Limb Lengthening Forum
Limb Lengthening Surgery => Limb Lengthening Discussions => Topic started by: ladodger52 on June 06, 2015, 09:23:32 PM
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I have 8 weeks of vacation time saved up, is it realistic to target let's say 5cm with Guichet and return to work after 2.5 months?
On his website, he says
"It is advised to wait 4 to 6 weeks before driving a car. Driving is often possible sooner but is not advised for several reasons.
Shopping or walking to restaurants can be resumed in the first week.
A patient may return to work within 2 to 6 months postoperatively for a lengthening of between 4 cm and 9 cm. The amount of time it will take to return to specific activities is dependent more on an individual patient than on absolute gain. For example, some patients tolerate a lengthening of up to 8 to 9 cm and can resume work 5 months after surgery, while others only moderately tolerate a 5 to 6 cm lengthening"
With that in mind, if I'm okay being on crutches for a period of time while at work, is returning to work after 2.5 months realistic after a 5cm gain?
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No, not realistic
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Nope. Also don't go into LL expecting the very best and the quickest results.
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5cm will take about 5-6 weeks to do (I got to 5cm in 5 weeks with Guichet, 7cm took almost 3 months because we slowed clicks down). That leaves 5 more weeks to recovery and practice walking. I'm not sure if full consolation would take place by that point (this is always a crapshoot, and is basically hereditary), but I think you could definitely be back to work in 2.5 months for 5cm, but you'd probably still be walking funny and still somewhat relying on crutches.
If I do more on femurs (like 2-2.5cm more), I'm hoping to bang that out and 2 weeks (the lengthening part), and then be back to work not too long after that. I'm told consolidation happens much faster for such a small amount.
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I think it is achievable but only with internals, no more than 5 cm, maybe even 4 cm, and with the help of crunches.
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Definitely possible, but yeah expect to still be on crutches when you return to work. Another thing - I'd try to get him to let you the pre-op training on your own so you don't have spend a month doing it there.