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[Mrworldguy]

Pre-Surgery
Started this journey from a height of 165 cm, I did lengthening because in Hungary I felt very short. I researched for years before deciding to do this. I did 7cm on my tibias with Salamehfix in Germany last year. I was excited and optimistic, I originally wanted to do 9cm
But decided to stop after 7cm as I didn’t want to risk Ballerina foot.

Month 1: Surgery went as planned. I was briefed about the aftercare and the adjustments I would need to make. The first few days post-surgery were tough, with pain and discomfort being constant but the pain was manageable, lots of drugs 😂

Month 2-4: Adjustment and Life on Crutches
The daily routine of adjusting the Salamehfix screws was daunting at first, but soon became second nature. While I was lengthening I was on crutches most of time, around the house I would walk without crutches but I didn’t want to risk anything so I used crutches most of time. I was able to hide the externals with my pants.

[AnotherLLer]

I'm also going to lengthen my tibias for about 7.5 cm with dr. Bagirov in Azerbaijan. He uses modified, compact Ilizarov frames which can be hidden in wide pants easily.

Have you never got ballerina foot during the lengthening? 7 cm is considered above the safe limit for tibia and I wonder if and how it's possible to avoid ballerina foot up until 3 inches.

Have you done pure external, i.e. without LON/LATN? How is your bone alignment after the distraction? Are they straight? How long did it take to distract 7 cm?

[Mrworldguy]

https://imgur.com/a/S5lRizq

[Mrworldguy]

I didn't get ballerina foot because i did physio, but i also walked alot, i probably would of got ballerina foot if i had gone to my goal of 9cm

It took me 3.5 months, yes my lignment is good, i feel back to normal now

[Mrworldguy]

https://imgur.com/a/kU3me4I
https://imgur.com/a/cL4O6FR
https://imgur.com/a/qji1tBB
https://imgur.com/a/7Ln6blg
https://imgur.com/a/JBhMRg0
https://imgur.com/a/yPwv3BI
https://imgur.com/a/9vtNg1J

[AnotherLLer]

In total, how many months will you be in those frames starting from the surgery date?

[AnotherLLer]

Your proportions between femur and tibia look great after 7 cm. I guess I'll look the same as you after 3 inch tibia. In no way I can do femurs first as I'll look odd because I have short tibia to begin with.

[Mrworldguy]

Month 5: First Steps without Crutches
Reaching the fifth month was a milestone! I began The first steps without crutches were exhilarating but painful.

Month 6-10: Gaining Independence
Gradual improvement in walking pattern and endurance marked these months. Regular physiotherapy and exercises strengthened my legs. By the tenth month, I was walking more naturally, although still with external fixators.

Month 10-11
I was finally able to get my externals removed

until today, i feel normal, its amazing to see the world from a different height, i only told my girlfriend and parents about lengthening, some friends have noticed and i just brushed it off, am thinking of going back and doing femurs. with femurs i would be able to take externals off in 4 months and just have internal nail inside, but for tibias it wasnt recommended, dr salameh focused more on deformities than CLL, but i met 2 other patients when i was there,

[Mrworldguy]

i had frames for 10 months but could hide them

[Mrworldguy]

This is doctors whatsapp +491734001615

[AnotherLLer]

So, you measure 172 cm now? Is that your lowest height at the end of the day? How was your self perception and confidence affected by that 7 cm height boost?

10 months in frames is great achievement for 7 cm tibia IMO.

Regarding external femurs, I think it's quite brutal to do LON femurs but if that additional 2 inches of height is very important, then IDK, maybe it's worth risking it. And for me and you starting at 5'5, 3 inch tibia is not enough and we will eventually get the femurs done for at least 2 inches more to stand at 5'10, which is enough height to stand at 6 feet with lifts.

I have the same starting height as you so after 3 inch tibia I'll stand at 5'8 which is kinda shortish but nowhere near 5'5 which is very short. I'm going to wear 2 inch elevators until I do femurs in order to get that additional height temporarily when out in public.

[Mrworldguy]

For tibias I paid 22,000 euros , that included all hospital and physio , for accommodation I stayed in the apartment above the doctors.

