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[Medium Drink Of Water]

Did you have Achilles' tendon lengthening along with your tibial lengthening?

No.  Dr. Peng examined me and said it wasn't necessary.

[ReadRothbard]

No.  Dr. Peng examined me and said it wasn't necessary.

Hmmm, I wonder if that was a problem. Dr. Paley and others heavily advocate Achilles' tendon lengthening for anything above 5 cm.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

It doesn't seem to be an issue for me at all.

[Puertoricanwasp123]

(Not a joke) Are you sure they didn't steal an organ from you?

My mom thinks that in places like China or India have high risk of organ traffic.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

I didn't wake up with any unusual scars, so I'm sure no organs were stolen from me.

[Puertoricanwasp123]

Do more people initiate conversations with you?

[ReadRothbard]

It doesn't seem to be an issue for me at all.

I thought you said that you lost some endurance and agility?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

That has nothing to do with my Achilles needing surgery.

[Moubgf]

all In all how much did the surgery cost, And how much cash would you recommend. for 7-8 cm increase?

[Taller]

all In all how much did the surgery cost, And how much cash would you recommend. for 7-8 cm increase?

The prices in Beijing are no longer the same as when Medium Drink of Water did LL. That means that the cost he payed is not relevant to you. You can expect to pay over $30,000 to do LL at the same clinic.

[ReadRothbard]

That has nothing to do with my Achilles needing surgery.

Do you think that it was just a natural side effect of ll (losing endurance and such)?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Do you think that it was just a natural side effect of ll (losing endurance and such)?

If I had to guess, it's biomechanical.  Imagine swinging a longer than standard baseball bat.  You'd be slower and get tired sooner.

[Puertoricanwasp123]

Can you walk just fine in a slope/diagonal surface?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Can you walk just fine in a slope/diagonal surface?

Yes I can.

[KrP1]

is your tibia longer now tan your femur? how much cm?

[Puertoricanwasp123]

Is it harder to get out of a short car now that you got long legs?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

is your tibia longer now tan your femur? how much cm?

They are the same length now.  Dr. Xia believes that it's acceptable for them to be the same length, but the tibia can't be longer.

Is it harder to get out of a short car now that you got long legs?

A little bit harder but not much.  If I'm not paying close attention to what I'm doing, I might wobble a bit when getting out of a short car.

[Puertoricanwasp123]

Can you use an elliptic machine now?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Yes.

[ItsMyLife]

They are the same length now.  Dr. Xia believes that it's acceptable for them to be the same length, but the tibia can't be longer.

A little bit harder but not much.  If I'm not paying close attention to what I'm doing, I might wobble a bit when getting out of a short car.

If your tibia is same length as femur, does it make your walking weird? or do you run worse than before? Because the usual ratio is 0.8

[rfung]

Hi MDOW,

Thanks for the replies so far. I read all of this thread, and I'm left with a couple of questions:

1) Why would you have done the other external method in Eastern Europe (the name escapes me right now), vs the one you did in China?

2) I don't know if you've kept up with the technological advances, would you still have done it at the Beijing hospital?

3) How bad are the scars without the plastic surgery to have them reduced? were you getting questions on them prior/ do you still get them even with the scar reduction?

4) I'm 1.77m (5'9-10) and I'm the shortest of my friends, and I've always dreamed of 'if I had 2 more inches'. Did you encounter any such patients there?

5) Is the process for 5cm different /less invasive/less complications/faster healing than going for extra added length?

Thanks!

[Medium Drink Of Water]

If your tibia is same length as femur, does it make your walking weird? or do you run worse than before? Because the usual ratio is 0.8

Just a little bit worse.  It's worth it for the extra height.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Hi MDOW,

Thanks for the replies so far. I read all of this thread, and I'm left with a couple of questions:

1) Why would you have done the other external method in Eastern Europe (the name escapes me right now), vs the one you did in China?

2) I don't know if you've kept up with the technological advances, would you still have done it at the Beijing hospital?

3) How bad are the scars without the plastic surgery to have them reduced? were you getting questions on them prior/ do you still get them even with the scar reduction?

4) I'm 1.77m (5'9-10) and I'm the shortest of my friends, and I've always dreamed of 'if I had 2 more inches'. Did you encounter any such patients there?

5) Is the process for 5cm different /less invasive/less complications/faster healing than going for extra added length?

Thanks!

1.  I chose Serbia first because the method he was going to use was the least invasive and would cause the least amount of trauma to the body.  (External-only monorail).

2.  I'd go back to China.  Dr. Peng is a good surgeon and the price includes hospitalization for the whole time you're there.  They brought me good Chinese food 3 times a day and doctors/nurses were always on call.  It's also nice to have a group of other LLers with you in the hospital who you can talk to. That's something the hospital environment in China also provides.  However, I'd insist on external-only if I could do it again.  I blame the nailing surgery for my knee issues.

