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[Hamza]

Ummmm.. The doctor is not a crook... complications happen... it looks like the manufacturer nail malfunctioned

check the xray that shows the bone healing after 10 months post surgery. there is a small space in the nail tro measure the distraction, this space was more than triple the size.

https://imgur.com/a/XWq1LNg

[Activatedx]

I have a mild Charcot Marie Tooth disease (CMT1A) which gives me imbalance that's why i am very sensitive and a small LLD make imbalance for me. Maybe a patient with no CMT will not notice a 9 mm difference (note: According to a Dr Bertz that i visited in Germany lately he picked up 14 mm difference and not just 9 as Dr Rozbruch picked up before surgery. i ll explain that below).

I am walking now 90% normally but with 8 mm insole which stress the toes a lot in shoes and cannot be inserted in formal shoes. without inserting an insole i have weak balance and a small limp can easily noticed and for sure i can not run comfortably at all and if i do i ll got injured. I still cant run at the moment anyway.

Bone is not fully healed after 10 months because nail is dropping down and not stable.
I visited Dr. Betz after what happened with me and he made an xray and said u have 14 mm difference and not just 9 and it is as follow: 9 mm in femur and 2 mm in tibia and 3 mm due to the surgery that i have done in 2005 in ankle.

He said using an extremely expensive nail for this small amount is not a good choice at all. Solid nail like trauma nail was much better for making the femurs equal and lengthen just 9 mm in the operation room and u can full weight bear after the surgery and u ll not feel the rest of difference which is 5 mm as it will be a very small difference. He noted that keep putting insole is easier for me for sure unless i have a big back pain when running and want to get rid of the insole.

Now according to Dr Betz, the solution after non union or better to say after very long time of healing (because still healing in positive way) is to take out the defected nail and insert a solid trauma nail and cut the bone again and lengthen 9 mm in one shot in femur in the operation room and walking full weight bearing from day 1 after the surgery. He said ur bone will heal fast with solid nail and the problem is in the inserted nail and not in my callus formation. a lot of callus formation is there but most of them r still outside the gap due to nail instability or other issues with it.

I asked Dr Rozbruch after he told me come for re evaluation about a discount for correction or offering me a free nail because it is obvious from his xray after 10 months that something went wrong and the nail dropped and his measurments was not correct as he picked up 1 mm in femur before surgery and 9 mm after correction !! but he said u r an international patient and we can not do anything for u and u have to pay another 85000$ to correct with solid nail or stryde nail. Imagine how did I left his office after this irresponsibility.

add to that i want to mention another strange payment. i always pay 450$ for the xray and in the last visit they took from me 1200$ for the exactly same xray !! I paid directly and after that i asked the Dr why the amount is so high ? he started saying i can not control everything and u better ask HSS and he got mad!

I followed the internet reviews and some diaries here to choose Dr Rozbruch and I picked up the wrong choice.
I am planning to do the correction with Dr. Betz as the whole correction is approx for 20 000 euro and Dr Betz is very friendly and he went with me for the xray and he is not snob with his team like Rozbruch.

Before you completely discredit one of the top three surgeons in the world can you post proof of your journey or surgery or his replies

Not that I don’t trust you ( I don’t nothing personal ) but there’s a lot of fakes posting on this forum to promote or slander doctors.

Not that anyone was gonna go to Rozbruch anyways, there’s no logical reason when Paley who is the best doctor in the world is way cheaper than him

[Activatedx]

check the xray that shows the bone healing after 10 months post surgery. there is a small space in the nail tro measure the distraction, this space was more than triple the size.

https://imgur.com/a/XWq1LNg

Also why would you use precise 2? That’s idiotic when stryde is out. With stryde you can walk few days after surgery.

Secondly why would you go to Rozbruch who is the most expensive surgeon in the world for LL? Why wouldn’t you go to paley

[Hamza]

Also why would you use precise 2? That’s idiotic when stryde is out. With stryde you can walk few days after surgery.