[Mrworldguy]

I can do femur externals without internal nail but it would mean wearing frames for 10 months, if I get internal nail inside with externals I will be able to remove frames right after lengthening , being full weight bearing

[Mrworldguy]

With decent shoes I can be 173 to 174 cm but In Hungary I am still below average height , I have noticed a huge improvement in my life

[Mrworldguy]

I know the new precise max , came out and stryde is out , and Gnail has way to many complications , and gnail has very little research , this is why is chose salamahfix, there aren’t many full weight bearing options where you can hide your frames. I’m very happy with my decision, and other patients who lived with me said same thing, one guy I was living with had gone gnail in his femurs and had Alot of complications and I didn’t want the huge traditional externals. I will ask some of other patients to post their photos on forum

[Mrworldguy]

I stayed in Frankfurt just for all of lengthening period , but there were a few patients who went home 2 weeks after surgery and came back when it was time to remove the frames , I decided to stay , the entire time of lengthening so my physiotherapy would be  included

[AnotherLLer]

IDK, my morning height is 167.5 cm and at the end of the day I measure 170 cm in 5 cm boots. So I lose an inch from morning to night.

PRECICE MAX is the safest bet for internal femurs when it comes out. Even regular PRECICE is much better than those mech nails like Guichet's or Betz's.

But, pure external for femur and being in frames for 10 months is brutal. So is LON femur which brings higher chances of deep bone infection.

I guess 2 inches is doable in pure external femurs if the frames are compact and doesn't interfere with movement. As femurs can be lengthened at 1 mm per day, 2 inches can be done in 50 days and recovery is much faster than tibia so for 2 inches you're gonna be in frames for about 150 days more which means 200 days in frames but at the end of the journey standing 2 additional inches taller and having better proportions. But, the issue is huge scars and decreased ROM. That's why pure internal for femurs is the best solution but costs huge sums of money unfortunately.

[Mrworldguy]

You don’t need to get internal nails for salamehfix you can just leave frames in for 10 months , and remember consolidation in femurs is always Alot faster than tibias , there was a guy from Russia who did 8cm on femurs and was only in frames for 8 months entire time of his journey

[AnotherLLer]

The problem with external femurs is that even the frames are compact enough to do it bilaterally, there's much greater discomfort compared with external tibia.

Also, ROM decreases a lot and doing physio with external frames on femurs is very hard. Muscle mass atrophies but it can be rebuilt after the frames removal with intense leg days.

The main issue is scarring with external femurs which look really bad.

As far as ROM goes, it can be restored after the frame removal with intense physio IMO.

In the end, external femur is going to be a really long journey until decent recovery to perform squats for example.

[Mrworldguy]

This is why I want to do femurs which I’ll have frames for 3 months and then I’ll have internal surgery in after , and frames will be fully removed after 3 months

[AnotherLLer]

So, you're going to do LATN femurs then which is more safe than LON femurs in terms of getting osteomyelitis.

IMO, if you're going to pay more than 20k Euro for that, you'd better wait and go to Turkey for PRECICE femur for about 40k USD and avoid those external frames at all.

I know that PRECICE is not weight bearing and being wheelchair bound is worse than having external frames on femurs and retaining the ability to walk due to weight bearing but in the end of the day, doing PRECICE and being wheelchair bound for about 4-5 months is much better than doing external femurs and avoiding wheelchair.

[Mrworldguy]

For me price is a big factor , I can put up with externals for 3 months if I must for femurs , while they are putting the externals on they are also putting inside the internals all in one surgery. It’s double the money to do price.

[AnotherLLer]

I understand that money is the issue for most of us, but if you end up with serious complications, you'll regret not waiting for a bit more in order to get it done with proper internal nails. That's why I'm saying that if money is an issue external tibia is by far the safest and cheapest solution for a quick 2-3 inch height and after that if one still feels the need to do femurs, it's better to start saving aggressively and do the surgery in the safest way possible which is fully internal for femurs.

Ostemoyelitis is not a joke and with pure externals on tibia you're much safe preventing it rather than doing LON on tibia or femur. So, PRECICE remains the safest option for femur lengthening ATM.

[Mrworldguy]

I know what you are saying , but I met some patients who did Salameh fix on femurs and they were happy with their outcomes

[AnotherLLer]

IDK man, after I lengthen tibia for 2.5-3.0 inches, I'll be in a situation where I have to either wait for 5+ years for internal femurs or risk with LON femur for that additional 2-2.5 inch gain in order to stand at solid 5'10-5'11 range and forget about LL. I will be able do LON femur in about 2 years after I recover from tibia, but I won't be able to afford PRECICE MAX till my late 30s.

It's very tempting to risk and gain that additional height as soon as you can when your only choice is LON femur, but I'm afraid of osteomyelitis like rabies and that's the sole reason I'm mentally against that option for now.

[Beemer m3]

ur frames looks pretty small compare to mines. i had a nail though. urs look comfortable to walk around and stuff. mine was pretty heavy.

[Wahnsinn]

22 k or 25 k EUR? I remember he used to be like 25 k EUR.