Limb Lengthening Forum
Limb Lengthening Surgery => Limb Lengthening Patients Experiences => Topic started by: Chris on December 12, 2016, 10:33:45 PM
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Hello everyone :)
It's finally time for my own LL experience and this is going to be a diary about my journey to become taller.
About me
I'm male and my current height is 161cm.
My leg-to-height ratio is 0.48 which means that I'm short and leggy to begin with.
My goal is to become 169cm which will increase my leg-to-height to 0.50.
For esthetical reasons, I'll make sure to never exceed this ratio.
I'm a graduate studend who doesn't want to wait for LL until his best years are over.
So, for budget reasons, I will do externals (LON) only and look for a cheap, but yet reliable place to have my surgery done.
I want to do quadrilateral lengthening, but it's hard to find good doctors who would do it.
New Delhi and the ISIC - first impressions
A cheap, but yet reliable place seems to be the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC) of New Delhi.
It's a reputable government-funded hospital and they only employ doctors who can do their jobs well.
Their core speciality is spinal services, but they can do all kinds of orthopaedics like fracture fixation (nailing and plating).
They know how to lenghten legs, because they do it for people who have lost a few centimeters due to accidents.
Generally, the don't like to do cosmetic surgeries, because from a medical point of view, those people are healthy.
But they will do cosmetic leg lenghtenig if you come up with a good reason like in my case: daily discrimination due to short stature.
Their philosophy is to restore hope in a life worth living.
To this date, they have done cosmetic leg lenghtening only twice (and Tolly of this forum was indeed one of them).
But they have had many more people coming for consultation.
The main orthopaedic surgeon for leg lenghtening is Dr. Deepak Raina. He works as a team with Dr. Surbhit Rastogi who is specialized in pediatric orthopaedics and trauma. But I haven't met Dr. Deepak yet, though. I only met Dr. Surbhit today, because Dr. Deepak has gone on leave till thurstady.
I received an email from the ISIC, informing me that my long-awaited appointment for today got canceled, when I literally had just checked in to my flight to India :o >:( :'( (many emotions).
So I quickly replied to them that I was already on my way to India and asked for another doctor. It took me weeks to finally get an appointment from the hospital, but this time, they were very responsive and offered me an appointment with Dr. Surbhit Rastogi. I was relieved.
I hadn't been to India before and when I left the I.G.I. Airport, seeing New Delhi was quite a shock to me:
The sky is always grey and sometimes even brown. The air stinks terribly. The soil is littered, The traffic is what I considder mayhem. It's also very loud, there are little to no sidewalks or ways to safely cross a street. And when you have walked for ten minutes, you probably saw five guys urinating against walls and bushes. And all those skinny stray dogs everywhere - poor things :'(
The people are mostly nice to foreigners though, but some pickpocket had opened my backpack when I was unsing the subway.
Nothing stolen though, because I keep everything hidden and difficult to reach or leave it in my hotel.
This is the surrounding you're getting into, if you opt for a surgery in New Delhi - be warned!
In contrast to it, the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre is in a somewhat more quiet and save area.
The Hospital itself is clean and organized. The staff was very friendly and allways helpful to me, even when I had to ask for directions twice.
If you are new to the ISIC, you will have to register first in the OPD (even with an appointment). In order to do so, you will have to follow the sign that says "Orthopaedics" and then you will have to turn to the counter that has something like OPD payments written on it. I can't remember the exact words, but this is basicly what you have to look for. There is no sign or hint at all, that you can also register. So this info might be a little helpful, if any one of you every wanted to go there ;) Appart from that, everything is like I already said: organized. Once you have made it through the quite simple registration process, you will have to pay for "Registration" (150 INR) and "First Consultaion" (900 INR). You will be given a folder for all the future documents, a "Patient Identification Card" and a deteiled cash receipt. Then they will tell you a room number (1 to 5) and you just go there and give your ID card to whoever is standing in front of it. The you will have to wait some time until the call you by name. I arrived in time for my appointment and had to wait for just about 10 minutes.
Dr. Surbhit Rastogi was very friendly and open to me. His English is very good, but I'm not a nativ speaker, so maybe you could think otherwise.
