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[so]

Hello,

My nephew traveled abroad and secretly got a leg lengthening operation without telling his parents. He is 20 years old. Even though he is an adult his parents are so worried about him because he doesn't share any information about the surgery or how it's going. He got the surgery in late February of this year. He got the precision. He looks okay but still walks very stiffly. He is not really doing the body therapy that would be expected so my sister is pretty concerned he won't heal correctly. What could go wrong if a patient doesn't do the proper therapy? How often should physical exercises be performed after the surgery? I would assume every day but I would like to know what experts out there say about it. Now that he's home--not abroad where the surgery center is--isn't he supposed to see an orthopedic surgeon at home to check on his condition? He is communicating with the surgeon who worked on him by messaging but to me that doesn't seem like enough doctor care. What do you think?
Question #1 What could go wrong if a patient doesn't do the proper therapy?
Question #2 How often should physical exercises be performed after the surgery?
Question #3 Is he supposed to see an orthopedic surgeon at home to check on his condition?
Thank you so much for your input. Bless you.

[G8788]

Don't pry too much into his medical stuff, this is a very personal surgery and there's a reason he never told any of you beforehand.

1) If they don't stretch, recovery is going to take longer. If he's finished lengthening - which he should have given it's 5 months post-surgery, then he should still recover in time regardless, but stretching will speed up the process. The main reason we stretch while lengthening is so we can accomplish the lengthening goals, but he's already done that.

2) Every day.

3) Not necessarily. If he's in the consolidation phase now, which he probably is, he should be sending an xray to his surgeon every 4-6 weeks to see how the bone growth is getting on. He doesn't need the 'opinion' or 'expertise' of any doctor at home, just the xrays.

[jerrytheman]

Agree with above ^ except #2. You do not need to do PT every day. Especially in consolidation, which he should be in by now, most people just do strength exercises on their own. Walking with walker, stationary bike exercises, etc. He knows what exercises he can do at home and 4-5 times a week is more than enough. He's been through it for the last 5 months, he probably knows what he has to do.

Main thing you want to look for is when he starts walking unassisted. He won't do that until his surgeon clears him from the x-rays. Once he starts walking unassisted, expect 1-2 months of non-normal walk and he'll be back to normal walking.

[Among us]

He should be okay you have to remember this isn't like getting a nose job and be back at work the following week. It's a surgery that has a full recovery time of 2 years and is very slow even in the final stages of consolidation and a lot of people say that they didn't fully feel 100% until short time after rod removal which again is like 1 -1.5 year's after surgery.

[BelowTheMean]

I'm guessing this should be moved to the general discussion forum.

Regarding seeing a local orthopedic surgeon, in the US it's difficult to get X-rays without doctor's orders, so unless he managed to figure out a way to get them on his own, he'll have to see a local orthopedic surgeon. I made an appointment with a local orthopedic surgeon to confirm that I was 100% consolidated after nail removal because I really wanted to start running at that time. Surprisingly the surgeons I saw were not too judgmental about it and were focused on the medical aspect of the consultation.

[QuarkSoup]

Agree with above ^ except #2. You do not need to do PT every day. Especially in consolidation, which he should be in by now, most people just do strength exercises on their own. Walking with walker, stationary bike exercises, etc. He knows what exercises he can do at home and 4-5 times a week is more than enough. He's been through it for the last 5 months, he probably knows what he has to do.

Main thing you want to look for is when he starts walking unassisted. He won't do that until his surgeon clears him from the x-rays. Once he starts walking unassisted, expect 1-2 months of non-normal walk and he'll be back to normal walking.

Of course, you need to do physical therapy (PT) every day, and at least an hour of stretching is necessary. Dr. Paley even suggests that four hours of stretching is a must. I've seen people who didn't want to do much PT, and they all suffered significantly and eventually had to start PT sessions.

If you don't adhere to your physical therapy (PT) sessions, your doctor may decide to halt the lengthening process prematurely. It's an established fact that if you don't engage in regular stretching exercises to condition your muscles and nerves, they may tighten, inhibiting further growth. If you ignore your doctor's advice and continue trying to lengthen your legs, you risk causing tissue damage.

[jerrytheman]

Of course, you need to do physical therapy (PT) every day, and at least an hour of stretching is necessary. Dr. Paley even suggests that four hours of stretching is a must. I've seen people who didn't want to do much PT, and they all suffered significantly and eventually had to start PT sessions.

If you don't adhere to your physical therapy (PT) sessions, your doctor may decide to halt the lengthening process prematurely. It's an established fact that if you don't engage in regular stretching exercises to condition your muscles and nerves, they may tighten, inhibiting further growth. If you ignore your doctor's advice and continue trying to lengthen your legs, you risk causing tissue damage.

You're just wrong bro. No one does PT 7 days a week, dont lie to poor Amy.

[QuarkSoup]

You're just wrong bro. No one does PT 7 days a week, dont lie to poor Amy.

I was discussing the lengthening phase; I should have pointed that out, my apologies. During the lengthening phase, it's vital to stretch your legs as much as possible. There's really no alternative. Once the lengthening is completed, there might not be a need for regular physical therapy sessions or even much stretching. After my removal surgery, I didn't perform stretching exercises, and honestly, I didn't feel the need to do so. I was in good shape. However, I should have focused more on strengthening exercises. If you neglect to strengthen your muscles, your legs will hurt and you'll wobble a lot. I recently shared a video of myself on Vimeo to illustrate this to people. It's been almost six months since my removal surgery and I've only recently started strengthening exercises. This immediately resulted in stronger legs, resolving the issues of wobbling and pain.