Secondly why would you go to Rozbruch who is the most expensive surgeon in the world for LL? Why wouldn’t you go to paley

No worries bro, i just uploaded my xray 10 months post surgery. Just tell what document u want to see and i ll upload it!

I choosed dr robert rozbruch because i saw his videos on youtube and i dont live in the US to know all the doctors there. I heard about paley also but i found more videos for rozbruch and he answered my email quickly and nicely so i continued with him as i believed that rozbruch and paley r top notch doctors in USA.

I asked for using stryde but he said it was still  under tests and he prefers to go with precice nail 2 as it is still very trusted.
My surgery was in august 2018 at HSS

[Activatedx]

No worries bro, i just uploaded my xray 10 months post surgery. Just tell what document u want to see and i ll upload it!

I choosed dr robert rozbruch because i saw his videos on youtube and i dont live in the US to know all the doctors there. I heard about paley also but i found more videos for rozbruch and he answered my email quickly and nicely so i continued with him as i believed that rozbruch and paley r top notch doctors in USA.

I asked for using stryde but he said it was still  under tests and he prefers to go with precice nail 2 as it is still very trusted.
My surgery was in august 2018 at HSS

That sounds weird, but if it is true that sucks .

Also paley is the best doctor in the world for ll  and cheaper than Rozbruch

[Hamza]

That sounds weird, but if it is true that sucks .

Also paley is the best doctor in the world for ll  and cheaper than Rozbruch

I have a 24 hours flight to arrive to Rozbruch and u know how much expensive is NYC and the surgery itself and i was saying It is ok I am not paying for buying a car i am paying for medical issue that is affecting my daily life and i am a very active person and i like to do all kinds of sports. I was astonished when he said u have to pay again and in full amount for the correction surgery !! another 85000$ is easy for them. Really unethical but i cant do anything as i am an international patient as he said.

he was not shy that i came with (1 mm in femur, 3 mm in tibia, 5 mm in ankle)
and after correction he picked up (9mm in femur)

he was not shy that precice nail 2 that he recommended and refused to use stryde at early phases dropped and malfunctioned.

I didn't ask for full refund or even partial !! I asked for correction with a discounted price, i also suggested no discount but bring a new free nail for me even solid nail which is cheaper and i ll pay for the surgery !! but he said he cant. So what can u do in this situation other than saying this is definitely unethical ?

As if they got the money and that was the most important point for them.

If u want i can also upload the xray measurements done by Dr Betz showed that after surgery i have 14 mm difference between leg length where 9 mm is in femur.

[Ghostfish]

Hi Hamza

I am really sorry for you in such a tragedy.  It is really sad that Dr. Rozbruch responded like this.

By the way, I am just too confused about your situation in other words how exactly you lengthened your legs.  Before lengthening, your one leg is 10 mm shorter (femur+tibia+other parts in total) than the other, right?  So I assume that you did only one side of Precice in the femur of the shorter leg, right?  But then you lengthened that femur like 24 mm so that leg becomes 14 mm longer than the other one. Is that right?

[Hamza]

Hi Hamza

I am really sorry for you in such a tragedy.  It is really sad that Dr. Rozbruch responded like this.

By the way, I am just too confused about your situation in other words how exactly you lengthened your legs.  Before lengthening, your one leg is 10 mm shorter (femur+tibia+other parts in total) than the other, right?  So I assume that you did only one side of Precice in the femur of the shorter leg, right?  But then you lengthened that femur like 24 mm so that leg becomes 14 mm longer than the other one. Is that right?

Yes one side, my right leg is shorter and i inserted precice nail 2 in my right femur only.
my right was shorter and after correction my right is still shorter.

before surgery, the xray of Rozbruch showed:
(1 mm in femur, 3 mm in tibia, 5 mm in ankle due to old cavus foot surgery) / a total of 9mm difference. so i asked for 7mm correction because i know the feeling of 7 which is good for me because i have been using 7 mm insole sine more than 10 years.