He explained the hole LL process, the possible complicantions and prognosis to me and he told me about their two former LL patients and even offered me to meet one of them.
What I'm not so happy about: He told me that he considders quadrilateral as too dangerous and Dr. Deepak will probably think the same way about it :'(
Furthermore, Dr. Surbhit thinks that only LATN is possible, because they don't use or have any long nails. This would double the costs because of two surgeries. And I would definitely have to come back to India for a second time to get my nails in. Locking the LON-nails is something my doctor at home could do as well, but inserting the nails at home is too pricy. According to Tolly (who is a proven former patient) both LON and LATN were possble.
So in the end Dr. Surbhit offered me to come back on friday when Dr. Deepak has returned from his vacation. It will be a second "first consultation" free of charge and we will talk about things like LON again and plan my surgery together. I wouldn't have minded paying 900 INR again since it's "just" ~12.56 Euros, but it was a very kind gesture :D
In a nutshell: I dind't get what I want (for now), New Delhi stinks and everything is taking longer then I had anticipaded.
The ISIC and Dr. Surbit seem highly trustworthy and gave me an overall good first inmpression. Looking forward to finally meet Dr. Deepak.
Here is a picture of the ISIC's lobby that I took:
(https://s23.postimg.org/uqinp5h6v/IMG_5050_2.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/uqinp5h6v/)
I will write more on Friday, wish me luck regarding LON, beacuse LATN only would interfere with my plans.
Until then, I will use the time to find another cheap and reliable doctor who could do LON, just in case...
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Best of luck.
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Best wishes.
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hiii buddy, are you from india?, I am also want to do LON and I am Researching about LL from 2 years and I have also met many doctors in Delhi Dr sringari, Dr sarin and dr mansih dhawan. At the end i have decided to go with sarin because he is more experienced than others. so If you also want to do LON than do it together with sarin and If you are interested to do it with me then send me the msg and I will send you the address of DR sarins guest house in gurgaon and I will meet you there and within next week i will be there to take surgery date.
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Thanks, IwannaBeTaller and onemorefoot :)
@ajay: If you read my diary, you will see that I'm clearly not from India ;)
Edit: Sorry for all the spelling errors in my first post. Next time I'll make sure to have spell check turned on :P
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okk fine
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December 16th, 2016
Today I finally had my consultation with Dr. Deepak.
Dr. Surbhit and the rest of the team where there, too, so the office became kinda crowded :D
But despite so many people, the atmosphere remained pleasant throughout entire conversation.
To my relief, it turned out that LON is absolutely possible for both, tibia and femur.
Dr. Deepak and his team merely prefer LATN over LON to keep the risk of FES at a minimum.
Like Dr. Surbhit had already warned me about, Dr. Deepak advised me to stay the hell away from quadrilateral lengthening.
The reasons are a high risk of FES (which I already knew about and was fine with it) and an extremely high risk of severe and permanent nerve damage (which was new to me).
On average, the permanent nerve damage is very likely to happen, when the speed of lengthening (for tibia and femur combined) is faster than 2mm per day.
In the end, Dr. Deepak and Dr. Surbhit convinced me to go for bilateral lengthening and then went on planning the treatment with me.
My planned treatment is divided into three stages (I-III):
I. Bilateral tibia and nailing (monorail, LON)
II. Locking the nails + bilateral femur and nailing (monorail, LON)
III. Locking the nails
The estimated final costs will be 966.000 INR, which is about 13.500 Euros.
This is for all four segments and a total of 13 days of (minimum) hospital stay in a one-bed room.
If you don't want to fly home for lengthening or live in a hotel, the rent for a one-bed room is 9625 INR per day (that's ~136EUR/142USD per day).
My advice regarding hotels in New Delhi
If you're planning to stay in a hotel for the time of lengthening, NEVER EVER go to any of those countless hotels which have "NH8" in their address. This means National Highway 8.
It's VERY noisy, the smog and smell is the strongest (even inside the hotels), there are absolutely no sidewalks, most hotels claim to have elevators but they fail to mention that you actually have to take the stairs in order to reach them!
