when you go outside.

[vincentfreeman]

Now at 50 clicks on both legs - that's 2.6mm + 6mm initial gap - crazy to think I am almost 1cm taller!

So far clicking has been fairly painless, just a dull ache in my legs that is unpleasant/distracting but not unbearable. The lyrica has worked really well for me - have been able to sleep every night and seems to reduce pain quite well. I am checking out of the hospital today and moving to the physio/rehab centre because my recovery has been so quick. Excited to use the gym and go hard on stretching/training routine as well and get some better nutrition (higher protein intake, less sugar etc.)

[SpeedDialer]

Now at 50 clicks on both legs - that's 2.6mm + 6mm initial gap - crazy to think I am almost 1cm taller!

So far clicking has been fairly painless, just a dull ache in my legs that is unpleasant/distracting but not unbearable. The lyrica has worked really well for me - have been able to sleep every night and seems to reduce pain quite well. I am checking out of the hospital today and moving to the physio/rehab centre because my recovery has been so quick. Excited to use the gym and go hard on stretching/training routine as well and get some better nutrition (higher protein intake, less sugar etc.)

So far have you found it best to take lyrica an hour or so before bed?

I've usually taken the lyrica uh lets see.. I guess in the morning if I am feeling stiff and sore. Or if I have physio, I take it 1-2 hours-ish before physio, but I haven't thought about the best time to take it

I haven't had sharp nerve pain in a while (used to get some nerve pain on my left lower leg shin oddly enough when I stretched my left hip flexors) but I'm assuming (not sure) that the lyrica helps for clicking and physio

I'm not exactly sure how nerves work and how a stretch of the hip flexors during femur lengthening could result in nerve pain in the lower leg shin but evidently this is a thing

I've sort of settled on taking my pain meds/lyrica either right before physio or at kind of random times, sometimes a bit before clicking