Limb lengthen cosmetic surgery:Would you go for one

Limb lengthen cosmetic surgery:Would you go for one if you not are satisfied with your natural height

Limb-lengthening is a surgical operations carried out to add a few inches to your height. Though the painful surgery was once reserved for people with dwarfism and children with one leg longer than the other, an increasing number of (mostly) men of just-below-average height are seeking it out for purely cosmetic reasons according to ABC NEWS.

The procedure was pioneered by Soviet Prof. Gavriil Ilizarov in 1951 as a way to treat World War II veterans with leg injuries. But in recent years it has also become a popular cosmetic choice for those,who always dreamed of becoming taller.

The surgery is not for the faint of heart. It involves strategically breaking the tibia, or shinbone, and then slowly separating the ends of the broken bone over a long period of time. As the body tries to heal the break by creating new bone, the fracture is extended yet again and the body creates even more bone in the gap.

Doctors extend the fracture by a tiny amount several times a day, only a millimeter total each day, until the desired length is reached. The trick is to do it slow enough so that new bone continues to grow, but fast enough that it does not heal entirely.

According to odditycentral, Dr. Dror Paley, an orthopedic surgeon from Florida, had performed about 650 leg-lengthening surgeries by 2012. He said that most of his patients had dwarfism or severe deformities, while a few had height dysphoria and did not find psychotherapy helpful. “They’re unhappy with their height,” he explained. “It’s one of those few psychologic-psychiatric disorders that you can actually cure with the knife.”

Case-in-point is New Jersey resident Akash Shukla, who ‘grew’ from 4-foot-11 to 5-foot-2 after undergoing the surgery. He described being under 5 foot tall as “a void inside me – an emptiness in my heart.” He also defended his decision to get surgery: “There are people that have said, ‘just accept what God gave you.’ But, in some way, shape or form everybody is trying to alter what God gave them. If God gave kids crooked teeth, they get braces.”

Given that the surgery can cost $85,000 or more in the U.S., a few people are opting to travel to India, where it is apparently more affordable. Dr. Amar Sarin, an orthopaedic surgeon in New Delhi, specializes in leg-lengthening surgery. “Initially, most of my patients were from the US, Europe and China,” he said. “But it has changed over the past three years. Indians now account for two in three surgeries.”

The Russian-trained surgeon said that he uses the Ilizarov technique – the bone is cut or broken and lengthened gradually with the help of metal wires and rings. He has performed over 3,000 procedures since 1996, 150 of which were done for cosmetic reasons.

As successful as the treatment has been, several orthopaedists do not recommend that it be performed unless absolutely necessary. “I do not advocate it for cosmetic reasons because there can be complications such as infection and neurovascular complications because of the insertion, osteoporosis at the site of the fracture,” said Dr. Manish Dhawan, also a New Delhi orthopaedic surgeon.

According to a 2006 study in the journal International Orthopaedics, “complications of this treatment are frequent”. They include nerve damage, uneven lengthening, hip problems and paralysis. For these reasons, limb-lengthening usually isn’t performed on people over 5-foot-9.

The excruciating pain is also a deterrent, and doctors don’t prescribe anti-inflammatory painkillers because they might inhibit bone growth. Some people even regret their decision of opting for the surgery, because of the pain. Like ‘Jack’, a 5-foot-6 man who traveled to China for the operation that made him 5-foot-9. “It is the worst decision I made in my life,” he stated, adding that it was “not nearly worth the pain.”

But the procedure has been very popular in China for quite some time now. Kong Jim-wen spent over $8,000 to lengthen her legs way back in 2003, in spite of the fact that she was a healthy woman with no disorders or ailments. “It hurts, but it will be worth it to be taller,” she said, as she lay in bed in considerable pain. “I’ll have more opportunities in life and a better chance of finding a good job and husband.”

photocredit: cosmcenter, short support, Dr. Mahesh Kumar