Go to "higher standard hotels" instead like Novotel, IBIS, etc. which are located in "Aerocity" between the IGI Airport and the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre.
Yes, they are a little more expensive, but they are still half the prize of a tiny one-bed room in the ISIC and much more comfortable to live in.
In addition to it, it's a more secure area, there are ATM's and a metro station linked directly to the airport.
December 20th, 2016
My stage-1 surgery was planned for today, but it has to be postponed, because my bank has been refusing to transfer money to the ISIC's overseas account for no f*ing reason and they didn't even care to inform me >:(
I have to fly back home in order to take legal actions against my bank.
December 22nd, 2016
Finally, my money got transferred today - Yay!
My bank has caused me ~850 Euros of expenses for flying home and back again >:(
Luckily, I have legal costs insurance. They will take care of it.
I have contacted the ISIC and am waiting for a new confirmed date for my stage-1 surgery.
I will write again once I've been re-admitted into the ISIC...
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Good luck man! Looking forward to this! :)
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I am glad you decided against doing both segments at the same time.
Good luck!
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Good luck man! Take the journey with German stoicism! ;)
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Good luck man! Looking forward to this! :)
Thanks!
I am glad you decided against doing both segments at the same time.
Good luck!
Yea, I'm somewhat desperate and I wanted too much.
Possibly dying from FES is one thing, but going through all this s*it, just to end up crippled afterwards would be a waste.
I can see it now.
Good luck man! Take the journey with German stoicism! ;)
Haha, I'm far from that stereotype ;D
First my appointment got canceled while I was on my flight to India, then my plane almost had to land in Mumbai instead of Delhi, then India's currency reform left me with almost no available cash and finally my bank refused to transfer the money without any legal basis. I really wonder what will come next :P
But I won't brake for anything put on my road to the first surgery now 8)
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Hey mate, awesome to hear you've started your journey! I've been looking at the same place as well and best of all I want to do the same procedure. Are you lengthening 4cms on each segment? and how long to do you think it will take to recover in order to return home? because I'm currently trying to figure out how long I will be away from home in order to complete LL.
Thanks
Hype88
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Hey mate, awesome to hear you've started your journey! I've been looking at the same place as well and best of all I want to do the same procedure. Are you lengthening 4cms on each segment? and how long to do you think it will take to recover in order to return home? because I'm currently trying to figure out how long I will be away from home in order to complete LL.
Thanks
Hype88
Hello Hype :)
After the first surgery, I will lengthen my femurs 4,5cm. And after the second surgery, I will lengthen my right tibia 4cm and my left one 4.5cm which is shorter by 5mm.
Approx. 5 days after each surgery I will leave the hospital and fly home for the time of lengthening and go to a local clinic where I can have my weekly checkups and the final locking of the nails in my tibias.
I'm having a multiple entry visa for 6 month so I can enter and leave the country as I please.
If I had to stay in India, I would plan for 173 days, which is almost 6 month and takes into account very slow lengthening and complications.
I just hope that I won't run out of time, because after some legal fight with my bank at home, my money finally got transferred to the State Bank of India (I know it's there), but now the ISIC has emailed me back and told me that they have "some problem getting confirmation" from their bank and that they will contact me again asap :'(
I assume this is because of the holidays and new year, or just because it is India, I don't know. Everything seems so incredibly slow here.
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Nice man! sounds like you've got a lot planned, must be super exciting haha. If you don't mind me asking, where is home for you? That's handy having one of those visa's, I actually didn't know you could get something like that. So roughly 6 months away is a long time to be away especially being a foreigner and have your own business arghh...
Yeah, I read that! it's such an inconvenience when your on a visa! I've had similar circumstances dealing with overseas trading but I'm your probably right because it's the end of the year.
What's the facilities like where your staying? have you met any other LL patients over there?
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Nice man! sounds like you've got a lot planned, must be super exciting haha. If you don't mind me asking, where is home for you? That's handy having one of those visa's, I actually didn't know you could get something like that. So roughly 6 months away is a long time to be away especially being a foreigner and have your own business arghh...
Yeah, I read that! it's such an inconvenience when your on a visa! I've had similar circumstances dealing with overseas trading but I'm your probably right because it's the end of the year.
