Topic: Koehne Diary 21/22 | Unilateral Tibia + Femur (Read 18303 times)

6CMFemurs · « **Reply #62 on:** December 12, 2021, 05:14:03 PM »

Glad to hear you have no pain. In terms of Stryde vs Precice, I think it is a double edged sword. Obviously with Stryde your life would be more normal, but Stryde would also be more painful since you would be weight bearing on your broken legs.

Btw, did you have develop any ballerina foot or knee contracture on your way to 3.5 CM tibia? How much PT did you do per day?

canterk · « **Reply #63 on:** December 12, 2021, 05:17:32 PM »

hi siegfried, since youre doing 1 leg at a time with precice, in total how long will you be in crutches? around 6 months or less?
by the way how often do you take x-rays?

thanks.

Siegfried · « **Reply #64 on:** December 12, 2021, 09:43:44 PM »

I have mild ballerina, nothing unusual. I have pt 2x a week and do about 10-20 min each day.

Knee contracture is fine atm.

In total, you will be in crutches for at least 8-9 months. X rays are taken every 2 weeks

Siegfried · « **Reply #65 on:** December 26, 2021, 11:52:02 AM »

Hey guys,

little update from my side. I have finished lengthening the tibia by 3.5cm and should be done with my femur, currently 3.7cm in 2-3 weeks, depending on how fast I do the distraction and If I take any breaks in between.

I have been off pain meds since about 3 weeks, however I might pick up on them again, since my hamstrings are starting to get tighter by the day.
My priority is looking as natural as possible and maintaining my athleticism, since sport is a very important factor in my life. For this reason, I will settle around a total lengthening of 8.5cm, which will be satisfying to me.

Siegfried · « **Reply #66 on:** January 05, 2022, 07:59:39 PM »

Update

3 months post Tibia - finished lengthening at 3.5 cm
2 Months post op Femur - currently at 4.3cm - goal: 5cm

Had another appointment today with Dr.Köehne, to check out my xrays. Everything seems pretty fine till now. Femur bone growth is doing pretty well, as a matter of fact Dr.Koehne recommended me to increase the daily lengthening from 0.7mm to 1mm, as there is a slight risk I would preconsolidate before I can finish the remaining 7mm.

canterk · « **Reply #67 on:** January 05, 2022, 09:00:54 PM »

8,5 cm is a good goal. I hope you can finish without any issues so you can be back to your athletic activities ! best of luck.

6CMFemurs · « **Reply #68 on:** January 05, 2022, 09:11:36 PM »

Glad to hear you are doing well. How are things going on crutches with the 3 inch discrepancy? Is it harder to deal with as you lengthen more, or have you gotten the hang of it?

Siegfried · « **Reply #69 on:** January 05, 2022, 10:08:28 PM »

Quote from: canterk on January 05, 2022, 09:00:54 PM

8,5 cm is a good goal. I hope you can finish without any issues so you can be back to your athletic activities ! best of luck.

Thanks, yeah athletic recovery is definitely a priority, so gonna be a little conservative with lengthening

Quote from: 6CMFemurs on January 05, 2022, 09:11:36 PM

Glad to hear you are doing well. How are things going on crutches with the 3 inch discrepancy? Is it harder to deal with as you lengthen more, or have you gotten the hang of it?

I wear an orthopaedic shoe with an 8cm lift on my shorter leg inside and outside of my apartment to compensate the discrepancy. The doctor recommended this, in order to prevent excess tightness and to be able to partially weightbear correctly with my operated leg.

Siegfried · « **Reply #70 on:** January 14, 2022, 03:08:30 PM »

i finished my the lengthening on my left leg 3 days ago, making me 8.5cm taller on that respective side. Will have an xray appointment with Dr.Koehne on wednesday to see how far my bone growth is doing.

Having finally completed the first half of my lengthening journey with 3.5cm on my tibia and 5cm on my femur, I can now look back and say it really was not that bad. Pain-wise only the first 2-3 weeks were intense, but overall pretty manageable with painkillers. After 4 weeks of my femur surgery I was able to stop taking all my painkillers. If this partly due to my conservative lengthening I cant say, maybe I would have resumed my painkillers If I had tried 7-8cm on femurs.

