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[Arcon]

I've been following the forum for years and have learned a lot, thank you all! The time has finally come for me to take the big step...I am scheduled for surgery on December the 17th! In this diary I will share my own experience for the benefit of our community.

[Arcon]

A soup of nervousness, joy, determination, hope and fear exists in my mind as the time for my surgery is geting closer, with each of its ingredients changing in intensity every day and every hour. As long as the soup remains tasty... I know i am good to go!

[Tallerin2025]

Can you give us some more informations - with which doctor and method or nail are you going? What are your goals?

[Arcon]

I'm flying to Athens on Saturday to do it with Giotikas. Femurs with g-nail for 8cm lengthening, maybe 9 if proportions look good. I am 1.71m and 66kg

[Tallerin2025]

I'm flying to Athens on Saturday to do it with Giotikas. Femurs with g-nail for 8cm lengthening, maybe 9 if proportions look good. I am 1.71m and 66kg

Nice - I am also thinking of Giotikas or Dr. Becker - why did you choose him?

[livelifetaller]

could you give an approx cost, coz i've been planning to do it in athens too
would really appreciate it if you replied.

[w449]

I'm flying to Athens on Saturday to do it with Giotikas. Femurs with g-nail for 8cm lengthening, maybe 9 if proportions look good. I am 1.71m and 66kg

hey I also interested in the same procedure but later on heard about a serious complication that happened there to a young and healthy patient. This is not informed during consultations. please be aware.  Dont believe rumors that the patient was made any mistakes. he did not do any mistakes and was following all recommendation. young healthy, lots of walking, on a diet after informing medical team. he was well hydrated one fellow patient who was his friend said

on reddit I received this story of guichet nail as well https://jezebel.com/stories-about-my-brother-1835651181

its a bit worrying that the same thing happened with athens as well! better to use precise or fitbone.

the doctor is good even though I am sad he did not tell about this complication. but he is a good doc in gneral

better to use precise or fitbone, no such cases reported there. they are world famous nails used by 100s of docs and no such cases reported there

[Arcon]

 Trying to sleep in my hotel room in (a very Christmassy) Athens tonight!..still can't believe that this is actually happening...My pre-ops are tomorrow at 1.00pm!...Ready for anything!!

@w449: I saw Giotikas twice, once in London and once online. Both times he was very thorough with explaining risks and complications  (including th fatal ones) and had no problem to answer all questions I asked.

@livelifetaller: The medical package is around 48000euro and covers all medical expences etc during lengthening.  I think if you stay in one of the rehabilitation apartments here it costs 45 euro/night.

@tallerin2025: I chose Giotikas because I understand he is much more experienced than Becker.

[w449]

Trying to sleep in my hotel room in (a very Christmassy) Athens tonight!..still can't believe that this is actually happening...My pre-ops are tomorrow at 1.00pm!...Ready for anything!!

@w449: I saw Giotikas twice, once in London and once online. Both times he was very thorough with explaining risks and complications  (including th fatal ones) and had no problem to answer all questions I asked.

@livelifetaller: The medical package is around 48000euro and covers all medical expences etc during lengthening.  I think if you stay in one of the rehabilitation apartments here it costs 45 euro/night.

@tallerin2025: I chose Giotikas because I understand he is much more experienced than Becker.

did   he explain that the fatal one actually happened ? then ok its transparent

I just wanted to make you aware if u didnt know

Good luck for your procedure

are you doing rehab in greece or at home? make sure you take blood thinners if you are taking flight to go back home even if its close by like London

[Arcon]

I did it...!!!!!!!!!! Surgery went well, the doctor was happy. I got the 13mm g-nail.  I had literally zero pain on the first day; a bit more on the second day  but generally manageable.
I clicked and walked and stretched without problems but  kept thinking that I may bend the nail or cut the stitches through the wounds when stretching. The doctor was like "engage to physio confidently, you need to work on your recovey now, nails dont'bend like that and the skin doesn't fall apart like wet toilet paper!".
First day in my hotel room today....i need to learn to live again, there is no way back now!

@w449 I will stay in Greece for 6 weeks and then will finish off lengthening back home.