10 months post surgery and after lengthening the femur by 7 mm exactly using the remote control in the hotel his xray showed (9 mm in femur, 1 mm in tibia, didnt measure the ankle) / a total of 10 mm without the ankle !! he said its 10 mm in total because when standing on 10 mm he can see my pelvis is leveled (u cant ask him a lot he get nervous from questions).

so i came with 9 mm difference in total and i lengthened the femur 7 mm and i left with 10 mm difference !!

Our meeting was for more than 1 hour and he was being evasive.

[Ghostfish]

Yes one side, my right leg is shorter and i inserted precice nail 2 in my right femur only.
my right was shorter and after correction my right is still shorter.

before surgery, the xray of Rozbruch showed:
(1 mm in femur, 3 mm in tibia, 5 mm in ankle due to old cavus foot surgery) / a total of 9mm difference. so i asked for 7mm correction because i know the feeling of 7 which is good for me because i have been using 7 mm insole sine more than 10 years.

10 months post surgery and after lengthening the femur by 7 mm exactly using the remote control in the hotel his xray showed (9 mm in femur, 1 mm in tibia, didnt measure the ankle) / a total of 10 mm without the ankle !! he said its 10 mm in total because when standing on 10 mm he can see my pelvis is leveled (u cant ask him a lot he get nervous from questions).

so i came with 9 mm difference in total and i lengthened the femur 7 mm and i left with 10 mm difference !!

Our meeting was for more than 1 hour and he was being evasive.

Sorry I am still confused.  I guess when you said those numbers, those are gaps or shorter distance in the right leg, as compared to the left leg. But you said you lengthened the femur 7 mm. In that case, how possible the gap is bigger now after lengthening, in other words, your right leg, especially femur, becomes shorter? Even in the case of malfunction of Precice nail, your leg should be almost the same as before the surgery, right?

In addition, I just don't understand how this happened. Normally patients should be checked regularly to make sure the lengthening is going fine, before consolidation.  So you should have checked the progress/lengthening before stopping the lengthening.

If this problem is due to the malfunction of the nail, isn't Dr. R or Precice nail company responsible for this?

I really hope you find the solution.

Wish you the best of luck!

[PANDA:BEAR..]

If your case in genuine... you have right and legal obligation to contact the company who provided the nail .... even if your are a overseas patient... 

[Hamza]

Sorry I am still confused.  I guess when you said those numbers, those are gaps or shorter distance in the right leg, as compared to the left leg. But you said you lengthened the femur 7 mm. In that case, how possible the gap is bigger now after lengthening, in other words, your right leg, especially femur, becomes shorter? Even in the case of malfunction of Precice nail, your leg should be almost the same as before the surgery, right?

In addition, I just don't understand how this happened. Normally patients should be checked regularly to make sure the lengthening is going fine, before consolidation.  So you should have checked the progress/lengthening before stopping the lengthening.

If this problem is due to the malfunction of the nail, isn't Dr. R or Precice nail company responsible for this?

I really hope you find the solution.

Wish you the best of luck!

exactly !! I distracted 7 mm so logically If I lost the 7 mm my situation should be back the same as before distraction. It is for Dr Rozbruch to explain to me his measurements before and after I lost the distraction !!
I measured the distraction gap and it was 7 mm directly after the surgery. after couple of months when he allowed me to walk the rectangle area in the nail that shows u the distraction is 90% smaller and i showed him the xray and he told me come to usa re evaluate u because yes maybe the nail dropped and u lost the distraction.

He talked for 1 hour in our meeting and said there will be always difference between measurements each time u do the xray, i told him 1 or 2 or even 3 mm difference is acceptable but how come before the surgery u picked up 1 mm in femur and now after surgery and after lengthening 7 mm and after the nail dropped u r picking  up 9 mm difference, did u shortened me or did something wrong ? logically speaking the difference should be now back to 1 mm !!

I stayed 1 hour talking with him and he kept saying "I repeat we have two solution even insertion of solid or stryde nail for correction".
I said OK but who is responsible of this difference in measurements and who is responsible of nail drop as i can physically feel that i am exactly back to my old situation before surgery and I am putting back 7 mm insole as u can see Dr and I showed him the insole in my shoes !!The insole is from GW heel lift and consisting of vinyl layers each layer is 1 mm thickness exactly.

at least they should provide me with another nail or discount, he said we cant and we r not responsible and we cannot talk to nuvasive.