What's the facilities like where your staying? have you met any other LL patients over there?
I live in Europe. Every European citizen - and many more nationalities as I remember - can have a long term visa, which makes India a bit more easy to get into for LL than Russia.
But you might have to show the Immigration Office some travel plans first if you ask for more than 2 entries.
The facilities are very clean. The look and the sizes of the rooms are below western standards of course, but it's still okay to be in there.
I had been admitted for half a day before I realized that my bank didn't transfer the money, so I can tell.
I haven't seen the operation theater yet, but it is supposed to be top notch (by western standards).
And no, I haven't met any LLers at the ISIC and I probably won't. They offered me to meet one of their two former patients who are both Indians, which I kindly refused. I'll be their first international LL-patient.
Two LLers doesn't sound like much experience at first, but according to them, they are doing it quite often, just on one leg.
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That's handy then! To you need to have travel plans? I would have thought the Dr would write a letter or something in regards to your reason for visiting?
Oh, it's better than nothing though...Good to hear! I'm excited to follow your journey.
Really? I thought you would have been interested in meeting people you've gone a head of you, maybe get some tips & advice from them? what was your reasoning for turning down the chance to meet them? mmm...That doesn't sound a lot at all...
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That's handy then! To you need to have travel plans? I would have thought the Dr would write a letter or something in regards to your reason for visiting?
Oh, it's better than nothing though...Good to hear! I'm excited to follow your journey.
Really? I thought you would have been interested in meeting people you've gone a head of you, maybe get some tips & advice from them? what was your reasoning for turning down the chance to meet them? mmm...That doesn't sound a lot at all...
Some clinics do not write invitation letters for medical visa. So a long-term visa for tourists (preferably for multiple entries) is the only option.
The Immigration Office didn't want any travel plans from me, but I know that they requested travel plans from someone I personally know (US citizenship) after he had applied for "3 times entry" visa.
And regarding meeting former patients of the ISIC: It was a very kind offer - no question about it, but I already know enough to pull trough (I even know how to solve the underwear issue ;D)
Plus privacy is important to me and I don't want anyone to visit me after LL, so it would be unfair to take advantage of it.
It's not a lot because Dr. Deepak doesn't really like to do cosmetic LL surgeries for ethical reasons. However, he and his team have been performing a lot of leg lengthening for non-cosmetic reasons. They really seem to know what they are doing. I trust them enough to have my surgery with Dr. Deepak and in addition, I have a great doctor at home who will look after me too :)
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Oh yeah I know what you mean now man! let me know how you get because I might see you over there in a couple of months depending on who I choose. In saying that do you have the Dr's direct email? ill swing him an email and see whats up
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Oh yeah I know what you mean now man! let me know how you get because I might see you over there in a couple of months depending on who I choose. In saying that do you have the Dr's direct email? ill swing him an email and see whats up
There are no direct email addresses (that I'm aware of), they somehow prefer to call everyone.
But you can email the Front Office and ask them to forward questions or to schedule an appointment. That's what I did.
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Chris, hows the doc's & staff english? also would u do me a favor and ask what cm max they would do on tib and femur? Thx
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Chris, hows the doc's & staff english? also would u do me a favor and ask what cm max they would do on tib and femur? Thx
I wrote about their English in my first post.
Dr. Deepak has the same "save" limits as everyone else.
He will explain everything to you. As a doctor, your safety and good results are his priority.
But he will also let you do whatever you want with your body if you choose to ignore him.
The user named "tolly" has lengthened 8cm on tibia with him.
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Short Update
My money finally arrived at the ISIC's account on January 7th, but it took the Billing Office till Friday 20th to confirm the transaction.
I had to "push" several times. I kindly asked them to also provide me a new date for my surgery so that I could book my flight to India accordingly.
But the Billing Office choose to ignore it completely.
Gonna write an email to the Front Office now, but it looks like I will have to start over again, which means flying to New Delhi, having an appointment with Dr. Deepak during his regular OPD hours and then waiting for my surgery for several days while living in a hotel ::)
So far, I've lost 6 weeks of my precious time due to no/slow transactions, holidays and bureaucracy :(
Learn from my mistakes and bad luck so that it won't happen to you!