[I want 8,07 cm]

Hello Arcon, how much do you want to lengthen? 8 cm? And did the doctor tell you if there’s any difference between Gnail or Betzbone?

[w449]

I did it...!!!!!!!!!! Surgery went well, the doctor was happy. I got the 13mm g-nail.  I had literally zero pain on the first day; a bit more on the second day  but generally manageable.
I clicked and walked and stretched without problems but  kept thinking that I may bend the nail or cut the stitches through the wounds when stretching. The doctor was like "engage to physio confidently, you need to work on your recovey now, nails dont'bend like that and the skin doesn't fall apart like wet toilet paper!".
First day in my hotel room today....i need to learn to live again, there is no way back now!

@w449 I will stay in Greece for 6 weeks and then will finish off lengthening back home.

can u stay for 3 months instead? there is risk of pulmonary embolism the fatal case happened at the 2 months mark. Flying is high risk. So better to stay there near a hospital for 3 months. Did you consider this plan?

[HelloMe]

I searched for "London" on the forum and landed in your post. Are you aware of any surgeons who work in London or elsewhere in the UK?

[Arcon]

Christmas Eve today!!...or day 2 of mylengthening!
I'm getting better and better every day.. Only need 2 tramal for pain and the clicking of g-nail is not that hard.
Voula the head nurse came earlier in a very Christmassy mood to help me with the lengthening and brought me traditional Greek Christmas treats that are made in most homes here or sold everywhere. They are called "kourambe" (which is a type of sortbread with powdered sugar) and "melimakarono" which basically means honey cookies. They were both delicious!
Later, I received this message from Dr. Giotikas' direct whatsapp line, which I found very touching and inspiring:

"Dear patient, Just a few hours before Christmas, I want to send you my love, my thoughts and my warmest wishes for happiness, achievements and prosperity in your life. You have earned my respect over the past year because you have proven that you have the courage and determination to fight for your well-being, your success in life and your overall improvement. I am confident that with these qualities, the perseverance, the wisdom and the results that you will have acquired by the end of your treatment with us, you will achieve everything you desire in life. Merry Christmas! Dimitrios Giotikas."

I know for sure that this will be a Christmas that I will remember forever in my life, but I feel like I got the best Christmas present of my life this year... I wish you all a Merry Christmas and may your dream come true!
@HelloMe: I know that Giotikas operates in London.  www.giotikasclinic.com

[HelloMe]

Are you based in the UK? Why did you opt to get surgery in London itself then?

[Arcon]

Are you based in the UK? Why did you opt to get surgery in London itself then?

Hi, yes, I live in London. Doing it in London would have been unnecessarily expensive. In Athens I get all the UK medical standards from Giotikas (he is professionally insured in the UK so he can't afford to do otherwise if he doesn't want to risk losing it).  Plus I visited the hospital in Athens one year before my surgery and I found it much nicer than the typical private hospital in the UK (excluding of course some high-end luxury hospitals in Mayfair that only Arabs, Russians and Royals can afford).

[HelloMe]

Hi, yes, I live in London. Doing it in London would have been unnecessarily expensive. In Athens I get all the UK medical standards from Giotikas (he is professionally insured in the UK so he can't afford to do otherwise if he doesn't want to risk losing it).  Plus I visited the hospital in Athens one year before my surgery and I found it much nicer than the typical private hospital in the UK (excluding of course some high-end luxury hospitals in Mayfair that only Arabs, Russians and Royals can afford).

That's interesting. Thank you for the answer. I had not thought about differences in hospitals.

1. Do you know how much it would cost in a proper private hospital in London like the high-end ones you speak of?
2. Which luxury private hospitals in Mayfair are you referring to? Can you provide some examples that you know Mr Giotikas can operate in?
3. Mr Guichet for example operated in HSSH and Weymouth Street hospital. These are day surgery centres. Would you consider these adequate? It used to cost like £55k in these (and maybe like 70k in Princess Grace).

I am primarily looking within England because I have family here and their support will mean a lot to me.

