Become taller with an operation
Who doesn’t dream about having longer legs? Long and shaped legs are considered a symbol of beauty. Well, can ladies who do not have long legs achieve their dream leg length with an operation? Today, we will provide valuable information from the specialist doctors of Wanna Be Taller clinic on this subject that many women are curious about.
Limb lengthening surgery can be an expensive procedure for many, not without its own difficulties! In this article, we will shed light on how exactly this procedure works and what risks it entails.
Increase patient height
Originally, leg extensions were only performed for medical reasons. For example, to equalize two legs of different lengths. In the meantime, limb lengthening technologies have progressed so far that it is also successfully used in the field of cosmetic medicine. The demand is huge, while the choice of doctors is very limited. Doctors who perform this procedure have patients from all over the world. The price depends on whether the upper or lower leg bones and one leg or both legs, are to be lengthened. Each bone can be lengthened by about 7-8 cm maximum. When both thighs and calves are lengthened, patients may achieve a total height gain up to 12-15 cm. Patients who decide to undergo this procedure need to take their time. Including follow-up treatment and full recovery, it can take up to a year for the leg-lengthening process to be completely completed.
Leg lengthening for medical purposes:
One speaks of a medical leg-lengthening if the intervention can be justified from a health point of view. Orthopedic problems, such as pelvic obliquity caused by leg length discrepancy, could be one of such reasons. However, the surgical intervention is only carried out if there is a serious difference between the lengths of legs, as there are other therapy methods that can be applied in milder cases.
Cosmetic leg lengthening:
In contrast to medical leg extension, cosmetic leg extension is motivated from a purely aesthetic point of view. So there is no medical need for this operation. The only reason here is the desire to increase your own height or have longer and more aesthetically pleasing legs.
How does leg-lengthening actually work?
The most frequently used method is the intramedullary nail technique. Whereas in the past people liked to work with the external “ring fixator” such as the Ilizarov device, the internal leg-lengthening technique is preferred today. In both procedures, the upper or lower leg bone is first severed so that it can then be stretched. The ring fixator is a frame that encloses the leg like a cage. Numerous wires lead from it through skin and tissue directly to the bone. If you pull the fixator apart slightly, the bone stretches along with it. The resulting gap at the fracture site is filled with newly generated bone tissue. However, since this metal cage causes multiple circular wounds in the patient's skin, it has largely been replaced by intramedullary nail techniques such as Precise and Stryde. This also significantly reduces the risk of infection. The intramedullary nail is a stainless steel rod approx. 25 cm long. It is inserted into the bone cavity along its full length so that the bone completely encloses it. Both parts of the bone are now attached to the intramedullary nail. We should remember that this technique also involves the initial cutting of the bone. The procedure is carried out through a small incision on the skin. The intramedullary nail can be thought of as a telescopic rod. The bone is actively lengthened through its stretching function. The stretching of the intramedullary nail works differently depending on the model. Either it is done mechanically by a rotational movement of the leg, or by an electric motor, externally controlled by an electromagnetic controller. In any case, it is the patients themselves who lengthen the bone a little bit on a daily basis. The patient begins this process approx. 4-5 days after the operation. The intramedullary nail stretches the leg at the rate of 1mm per day. The patient is solely responsible for the successful accomplishment of the procedure during the extension phase. It's not just the daily stretching of the intramedullary nail that needs to be done by the patient. It is extremely important that the necessary leg stretching exercises are performed regularly and extensively during the bone distraction process. This is important in order to avoid abnormal tension in the tendons and muscles. While the bone is becoming longer in length, the muscles and tendons have to adapt to it simultaneously. This is done through daily exercises and physiotherapy. For example, if the legs were to be lengthened by 8 cm, it would take 80-85 days, i.e. approx. 2.5 months, until the lengthening phase is completed.
Gaining height through surgery
After the operation, a hospital stay of max. seven days are required. This is then followed by physiotherapeutic measures. Regular x-ray controls are also part of the follow-up treatment. In contrast to older times, when the patient was initially confined to a wheelchair after such an operation, patients can now put almost full weight on their legs after the operation. This progress can be attributed to advancing medical technology. In the beginning, it is sometimes necessary to use walking aids. You can switch to full loading after the stretching process has been completed. Of course, this assumes that all control examinations have been completed with good results. The subsequent physiotherapy helps to regain mobility. It is not absolutely necessary to remove the nail after the operation. In most cases, however, it is removed again after about 2 years. A hospital stay of approx. 3 days is necessary after the operation.
Risks of leg-lengthening
Of course, such an operation also carries some risks. These include general operational risks, seen in most other types of surgeries. These are, for example, injuries to nerves and blood vessels, infections, wound healing disorders, or the formation and spread of a blood clot through the blood circulatory system (thrombosis/embolism).In addition, of course, there are specific surgical risks of leg lengthening.
The intramedullary nail technique can lead to the following complications:
- Premature bone healing (in which case the bone must be cut again)
- Delayed or absent callus regeneration (can be treated by implanting bone grafts from the iliac crest of the patient)
- Joint contractures (treatment is done with intensive physiotherapy or, if necessary, with soft tissue surgery)
The price of limb lengthening surgery includes the following costs
The hospital stay of about one week for the extension operation and about 3 days for the removal of the nails.
- Cost of anesthesia
- Wheelchair/crutches
- Medical treatment costs e.g. Internal medicine doctor and radiology,
Physiotherapy during the hospital stay routine follow-up examinations by doctors following costs are not included in the price:
- Physiotherapy after hospitalization accommodations and all other extra services after being released from hospital travel expenses
Fixator removal costs is it possible to benefit from health insurance?
Private and state-owned health insurance companies only participate if this procedure is medically necessary. In this case, for treatments of injuries due to an accident, or due to an inherent leg length discrepancy. In this case, the health insurers can only share the costs if a psychiatric report is presented. This document must prove that a high level of psychological stress or illness is evident from the leg length discrepancy or disorder.
Why Should I Choose Wanna Be Taller Clinic?
Why you should choose Wanna Be Taller for your limb lengthening surgery? Turkey is an important country for health tourism, and is progressively preferred countries all over the world. Affordable prices compared to world countries, 5-star hotel quality hospitals and clinics, and attentive care are the reasons for many people to choose our services. At Wanna Be Taller, we are proud of being an assertive clinic in our field with the high-pitched work of our specialist doctors, a comfortable and friendly environment, and all the post-operative care you need.
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