If they respect themselves they should say ohh u paid 85000$ for such a small lengthening so we r sorry and dont worry we ll correct it as simple as that.

I emailed the hospital HSS 4 days ago and until now they did not answer.

[Hamza]

If your case in genuine... you have right and legal obligation to contact the company who provided the nail .... even if your are a overseas patient...

I sent an email 3 days ago to nuvasive and untill now no answer.
I will try to call them also.

this email was sent to info@nuvasive.com 3 days ago:

"
Dear Sir,

I have done a femur lengthening using PRECICE NAIL 2 in august 2018 in New York city at HSS hospital with Dr Robert Rozbruch to correct an LLD of 9 mm.
After 3 months i was allowed to walk by my Dr and the nail start falling until I lost the whole distraction.

I have the xrays that show the measurements before and after the surgery and it shows that the nail dropped.

What do you do in this case ? would you accept to refund me the nail price ?
"

[PANDA:BEAR..]

I sent an email 3 days ago to nuvasive and untill now no answer.
I will try to call them also.

this email was sent to info@nuvasive.com 3 days ago:

"
Dear Sir,

I have done a femur lengthening using PRECICE NAIL 2 in august 2018 in New York city at HSS hospital with Dr Robert Rozbruch to correct an LLD of 9 mm.
After 3 months i was allowed to walk by my Dr and the nail start falling until I lost the whole distraction.

I have the xrays that show the measurements before and after the surgery and it shows that the nail dropped.

What do you do in this case ? would you accept to refund me the nail price ?
"

Most Doctors... test the nails before they implants them in? did your doctor test your nail before he did your surgery?

This is not acceptable.... for you to only ask a refund ... for a faulty nail.. Your Doctor is accountable and he should request a nail refund... on his and your behalf!

[PANDA:BEAR..]

Hamza .... can you provide some proof of what you are saying ... as it's wrong to judge someone without some proof.. I mean proof of documentation evidence....

[Activatedx]

I have a 24 hours flight to arrive to Rozbruch and u know how much expensive is NYC and the surgery itself and i was saying It is ok I am not paying for buying a car i am paying for medical issue that is affecting my daily life and i am a very active person and i like to do all kinds of sports. I was astonished when he said u have to pay again and in full amount for the correction surgery !! another 85000$ is easy for them. Really unethical but i cant do anything as i am an international patient as he said.

he was not shy that i came with (1 mm in femur, 3 mm in tibia, 5 mm in ankle)
and after correction he picked up (9mm in femur)

he was not shy that precice nail 2 that he recommended and refused to use stryde at early phases dropped and malfunctioned.

I didn't ask for full refund or even partial !! I asked for correction with a discounted price, i also suggested no discount but bring a new free nail for me even solid nail which is cheaper and i ll pay for the surgery !! but he said he cant. So what can u do in this situation other than saying this is definitely unethical ?

As if they got the money and that was the most important point for them.

If u want i can also upload the xray measurements done by Dr Betz showed that after surgery i have 14 mm difference between leg length where 9 mm is in femur.

I would sue the   out of them if I were you even as an international patient

[Hamza]

Hamza .... can you provide some proof of what you are saying ... as it's wrong to judge someone without some proof.. I mean proof of documentation evidence....

For sure, the link below shows the xray image took from my phone at DR s office at HSS in the last visit (date 20/6/2019) exactly 10 months post surgery.
It shows 9 mm difference in femur & 2 mm difference in tibia and ankle is not measured but there is also a couple of mm s in ankle due to old cavus foot surgery.
In this xray i was standing on 6 mm wood insole under my right leg and u can see that i still need 4 mm to have a good leveled pelvis.



https://imgur.com/4idXT7T



If u want i can also upload  the receipt of paying 1200$ for this xray. shame on them in all ways.

