Leg or Limb-lengthening is a surgical operation that
adds some inches to the patient’s height. This operation is
originally used to treat people with dwarfism, or to balance the legs
of people with unequal leg lengths. It is intended to be performed on
patients with extreme cases. This procedure adds about two to three
inches of height on the patient. Nowadays, this operation is also
performed as a cosmetic surgery mostly requested by below average
height men. This is not usually performed on men with a height of
5’9” and above already.
The surgery is performed by breaking the shin bone, and
then inserts a telescoping rod on it. The rod eventually pulls the
bones apart at around 1mm a day. This forces the bone to regenerate.
This procedure takes around three months, but several months of
physical therapy must be performed after this.
Not all orthopedics perform this for cosmetic reasons as
they will only opt to do this for those who are in need. This
operation is risky, and not all doctors want to risk their profession
on it. Since there is a small supply of doctors who can perform this,
the surgery is costly at an average of USD 85,000 to USD 125,000. If
you think the price is shocking, you will be more shocked on how
extremely painful it is. There are even incidents where patients
regret performing this surgery. As much as possible, doctors do not
recommend using pain killers no matter how painful it is. Pain
killers are going to disturb the growth of the bones and it has a
high potential of making the new bone brittle. Another consequence of
this procedure – aside from its cost and the amount of pain – is
the possible (and common) complications. These include uneven
lengthening, nerve damage, hip problems, and paralysis. Keep in mind
that the bones are to be broken in this procedure. Now when you ask me how to get taller fast, I would definitely not recommend this!
Despite
the number of trade off this procedure has (time, money, pain, and
uncertainty of a successful operation), there are testimonials that
this operation changed their lives and that they are happy they did
this. One happy patient is New Yorker Apotheosis, who grew an
additional six inches from his original height of 5’6”.
Apotheosis posts his experiences on online forums about this surgery,
but refuses to give out his real name.
Before
going into this procedure, examine the different factors first. First
of all, consider if you have the money to spend in this surgery. The
costs include not just the first hospital bill, but also the
follow-ups and the physical therapy after the first three months.
Included as well are the indirect cost such as the crutches to be
used eventually and the money you pay for a caretaker (if you will
hire one). There are people who are price insensitive on this,
especially if they really want to grow taller. If you have the money,
think now if you have the leisure of time on not being able to walk.
Keep in mind that since the shin bone is going to be broken, you will
not be able to walk normally for almost a year. If you have the time
and the money, here comes the highly inconsistent factor to consider:
can you bear the pain? Since the doctors do not recommend pain
killers, you must be able to withstand the pain naturally. There are
men who have high pain tolerance and can withstand this. Others
divert their attention by eating in order to forget about the pain.
After all those three factors are thought of, this all narrows down
to the decision if you can trust your own doctor. The doctor is the
one who can say what’s best for you, as he is the one with the most
knowledge of your situation.
Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs states that the second to the highest needs is the
esteem. If you have an extreme desire to grow taller in order to be
more confident and to feel that respect from others and self is
gained (can be called as “height dysphoria”), then you may opt
for any available options. All cosmetic surgeries have a risk in it:
breast implant in women is the most popular example. But still, even if you are a
risk taker and in frantic need of growing taller, still leg
lengthening is not the best solution for you. You can give alternative methods a try. The best way is try all natural method. But it also has lots of complications as for what to do. So we highly recommend you to simply get a complete guide system about growing taller, and following it to it's full. One such program is grow taller 4 idiots.