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That's unfortunate. From a positive side though, at least you had 6 additional weeks with the surgery in front of you to decide if it is really, really, really worth it to you. If people will judge you in the future for having done this surgery, they at least can't accuse you of not having thought it through.
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So, the ISIC has my money, but I still haven't got a reply from neither the Billing Office nor the Front Office.
This really pisses me off, so I'm going to fly to New Delhi without an appointment on Sunday and ask them directly what's going on.
Seriously, staff is quite nice once you are at their hospital, but communication over the internet is just atrocious, even if you fill out their official forms online. /rant
Let's just face it, I've lost a great deal of time.
The new semester is around the corner and I have made it nowhere with LL yet.
I don't even know what will happen when I'm in India again next week, but I just can't wait any longer.
Now I (and my parents agree *lol*) have come to the conclusion that unilateral lengthening might be a solution to my lack of time and upcoming obligations.
I'm seriously considering this now. I've been thinking about doing 5cm (LON) on my left tibia first which is 5mm shorter than my right one. Then, when the upcoming semester is over, I would do 4.5cm (LON) on my right tibia. And after one more semester (after graduation) I would have the time again to do both femurs (4-5cm) at the same time.
Unilateral lengthening is a bit more costly and much more time consuming of course, but at least it would allow me to became taller while studying and taking part in life with reduced mobility. I would just have to wear different shoe inlays (1-4.5cm) while lengthening and an orthopedic shoe with a lift for a few month until the second surgery.
And the more I think about it, it would also reduce the risk of complications that often arise from weight-bearing, since one leg is always healthy/partly healed.
Okay, that's it for today. Just wanted to write down how my thinking is changing over time. This is supposed to be a diary after all :P
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You should check the time zones and use a paycard to India to call them. I would advice against the unilateral lengthening. You run more risk every time you go under the knife so that's increasing your chances even if it reduces complications after. Say that particular day you go again someone is off their game and you get a major complication. Not to mention how wierd it will feel. I guess I say from my perspective of wanting to hide from my family. If I came home like that they would know that I did some fked up crap but I see that your parents are supportive so that's good.
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That's an interesting idea Chris...but do you think it would be embarassing walking around at your Uni with a 5 cm shoe inlay on only one leg? Cheers.
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Chris, do you know if is recommended to use LON+ Unilateral device for someone who is overweighted??? I think the unilateral device alone is not good idea for someone like me, but plus a nail it could keep the bone straight.
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You are gonna do this in like a couple of years if at all. You can lose the weight before then you little chubster.
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Will try
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Hey guys :)
Sorry for not replying. I was quite busy, because I had my first LL surgery with Dr. Deepak and his team on last Thuesday.
Things weren't going as smooth for me as I was hoping for, but I'm feeling quite better now, and so I will continue my diary.
Gonna write some text today or tomorrow and will upload some pictures.
I'll be leaving the hospital on Monday morning.
Please don't ask me to forward any questions to Dr. Deepak as he went on leave today and I won't see him again until I will have returned to New Delhi for frames removal.
Also, for some unknown reason I'm currently not having spell check turned on on this notebook, so please excuse any future errors.
You should check the time zones and use a paycard to India to call them. I would advice against the unilateral lengthening. You run more risk every time you go under the knife so that's increasing your chances even if it reduces complications after. Say that particular day you go again someone is off their game and you get a major complication. Not to mention how wierd it will feel. I guess I say from my perspective of wanting to hide from my family. If I came home like that they would know that I did some fked up crap but I see that your parents are supportive so that's good.
They got my emails and were expecting to see me on Monday. I got my appointment quite late on Saturday, but I would have gone to Dr. Deeplak's OPD hours regardless.
That's an interesting idea Chris...but do you think it would be embarassing walking around at your Uni with a 5 cm shoe inlay on only one leg? Cheers.
Nope, but I'm quite open about doing LL and most people arround me already know about my plans. Dr. Deepak convinced me to go for bilateral btw, so I didn't do unilateral in the end.
Chris, do you know if is recommended to use LON+ Unilateral device for someone who is overweighted??? I think the unilateral device alone is not good idea for someone like me, but plus a nail it could keep the bone straight.