3.  I think it's all a matter of opinion about how bad scars are.

Here are RGKEY's scars.  http://i.imgur.com/6z27vWbl.jpg  Mine were a little less noticeable because I had fewer pins, but that's pretty much what Ilizarov scarring looks like.

4.  There were two 176cm patients whose goal was 183 when I was there, so you're not going to be the only one in history wanting to go from average to tall.  Dr. Peng doesn't have a maximum height cutoff.  He doesn't turn away paying customers.

5.  5cm isn't any less invasive, but you'll finish faster and heal faster.

[ItsMyLife]

Just a little bit worse.  It's worth it for the extra height.

some people quote issues with balance. is it a problem?

my second question: did you try strengthening your legs with plyometrics. It will only be a fair comparison if  you have done everything you can to regain your leg strength (after all you been thru a harsh surgery). So after surgery, if you want to assess athletic performance I think you should try all you can before making a conclusion.. (and also wait a few years like you did). so my question is did you try to regain your leg strength and quickness, and how does it compare to pre-op (if you did plyometrics and all)

[rfung]

1.  I chose Serbia first because the method he was going to use was the least invasive and would cause the least amount of trauma to the body.  (External-only monorail).

2.  I'd go back to China.  Dr. Peng is a good surgeon and the price includes hospitalization for the whole time you're there.  They brought me good Chinese food 3 times a day and doctors/nurses were always on call.  It's also nice to have a group of other LLers with you in the hospital who you can talk to. That's something the hospital environment in China also provides.  However, I'd insist on external-only if I could do it again.  I blame the nailing surgery for my knee issues.

3.  I think it's all a matter of opinion about how bad scars are.

Here are RGKEY's scars.  http://i.imgur.com/6z27vWbl.jpg  Mine were a little less noticeable because I had fewer pins, but that's pretty much what Ilizarov scarring looks like.

Thanks, couple more follow up questions.

1) I went to the Chinese website, I don't see a mention of external only - do you happen to know if they have that option?

2) The scars are definitely noticeable since they're dotted. I'd definitely have to have them worked on. Can you tell me if it was the same reason you had them redone? How soon realistically could you do the scar revision surgery?

3) Why did you go for tibia vs femur?

[ItsMyLife]

Thanks, couple more follow up questions.

1) I went to the Chinese website, I don't see a mention of external only - do you happen to know if they have that option?

2) The scars are definitely noticeable since they're dotted. I'd definitely have to have them worked on. Can you tell me if it was the same reason you had them redone? How soon realistically could you do the scar revision surgery?

3) Why did you go for tibia vs femur?

just to chime in..

how plausible are these non-surgical scar treatment modalities? eg, cortisone/5-FU/kenalog injections, chemical peels for the colouring, AHA/BHA creams to apply, kligman's formula or retin-A for the colouration, etc

[ForcedPuberty]

How soon realistically could you do the scar revision surgery?

you have to wait 6 months from frame removal. otherwise the scars can become keloid.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

some people quote issues with balance. is it a problem?

my second question: did you try strengthening your legs with plyometrics. It will only be a fair comparison if  you have done everything you can to regain your leg strength (after all you been thru a harsh surgery). So after surgery, if you want to assess athletic performance I think you should try all you can before making a conclusion.. (and also wait a few years like you did). so my question is did you try to regain your leg strength and quickness, and how does it compare to pre-op (if you did plyometrics and all)

Balance is only very slightly worse, not a big deal.

I have tried doing plyometrics but my legs get so tired so quickly.  I think it's a biomechanical issue; too much is being asked of the muscles.

[KrP1]

hey medium , do you think one person could run 50 meters in less than 8 seconds if he has done LL with longer tibias than femurs?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Thanks, couple more follow up questions.

1) I went to the Chinese website, I don't see a mention of external only - do you happen to know if they have that option?

2) The scars are definitely noticeable since they're dotted. I'd definitely have to have them worked on. Can you tell me if it was the same reason you had them redone? How soon realistically could you do the scar revision surgery?

3) Why did you go for tibia vs femur?

If you were to ask for external-only, I think they would oblige.  You might get charged extra for staying longer though, that is, if you stay there the whole time.

Yes, the reason I got the scars revised was because they were noticeable.  I don't know of any reason why you'd have to wait a long time to do the scar revision surgery.

I went with tibia because that was Professor Xia's recommendation after examining my legs.  He believes that an equal tibia:femur ratio is okay, and my tibiae were 3 inches shorter than my femurs.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

just to chime in..

how plausible are these non-surgical scar treatment modalities? eg, cortisone/5-FU/kenalog injections, chemical peels for the colouring, AHA/BHA creams to apply, kligman's formula or retin-A for the colouration, etc

None of those are actually going to make the scars into thin white lines like excision does.  I don't have any experience with any of those methods.