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Every year hundreds of people around the world opt for long-term, often painful surgery to lengthen their legs in an attempt to grow a few inches taller. The complex procedure is not without risk, and health experts say some may be left with long-term problems, writes the BBC.
Sam Becker was the tallest kid in his high school in his freshman year of school, but by the end of high school his classmates had left him behind. He had become the youngest. “When I went to college, I realized that I was shorter than a lot of the boys and even the girls,” he says. “It affects your life. Honestly, women generally don’t know children shorter than they are. The hardest part was that I felt like I couldn’t find a wife,” he said.
Sam, now in his 30s in New York, still hoped he could grow up, even though he knew he had grown up and the growth process was over. “I always thought being tall and successful were connected. I had to think of my own solution.”
“How long will I be able to walk after the leg lengthening operation?”
Sam investigated his options, but was not convinced by temporary solutions, such as shoe soles and stretching exercises. When he came across the leg lengthening operation, he became obsessed. After a candid conversation with her mother and weighing the various risks, she decided that the answer to her problems lies on the operating table. It was intervened in 2015, going from 1.62 m to 1.70 m.
“At my first consultation, the doctor showed me very clearly how difficult the surgery would be. I was worried about what I might do after I got those inches. Will I still be able to walk? Will I still be able to run? When?” Says the man .
“After the operation, I did physical therapy, three or four times a week, for a few hours every day. I have been doing this for six months. It was an incredible experience. It’s crazy. You have new legs and you are learning to walk again. It looks like cosmetic surgery, but I’ve done a lot more for my sanity, “concluded Sam.
Painful and expensive procedure
The leg lengthening operation is available in several countries, and some patients can increase their height up to 13 cm. The BBC has spoken to clinics around the world about how often the operation is performed, so the number of people requesting it varies.
In major centers in the US, Germany, and South Korea, the procedure is performed 100 to 200 times a year. In Spain, India, Turkey and Italy between 20 and 40 operations are carried out per year. In the UK, the figure is slightly lower, about 15 times a year. Almost every clinic the BBC has spoken to have seen an increase from year to year.
In the UK the tax goes up to £ 50,000, while in the US the price ranges from £ 56,000 to £ 210,000 ($ 75,000 – $ 280,000).
The operation is long, expensive and painful. The technique was pioneered by Gavril Ilizarov, a Soviet physician who treated wounded soldiers returning from World War II. And although the operation has evolved over the past 70 years, many of the principles remain the same.
A hole is made in the leg bones, which are then split in two. A metal rod is surgically mounted on the inside and held in place with several screws. The stem then slowly lengthens up to 1mm each day, spreading until the patient reaches the desired height and their bones can heal together.
Then the patient needs several months of daily rehabilitation to regain mobility. The process is fraught with risks of complications, from nerve damage and blood clots to the possibility that the bones will not fuse.
Publisher: AA