I think that unilateral could be better for overweighted persons. But it always debends on the fixateur and the nail beeing used in the end. Some nails are made of ~5-6% titanium alloy, maybe you will have to order special ones. The diamenter of the nail is also important ofcourse, but I only got one with 8.x mm (kinda the thinnest ) but still they are supposed to be fully weight-bearing and I'm approx. 60kg.
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Hey Chris,
Its good to hear that they finally operated on you. Your journey begins now. :D
Looking forward to your updates.
TS
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good luck , all my best you are smart 8)
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Good luck, be sure to keep us updated!
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January 30th, 2017
My flight to New Delhi got delayed, but when I arrived, I still had about 1 hour left to make it to the ISIC in time.
I left the airport and everything was there again: grey sky, smelly air and foul taxi fares for white men in India.
The first driver had the balls to ask me for 1800 Rs :D I instantly felt like I was back again.
Finally, I got to my appointment about 15 mintes late, but who cares, I just travelled around half the world to see dr. Deepak and his team.
They already expected me and said that I could have my first surgery tomorrw and be admitted into the hospital immediately.
So I got myself admitted and later canceled my hotel booking (remember: better stay away from hotels having "NH-8" in their address).
There was no single room available at the time, so I got a deluxe single room for the same price :D
This is a picture of the deluxe single room:
(https://s27.postimg.org/jbgjhqh7n/IMG_5239.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/ywxv1ot5r/) (https://postimage.org/index.php?lang=german)
Single rooms are basically the same, they are just smaller and do not have a sofe where your attendant could sleep on.
And here is a picture of the bathroom:
(https://s27.postimg.org/ywg16zw0j/IMG_5245.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/7ym459bdb/) (https://postimage.org/index.php?lang=german)
There is nothing to complain about the food. You get tea, breakfast, lunch, soup and dinner.
The doctors told me that I could have my nutrition changed if I don't like Indian food or if I was allergic to anything.
(https://s23.postimg.org/ub5g4dzi3/IMG_5243.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/9e97zq1h3/) (https://postimage.org/index.php?lang=german)
The Sisters and the Ward Boys are professional and always kind and helpful. They have been looking after me regularly.
The doctors look after me once a day.
Everyone speaks English except for some Ward Boys.
Internet (Wifi) could be set up at an additional cost of 250Rs per day and per device (mobile + notebook = 500Rs).
TV is for free and mostly in English. Untill now, I haven't used my notebook for watching movies even once.
When your cables/wires aren't long enough, you can ask the Ward Boys to bring an extention.
I spent the rest of the day having examinations.
I was glad and especially relieved that I could finally have my first surgery. But I also was a bit nervous...
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January 31th, 2017 - The Day of Surgery - Part 1
It’s about 06:30 in the morning. I’ve just managed to fall asleep somehow when the door of my room opens and the lights turn on.
Two sisters (nurses) and one of the ward boys come in telling me that my surgery is now scheduled for 08:00 AM and that I should be ready for transportation by 07:30 AM.
I’m given a blue patient gown and disposable underwear from the ward boy.
The underwear is made of plastic and reminds me of diaper.
One sister approaches me for checking my blood pressure, while the other sister is handing me the agreement form to sign which will allow the doctors to perform the surgery.
As quickly as they have raided my room, the sisters leave again.
The ward boy stays to assist me with taking a shower and getting dressed.
I decline his offer telling him that I still can shower and dress myself :) and kindly ask him to return sometime later.
Being alone again, I calmly get up, take a shower and get dressed.
I still have 25 minutes left after that and take a seat on my bed again.
The shower has made me feel awake for now and have time to think.
Most of my thoughts are too personal to share, but things that I’m comfortable to share are the following:
“So this is it.”
“Am I really doing this right now?”
“So much hard work for this very moment.”
“I didn’t imagine it to be like this.”
“So much trouble until now, I hope that everything will be fine from here on.”
“I hope I didn’t forget about anything important.”
“I wish I wouldn’t have to do this.”
“I need this surgery, no matter what, and there is no way for me to turn back now.”
