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[Versa]

I just had the surgery on Monday. Today is Wednesday. I would like to share some of my experience since there is nothing to do for me at the hospital right now.

Pain level was most intense when I first woke up from surgery room it was 8/10 to 9/10. It was so painful that I was shaking my body , in response the nurses told me they will inject me with pain killers soon . For a brief moment (like 10 minutes when I was in operating room) but

Pain level was drastically reduced when I got back to my room where 3-4 painkillers were administered.  Within a few hours , the pain level was reduced to 3/10. 

Since the second day, I am surprised to share with you guys that the pain level is almost 1/10 or I don’t feel any pain at all.

When I had pain before the first couple of hours.  I will try to describe the pain.  3-4/10. Firstly,  It felt like my tibia had a lot of pressure.  Maybe it was because the metal rod was inserted inside?  It felt like it wanted to come out from the bone.  Secondly , I felt like a stone was attached to my feet (well the fixator  actually bear some weight).  I have no pain from the fixator at all or the scars.  The only feeling is  instead a feeling of mere discomfort from the bulky fixator.

Since the pain is next to none for me from the first day, I actually was able to sleep. I feel very lucky about it. The pain for me is insignificant that I am even able to turn my body on the side a little bit, so  many YouTubers mentioned I have to sleep straight on the back does not apply in my case.

The experience so far is very good ( because no pain at all when I am even typing this ) I will keep updating .

[Kintaeryos]

I've heard external tibia LL is extremely painful, among the worst LL methods for pain, sounds like you were lucky. Also, for those first few hours was the pain really a 9? Like crying and moaning uncontrollably and unable to speak?

[overandover]

This is why I like spinal anesthesia. No pain for at least 24 hours. Best of luck and please keep updating.

[Versa]

I was on a pain level . 8/10 or 9/10 for 5-10 minutes. When they had to wake me up at the operation room. I didn’t scream, but I was shaking my body uncontrollably.  I guess I am  very lucky.  Their team is active in administrating pain killers, so it went down to 3/10 on my first day.

Right now 0/10 pain.  But I am staying on the bed now. I know IF I put pressure vertically on the legs now, there will be pain .  But I am not suppose to do that now. I will keep updating

[FritzX]

Keep us updated. Wish you the best man!

[Beemer m3]

How long did u waited for surgery and getting everything setup from the doctor? What's the food little? I'm curious what they are feeding you there.

[Kintaeryos]

What made you decide on tibia instead of femur?

[Versa]

Reply:
My initial consultation was two months before.  The food here is decent. It tastes good / they are korean food.
Reply:
I decided on Tibia because of my body proportion.  I am not content with my tibia. I think they are short. I have this mindset more than 20 years ago.

[wantingtobetaller]

I have been there for consultations.

IMO Dr. Donghoon is nice but workers there were not very friendly.
Additionally, I don't like the location of the clinic, it is pretty far from Seoul.

Also, that place is booked. In order to get the surgery there, I need to wait like at least a year.

[Versa]

https://imgur.com/a/OBGxpyj

[Beemer m3]

Dam going the old fashion way lol. I thought u had a long fixator beside ur tibia but it's ilizarov frames u did. How much was the cost?

[Versa]

Replies and update:
(1) Pain : post surgery day 3-4, pain level remains to be 2-3/10 even “Tibia Lon” old fashioned way
Reason I chose that is because I quickly read people’s choices and they cited it’s safer and reliable . But it causes more scars. Since scaring is not a big issue for me (personal choice only) I go with it for its reliableness.
Disclaimer : before I mentioned pain level was reduced to 1 or 2 out of 10. I want to describe what’s going on , my intuition.  Reasons of the lower pain than expected . Maybe due to (A) 3 different pain killers were administered in my case.  (B) Donghoon was a good “surgeon “ and able to cut into my bones effectively .  In fact, the surgery took faster than expected.  (C) I am just very Lucky.

More detail about the pain. Day 3-4. Now the pain switches to pain in the knees actually . It caused by the heavy fixators.  It feels like , as if , you hold a 30-40 pound dumbbell on the hands and do some house chores.  Your wrists / knees become sore.  It’s ok if you remain in the bed, but since it’s a few days post surgery and I need to get ready for training and moving around , I need to get used to it.  There are not much pain from the pain sites for me , it’s a surprise to me.  Instead it’s the knees .  But it’s still very manageable since bones are separated in the procedure ffs.

Additional points : I won’t disclose confidential info so some info I will not disclose. My purpose to write a diary is to provide info to the community . Mostly on Pain and first hand experience . Have a good day everyone. Keep updating later .