[Hamza]

I would sue the   out of them if I were you even as an international patient

I live in the middle east far away from New York and i don't have anyone there.
Do u think it is easy to start to sue them and come back to New York for follow up ?
Each travel to New York costs at least 3000$ for me if i come just for couple of days. (ticket, hotel, food ...) maybe another xray also this time for more than 1200$ u never know!!

If u can advice me in this issue i ll be thankful.

[Activatedx]

I live in the middle east far away from New York and i don't have anyone there.
Do u think it is easy to start to sue them and come back to New York for follow up ?
Each travel to New York costs at least 3000$ for me if i come just for couple of days. (ticket, hotel, food ...) maybe another xray also this time for more than 1200$ u never know!!

If u can advice me in this issue i ll be thankful.

Your lawyer would handle everything for you. You don’t have to come back. Better to find one in nyc but if you need I can recommend you to one if you want to pm me. My business was burglarized and my insurance didn’t want to pay so I sued them and my lawyer she’s really good. Got me more than I lost.

[Activatedx]

I live in the middle east far away from New York and i don't have anyone there.
Do u think it is easy to start to sue them and come back to New York for follow up ?
Each travel to New York costs at least 3000$ for me if i come just for couple of days. (ticket, hotel, food ...) maybe another xray also this time for more than 1200$ u never know!!

If u can advice me in this issue i ll be thankful.

If you can upload any emails or receipts that would be cool. If your story is true I feel bad for you, you could’ve been walking since the surgery with stryde and weight bearing shows to have much faster healing time

[Hamza]

If you can upload any emails or receipts that would be cool. If your story is true I feel bad for you, you could’ve been walking since the surgery with stryde and weight bearing shows to have much faster healing time

I visited Dr Betz In Germany and he told me dont worry, solid nail and lengthening ur femur by 9 mm in the operation room and full weight bearing after the surgery and he was very sure of what he was saying. How do u find this solution ?

[Hamza]

If you can upload any emails or receipts that would be cool. If your story is true I feel bad for you, you could’ve been walking since the surgery with stryde and weight bearing shows to have much faster healing time

I have all the documents needed and they r very clear. I also have Dr Betz xray with measurements including the ankle. It says i have a total of 14 mm difference. 
OK i will PM u to give me ur lawyer number and i ll ask her how to start.

[PANDA:BEAR..]

I have all the documents needed and they r very clear. I also have Dr Betz xray with measurements including the ankle. It says i have a total of 14 mm difference. 
OK i will PM u to give me ur lawyer number and i ll ask her how to start.

There are government agencies that protect consumers regarding products and services..
you need to keep all of your documentation in order... just one thing to clarify... if the doctor or hospital... said that we cannot help you as your from overseas...  If you have that in writing then a potential Lawsuit could cost both parties millions in damage .. as you cannot make different rules for other people as there from overseas...

[Hamza]

There are government agencies that protect consumers regarding products and services..
you need to keep all of your documentation in order... just one thing to clarify... if the doctor or hospital... said that we cannot help you as your from overseas...  If you have that in writing then a potential Lawsuit could cost both parties millions in damage .. as you cannot make different rules for other people as there from overseas...

I don't have it written, he said it in the clinic last visit for re evaluation. All other documents are with me.
I sent him an email now asking for refund and waiting for his answer.

[PANDA:BEAR..]

I don't have it written, he said it in the clinic last visit for re evaluation. All other documents are with me.
I sent him an email now asking for refund and waiting for his answer.

I advise you to contact your legal team ... and ask them to contact a government agency... regarding this matter as it unfair on you completely!

[Hamza]

If you can upload any emails or receipts that would be cool. If your story is true I feel bad for you, you could’ve been walking since the surgery with stryde and weight bearing shows to have much faster healing time

Below is the link of the xray done at Dr Betz in Germany 24/5/2019 when i felt that i lost the whole distraction and before i come back to re evaluation by Rozbruch to make sure what is happening.
The xray shows 14 mm difference including the difference in ankle.


https://imgur.com/JgfDE5t

[BeYourBest]

This is very sad news for the LL world. Supposedly one of the best doctors in the game and the manufacturers of the revolutionary Stryde Nail both involved. I mean it may not be their faults or whatever but they some empathy should be shown. Especially as it is not your fault.