The reason I had such an easy time was for the most part my pre-surgery flexibility. Having practiced yoga and having done solely cardio for the past years, gave me an extreme advantage going into lengthening. I can't stress it enough how important pre-surgery flexibility is for all future LLers.

6CMFemurs · « **Reply #71 on:** January 18, 2022, 08:07:44 PM »

Hey Siegfried, congrats on finishing! How is your ballerina foot at this point. Hope you have been able to enjoy life a little bit on crutches! Have you driven since the operation?

Siegfried · « **Reply #72 on:** January 19, 2022, 06:56:25 PM »

Thx for asking 6cm. I had another checkup with the Doc today. Im 1 week into femur consolidation and about 1 month into tibia consolidation.

Bonegrowth is happening at a steady rate. However the doc thinks i should be able to weightbear in 6-8 weeks. Then we could go ahead with the next surgery for the right side. So I guess it wont happen before April.

Quote from: 6CMFemurs on January 18, 2022, 08:07:44 PM

Hey Siegfried, congrats on finishing! How is your ballerina foot at this point. Hope you have been able to enjoy life a little bit on crutches! Have you driven since the operation?

Dr. Koehne examined me today and complimented me on my flexiblity, so I guess the Ballerina has basically resolved.

indication · « **Reply #73 on:** January 27, 2022, 12:52:15 PM »

Can you please post some pics and videos of you standing or walking or sitting? I badly want to see how a 8.5cm difference looks like. thanks

randy · « **Reply #74 on:** March 27, 2022, 06:55:23 PM »

Can you share where you lived during the distraction phase? Did you stay in Pullach (near Kohne) or in Munich or somewhere else? Was it easy to travel and meet Kohne for follow ups? How did you travel (train or car or ...)? Did you have a caretaker or family member with you?

Your journey is very inspiring to me as I don't want to use a wheelchair either. I am not German so I am a bit apprehensive about whether I can travel easily around Pullach and Munich without knowing the language.

Siegfried · « **Reply #75 on:** April 01, 2022, 10:00:49 AM »

Im German, so i was able to stay with my parents in the north during this time. It takes me about 5-6 hours by train to get to the dr for follow-ups. Travelling to follow ups is no problem.

randy · « **Reply #76 on:** April 01, 2022, 11:02:04 AM »

Quote from: Siegfried on April 01, 2022, 10:00:49 AM

Im German, so i was able to stay with my parents in the north during this time. It takes me about 5-6 hours by train to get to the dr for follow-ups. Travelling to follow ups is no problem.

Thanks.

1. Were you traveling alone for follow-ups?
2. Did you use a wheelchair in the train or just walker/crutches?
3. From the train station to Kohne's clinic is about 2km right? (I checked on Google maps) How did you travel that distance? In Munich it is easy to get a cab, but Pullach is a bit remote right?
4. For an international patient looking to follow your footsteps, would you recommend staying in central Munich or in Pullach?
5. Do people speak in English in Pullach and Munich?

Siegfried · « **Reply #77 on:** April 01, 2022, 02:22:48 PM »

1) yes
2) no, crutches always
3) from the train station to Koenes main practice in Pullach its about 400m. From munich main station, Pullach is a 20min ride with the public transportation train
4) Maybe stay there for 2-3 weeks. After that you will have follow ups 1x month. Pullach is basically in München, its just on the outskirts and very easy to get to.
5) I wouldnt know, i think they do speak some english there, I dont think it should be a problem for international patients.

Limbfan2020 · « **Reply #78 on:** April 03, 2022, 02:36:13 PM »

Hi Siegfried, when do you plan to do the other side?