[Versa]

Reply: the staff here are very decent. My personal translator is also very good. In fact all people I faced in Seoul are relatively decent and supportive.  I am not favoring anyone , just point out the facts from my experience. Cheers

[Kintaeryos]

“Tibia Lon” old fashioned way
Reason I chose that is because I quickly read people’s choices and they cited it’s safer and reliable . But it causes more scars. Since scaring is not a big issue for me (personal choice only) I go with it for its reliableness.

You mean LON is more reliable for tibias than internal?

[Sigma]

You made my dream come true man. I wish you success in your journey. I'm will follow your diary

[gottabetaller]

I have been there for consultations.

IMO Dr. Donghoon is nice but workers there were not very friendly.
Additionally, I don't like the location of the clinic, it is pretty far from Seoul.

Also, that place is booked. In order to get the surgery there, I need to wait like at least a year.

Not true, I booked for next year last month ago

[Beemer m3]

they really do got some tall guys in korea. what are they doing over there. must be a genetic thing.

[peter07]

I have this mindset more than 20 years ago.

How old are you?

[Versa]

I need to update this post because I feel the need to correct some of my comments before.  I don’t want people reading it get the wrong idea.
To recapped the purpose of this post is mainly about my experience in pain during my Lon tibia surgery.
It has been 4.5 months since I posted
My ultimate height achieved is 7.1 cm
To make my points clear , and cut it short , I want to stress my points
Initially , as you can read from my initial post , the pain level sounded very encouraging .  In fact , it was , surprisingly, the first surgery except for the first 30 mins post op, it was …easy in pain.  Other than that, the first two months during lengthening was also 3/10, or sometimes even 2/10.
Nothing too special to talk about during the first two months except the first time when I stood which was about 3 weeks in.  I want to share there would be sharp pain when you first try to stand , it goes up to like 7-8/10. BUT! My first tip in this is Don’t force it , Don’t push yourself in the initially stand !  Because , what happened to me was 8/10 pain on one day, afterwards a few more days pass , my condition suddenly went up , and I could stand with 3-4/10 , and later it wasn’t painful. I guess it was because you need to let the “Calus” or at least the “softer bone to grow before you stand on it . I guess the pain of 8/10 came because there was nothing much inside at first , if you know what I mean , so don’t force it

[Versa]

For the first 2 months or so , I did rehab, doing the exercises , stretches guided by the PT, walking with walker, etc , everything was smooth, I spent 3-4 hours each day , and even did studying each day, chilling all the way . I even had good sleep like 8 hours average ,Until,,,
When you reach the 4cm or so stage….
No sharp pain don’t worry , But as all the people who done it would told you , the challenge comes post 4cm , and yep, it sure did ..
(1) you start to notice you can’t do the positions / exercises as before, and the “Tightness” comes to play , it adds to pain level so it was like 4/10 for me.  Sidenote, what I did was I tried to push exercises and one time I noticed my leg on one side was “shaking” while stretching … I ended up hurting part of the tendon , and I couldn’t do   no more for 1-2 weeks , so tip is watch your body when it shakes uncontrollably that’s body signal don’t push too hard..
(2) 4-5 cm stage, I recovered from the tendon injury, but with ever increasing tightness , the uncomfortable sensation I would say , doubles! My sleep average went down to 4-5 hours from then on, pain wise , if included the uncomfortableness / tightness, it was like 4-5/10
(3) 5-7cm stage, I simply couldn’t exercise as much , some days I honestly gave up , couldn’t do study, I just lay on bed to watch clips etc
Ballerina foot kind of thing would happen a little , due to tendon not catching up with the length.  Also, when you have less exercise for just a few hours , your legs and feet would feel like stone. Lastly, last month of my experience was sometimes quite painful, with the pin site / skin stretches, the knees which is a BIG part where uncomfortable and pain com from

Overall , I ‘d say if first month is 1.   The last month experience is 5 times worse.  If every month was like the last month, I would probably stopped at 3/4 cm 😂 lol


I feel like updating this because I was too optimistic initially. For those considering this procedure, all I can say is , YOU REALLY need great determination.  For me I am like 40 and ever since I was 15 I would wear shoes pads, you know , I have 25 years of determination. I don’t regret the procedure , but it’s definitely ONE hack of hassle and challenge to overcome . Tomorrow I will take my frames off , and I heard from people it is actually much more painful than the first surgery , I will update again soon .   
Good luck fellas~~~ Think not twice but think A lot more times before doing it.

[tempthrowaway]

I wonder how this compares to internals

Also wonder if going into the surgery with extreme flexibility would make a bit of a difference towards the end.