Limb Lengthening Forum
Limb Lengthening Surgery => Limb Lengthening Discussions => Topic started by: Heisenberg on March 29, 2023, 04:00:09 PM
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I am considering doing tibia surgery with Becker this year and potentially a femur surgery at the start of 2024 with the new Stryde nail. A big part of my decision is the impact the lengthening is going to have on my athleticism, running, skiing and etc. I’m only going for small amounts of 4-5 cm per segment and proportionality wise tibia surgery would look nicer on me.
I just really need your opinion (for those who have done either one or both) on whether tibia surgery would have more impact on the things mentioned rather than femur surgery.
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Why do you believe the new stryde will be available early 2024?
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Talked to Paley and emailed NuVasive.
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Talked to Paley and emailed NuVasive.
That's welcome news. Did they provide a specific release date or just tell you early 2024?
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Tibia is more complicated because you need to lengthen the fibular as well. Plus there can be trouble with the ACL.
The complication risk should be minimized if you stay within the 3-4 cm lengthening. What method does Becker use for Tibias?
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Whole forums overlooking this. New Stryde early 2024? Can anyone verify. thats a game changer
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Whole forums overlooking this. New Stryde early 2024? Can anyone verify. thats a game changer
yea my nuvasive rep told me they are working on a reinforced titanium nail. he said sometime in 2024 hopefully, but i think at this point we will only belive it when we actually see it
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Both are going to impact your athleticism and there's absolutely no guarantee unless you're very young that you will ever recover the same level of athleticism and frankly it's unlikely.
For most people this may not be super easy to perceive because most people aren't at their peak athleticism to begin with so if you have the surgery and train hard you may surpass even your previous level of athleticism before surgery but that's only because they weren't at their peak to begin with. If you are an athlete and you are closer to peak performance than the average person, be prepared to lose athleticism permanently. Lengthening, even at slow rates will induce some amount of muscle fibrosis and you will not be able to reverse that. There are some studies that show higher HGH/IGF-1 levels during lengthening can reduce this (i.e. young patients or via supplementation) but ultimately staying super athletic can't be your top priority with limb lengthening surgery. Don't get me wrong, you should aim to do everything you can to lose as little athleticism as possible, and be optimistic you will recover most of it, but it can't be your number one concern or you are setting yourself up for regret.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/S0736-0266(01)00002-X
(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/S0736-0266(01)00002-X) (this is a good read if you are interested)
Athletically, I think the biomechanics of proportions for the sport/activity you are interested in will play a role. Longer tibia are more efficient for running for example. In terms of recovery Tibia is a bit more delicate and can handle a lot less lengthening, a lot slower and there are more complications overall as you lengthen more.
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Both are going to impact your athleticism and there's absolutely no guarantee unless you're very young that you will ever recover the same level of athleticism and frankly it's unlikely.
For most people this may not be super easy to perceive because most people aren't at their peak athleticism to begin with so if you have the surgery and train hard you may surpass even your previous level of athleticism before surgery but that's only because they weren't at their peak to begin with. If you are an athlete and you are closer to peak performance than the average person, be prepared to lose athleticism permanently. Lengthening, even at slow rates will induce some amount of muscle fibrosis and you will not be able to reverse that. There are some studies that show higher HGH/IGF-1 levels during lengthening can reduce this (i.e. young patients or via supplementation) but ultimately staying super athletic can't be your top priority with limb lengthening surgery. Don't get me wrong, you should aim to do everything you can to lose as little athleticism as possible, and be optimistic you will recover most of it, but it can't be your number one concern or you are setting yourself up for regret.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/S0736-0266(01)00002-X
(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1016/S0736-0266(01)00002-X) (this is a good read if you are interested)
Athletically, I think the biomechanics of proportions for the sport/activity you are interested in will play a role. Longer tibia are more efficient for running for example. In terms of recovery Tibia is a bit more delicate and can handle a lot less lengthening, a lot slower and there are more complications overall as you lengthen more.
the one comment I would add to that is just that age is also a huge factor so if you are 17 most studies show "skeletally immature" or younger muscles adapt pretty well to lengthening
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yea my nuvasive rep told me they are working on a reinforced titanium nail. he said sometime in 2024 hopefully, but i think at this point we will only belive it when we actually see it
Yea it was meant to be late 2021 when they would have the nail out so can't really trust NuVasive.