Siegfried · « **Reply #79 on:** April 03, 2022, 04:42:36 PM »

Surgery is scheduled in 6 weeks.

randy · « **Reply #80 on:** April 04, 2022, 02:22:07 PM »

1. Sorry if this sounds like a silly question. Did you travel the 400m from the station to Kohne's office with crutches?
2. Germany has great sick leave policies. But they require the doctor to write a note to your employer. Did Kohne agree to do this for you? I am thinking of finding a job in Germany to keep myself preoccupied but if things get too hard I would like to use the country's leave policies.
3. If there are complications from LL does insurance cover it?
4. Do you mind sharing your xrays?
5. Now that you are almost ready for your next surgery, is your lengthened leg completely weight bearing? Can you stand it? How is your mobility at this stage?
6. Do you know approximately how many Precice surgeries Kohne has conducted?
7. Did you also consider going to Baumgart also in Munich who I think taught Kohne?

Sorry for so many questions Siegfried, hope you do not mind.

Siegfried · « **Reply #81 on:** April 05, 2022, 01:48:46 PM »

1) yes
2) im Self-employed, so I can’t answer this
3) yes, you are required to pay for an insurance for this surgery. Costs around 600€
4) maybe at a later time
5) yes it’s nearly fully healed and I can weight bear
6) I don’t know, however he has been operating with precise since 2013/14
7) no I have not

randy · « **Reply #82 on:** April 05, 2022, 03:46:35 PM »

Thank you Siegfried.

Which hospital does he operate in? Do you have to check-in early morning of the surgery?

germanlim · « **Reply #83 on:** April 05, 2022, 06:52:49 PM »

The surgery is in Penzberg. U can come the evening before surgery i think or early Morning same day like me

randy · « **Reply #84 on:** April 05, 2022, 07:28:47 PM »

Quote from: germanlim on April 05, 2022, 06:52:49 PM

The surgery is in Penzberg. U can come the evening before surgery i think or early Morning same day like me

Oh it is not in Munich then. Can you tell me the name of the hospital in Penzberg as well if you do not mind?
Since it is in a different city, train is the best mode of getting there?

Siegfried · « **Reply #85 on:** April 05, 2022, 09:52:40 PM »

There is only one hospital in Penzberg. Yes, you can get there by train. You can get anywhere by train in Germany.

randy · « **Reply #86 on:** April 07, 2022, 04:36:57 AM »

It is Klinikum Penzberg then

Siegfried, how are the scars on your knee? Did the doctor do retrograde insertion for the femurs? So he went through the knee twice? I am curious how the knee scars look like because they cannot be hidden.

Siegfried · « **Reply #87 on:** April 07, 2022, 11:17:33 AM »

There is a 2-3cm horizontal line on the knee, but its barely noticeably at this point. Scars are not a big deal with internals. They heal very well in general.
he went through the knee once for the tibia. For the femur he went via the hip.

randy · « **Reply #88 on:** April 07, 2022, 04:57:43 PM »

Can you give some details about the 600 Euros insurance Siegfried? Which company/plan? I want to check if the company will cover this with any surgeon in Germany for LL. Thanku

gigaki · « **Reply #89 on:** April 12, 2022, 10:27:35 PM »

Hi, At what point of your tibia lengthening did you develop the mild ballerina foot? Also, did you notice after how many cm did you start feeling tight?

Siegfried · « **Reply #90 on:** April 13, 2022, 10:15:40 AM »

im not sure you can even call it mild ballerina. usually comes around 3cm and depends how fast you distract.

randy · « **Reply #91 on:** April 14, 2022, 07:45:08 PM »

Quote from: randy on April 07, 2022, 04:57:43 PM

Can you give some details about the 600 Euros insurance Siegfried? Which company/plan? I want to check if the company will cover this with any surgeon in Germany for LL. Thanku

in Germany if you have statutory public health insurance will that cover complications from LL?

can you tell the name of this 600 Euros private insurance? Is it specifically linked to Kohne or all German doctors? I think its great to have this kind of coverage.

Siegfried · « **Reply #92 on:** April 15, 2022, 07:53:44 PM »

i dont know the name right now. but you can email them and ask. no public health insurance does not cover complications from a cosmetic surgery.

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Author Topic: Koehne Diary 21/22 | Unilateral Tibia + Femur (Read 18303 times)