I really hope they both fix up and sort things out for you. But I doubt that will happen. I would get ready to sue them if I were you.

I wish you the best of luck

[Hamza]

This is very sad news for the LL world. Supposedly one of the best doctors in the game and the manufacturers of the revolutionary Stryde Nail both involved. I mean it may not be their faults or whatever but they some empathy should be shown. Especially as it is not your fault.

I really hope they both fix up and sort things out for you. But I doubt that will happen. I would get ready to sue them if I were you.

I wish you the best of luck

Yes Exactly! I gave him many options at office like nail refund, surgery discount, any amount refund to go to Europe for correction as I can not afford another 85000$. It is totally unethical to leave ur patient lost In this situation! Specially a patient that paid 85000$ because he believes that he is talking to a top notch Dr and a respectful hospital like HSS. At least a little respect for the patient case in return.

To sue them is an option but it will cost a lot and I am outside USA so it will be hard for me to come when they want me to do.
I emailed Dr Rozbruch 3 days ago and asked him to contact Nuvasive and refund the nail cost at least to be able to do the correction in Europe. Below is his answer:


"
Fri, Jun 28, 5:39 PM (14 hours ago)
   
to me
I will forward your request to Nuvasive


S. Robert Rozbruch, MD
Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 27, 2019, at 2:46 PM
"


I hope his answer is serious.
I will update u with the result.

[Hamza]

I advise you to contact your legal team ... and ask them to contact a government agency... regarding this matter as it unfair on you completely!

I Escalated the case to HSS CEO and i sent him an email today, no idea if he will even reply. Below is the email sent:


Hello Mr. Lou Shapiro,

I am an international patient and I had a surgery at HSS with Dr Robert Rozbruch in August 2018.
I had a small difference of 9 mm between my leg length and he did the correction surgery for me using a product called Precice Nail 2 from Nuvasive company.
Now after 10 months post surgery I came back to the Dr for re evaluation and he did a new xray and said u came with 9 mm difference and now u have 10 mm difference!, this means that the lengthening is failed and I lost the whole distraction.
I paid 85000$ for correcting a small difference between my leg length as i believed that HSS is a famous hospital and Dr Robert Rozbruch is one of the best Dr s in this field.
I asked for free correction and Dr Rozbruch said he is not responsible for any correction and if I want to correct I have to pay another 85000$ !!
I asked for nail refund at least to be able to pay for the correction in Europe as I can not afford to pay another 85000$ at HSS, also he said sorry we cant.

Is that Ethical ? Is it acceptable to treat an international patient in this way ? don't u believe that the doctor should show some empathy toward his patient and try to help him?

The correction surgery in Europe costs approx. 20,000 $. Is it possible to refund this amount to be able to correct it there as i can not afford the cost of correction at HSS ?

Attached the official quotation from HSS that shows the surgery cost. I also paid the Dr fees apart.

I hope that u can help me with this case as i still believe that HSS is a famous and respectful hospital and does not accept any unethical behavior toward its patients.

Best Regards,

[PANDA:BEAR..]

You .... need to be more constructive with your emails ... and put the pressure on..
By stating if we cannot come up with agreement? Then I got no option to take legal action.. regardless you do or not .. that's a different matter!

[PANDA:BEAR..]

My advice is just keep on emailing with the stronger emails...  but in the long term .. I wouldn't waste mine on a lawsuit as it will be costly and time consuming....

[Hamza]

My advice is just keep on emailing with the stronger emails...  but in the long term .. I wouldn't waste mine on a lawsuit as it will be costly and time consuming....

The CEO Just answered my email:

"

Thank you for your email. I will have our team review and one of them will be back in touch with you.  Thank you for emailing me.

Louis A. Shapiro
President and CEO
Hospital for Special Surgery
535 East 70th Street
New York, New York 10021
www.hss.edu

"