[Arcon]

I've never been that happy since a long time! I saw my doctor and had x-rays yesterday! Doctor was happy with my condition, lengthening and consolidation was "lovely"!
 I managed to go through the first 3 weeks from surgery (the most "overwhelming" ones according to Dr Giotikas) without too many problems and I am already 2.1cm taller!
Next step now is to increase my activity and walking distance per day. (I got the green light for some limited sightseeing in Athens..I got the big fat g-nails after all!)
I'm happy to upload my xrays here if someone tells me how to do it.

@HelloMe: Giotikas is at LIPS Battersea now. I was thinking of hospitals like King Edward VII, Schoen, Princess Grace, Cleveland Clinic etc. I believe Weymouth street hospital is an inpatient facility hospital, not just for day cases.

[HelloMe]

Thanks for your update. I contacted Mr Guichet who quoted £53000 in London. Did you consider him as well as an option as he also uses the Guichet nail?
Also may I contact you on phone if you do not mind?

To insert images I think you will need to upload them to imgur.com and then copy paste the web link in the text box and readers can click on it to see the images on imgur.com. At least that is how others here have done it.

[Arcon]

Hi,
I have uploaded my last x-rays here as promised, I hope it works, if not let me know:  https://imgur.com/a/VEk2wg1.

I have now increased my walking and standing time to 2 hour per day and started walking in public for short distances prerparing myself for some sightseeing in Greece. I will see the doctor next week and then off to Santorini Island for a few days!!! Mediterraneo hospital has a small hospital there too, in case I need anything.
Clicking of the nail is easy, I now need less than 5 minutes to finish each session.

@HelloMe: Yes, I consulted Guichet & Paley & Assayag.  You can PM me if you want.

[UncleE]

To get your link to work, remove the "." at the end of the URL.

https://imgur.com/a/VEk2wg1

[Arcon]

To get your link to work, remove the "." at the end of the URL.

https://imgur.com/a/VEk2wg1

Thank you!
https://imgur.com/a/VEk2wg1
I believe this works fine now.

[Arcon]

Hi, I wanted to give you all a quick update. It's been 2 weeks since I got back to London. I think I'm doing well... considering. I went back to the office last week on a reduced schedule and it went well, my legs feel heavier by the end of the day but Dr G says that's normal. I was pleased to find that Dr Giotikas remained very responsive even after I left Athens (which was my secret worry, tbh!). In any case my Dr suggested I lengthen more slowly now that I'm back home and not under the time pressure to get home. He says this will go easier on my muscles, while not prolonging my full recovery (but only the percentage of lengthening time within the same total recovery time). I'm still doing 15 clicks now (that's 1mm/day), but I might consider going slower later, as I only do 2 physio sessions a week, which is "barely enough" according to Dr Giotikas.

[w449]

hi, based on your experience where do you recommend staying in athens city? is it worth looking for a separate airBNB or just rely on the accommodation DR G provides?

And did you take any blood thinning medications for your flight journey?

[Arcon]

hi, based on your experience where do you recommend staying in athens city? is it worth looking for a separate airBNB or just rely on the accommodation DR G provides?

And did you take any blood thinning medications for your flight journey?

Hi, I stayed at the grand hyatt and it was very good. The "Rehab apartments" are also a good value for money, I think they are equal if not better than a random airbnb apartment in Athens. I think the doctor's options are generally good, unless you want to spend more money on luxury hotels or villas etc. Yes, the doctor put me on anticoagulants until I got back home.

[w449]

Hi, I stayed at the grand hyatt and it was very good. The "Rehab apartments" are also a good value for money, I think they are equal if not better than a random airbnb apartment in Athens. I think the doctor's options are generally good, unless you want to spend more money on luxury hotels or villas etc. Yes, the doctor put me on anticoagulants until I got back home.

hi,

as you did not use DR G's acommodation,

did you still get to use the driver and physio team of DR G? does the driver support patients who stay in their own hotel?
and did the physio team come your hotel?

[Arcon]

hi,

as you did not use DR G's acommodation,

did you still get to use the driver and physio team of DR G? does the driver support patients who stay in their own hotel?
and did the physio team come your hotel?

Hi, I bought a VIP personalized programm, so I had my dedicated driver, and physio was coming to my place. The standard driver though accommodates patients staying at their own apartments or hotels, if they are near (10-15 min walking distance) to the the rehabilitation apartments or the affilliated hotels of the clinic. It is like a shuttle service