“I’m feeling sleepy again, but oh well, they will knock me out later anyway :)”
My mind and my body are calm now and I’m accepting the situation.
I’m thirsty and a little hungry but I’m not allowed to eat or drink anything. The disposable underwear feels uncomfortable.
The door of my room opens and a sister comes in again.
She has a syringe with her and says that she has to test my skin for traces of LSD :D
I tell her that I have not taken any drugs secretly, but she keeps on insisting.
They had a case with another patient lately who had taken that drug before their surgery which is why the sisters are now ordered to “skin-test” everyone.
At around 07:30 AM the door opens once more and two ward boys come in bringing a wheeled stretcher with them.
I’m told to lay on it.
They provide me with a pillow and a blanket and fasten belts around my legs and my upper body. Finally, let’s roll…!
…or not yet, because suddenly, one of the sisters rushes into my room informing us that I will have to wait for the surgery a little longer due to technical difficulties.
Oh my God, this is not happening!
I ask the sister to specify “technical difficulties” but she doesn’t know.
Becoming a little frustrated I get off the stretcher and sit on my bed again.
It takes about 40 minutes until I can finally lay on the stretcher again.
But it’s for real this time.
I’m carried to the area where the surgeries are being performed and put in some kind of waiting room.
More waiting and even more unwanted time for me to think, yay! ::)
There is a group of doctors and nurses standing at the entrance.
I can hear them having parts of their conversation in English.
One of the men’s father has just passed away and he thinks about quitting his medical carrier so he could help his family and follow in his father’s footsteps.
There is crying involved and I’m watching.
There is another wheeled stretcher to my left side. A middle-aged Indian lady is lying on it, constantly whispering her prayers.
Too much depression and anxiety around me. It makes me think about my own not so happy life.
I’m feeling depressed now.
Then the group dissolves and they take the praying woman with them.
The guy who is about to end his carrier comes to my bed, I can clearly see in his eyes that he was crying too.
He asks me about my condition, and explains to me what is going to happen next.
He then disappears like everyone else.
I’m alone now. I’m a little depressed, and all this waiting has finally made me nervous :(
About 15 minutes later, Dr. Deepak and his team and the anesthetist appear on the scene.
They come to me and we talk about what is going to happen from the doctors’ perspective.
After that, and like it should have been from the very beginning, it all happens very quickly.
I’m finally carried to the operating theater where I put myself from the stretcher on the operation table.
I lie on a hard surface.
Everything I touch is cold and the air in this room is like in a freezer. I’m freezing.
The staff covers my body with a blanket, but it doesn’t really help.
My arms get repositioned to the sides of the table.
Someone checks my blood pressure while someone else is putting a catheter into my right hand. It hurts too much; he has to find another spot.
I can see the sad guy over me again. He has tears in his eyes while doing his job.
The anesthetist starts to ask me how I feel and if I could tell him my name.
By the time, his questions become more and more ridiculous.
Suddenly, my body starts feel relaxed and the cold is gone.
I say to anesthetist that I know why he is asking me all these silly questions.
He laughs and asks me why.
No reply from me ;)
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January 31th, 2017 - The Day of Surgery - Part 2
I leap trough time and wake up from a weird dream.
I can't remember falling asleep.
For a brief moment I'm without thoughts, just lying and looking at some faces above me.
Suddenly, my memories return and hit me like a flash.
I'm on an operation table, I have had a surgery.
As soon as my memories have returned, so returned that cold feeling I had when I entered this room.
I'm freezing and for some reason my body starts to shake. I can't control it. Everything is shaking.
The faces above me which I now recognize as staff lift me over to a wheeled stretcher.
They put pillows under my head and my legs.
I notice that my legs are quite heavy.
But I can't see them, because they are wrapped in thick layers of bandage.
I get covered with a blanket and someone fastens belts around my body like when they have brought me to this place.
I'm carried back to the waiting room.
It's getting warmer around me, but my legs stay cold and the shaking doesn't stop.
I don't know for how long I've been in this room. I have completely lost track of time.
A nurse keeps looking after me regularly. She checks my blood pressure and some other stuff which I don't know what it is.
I tell her about my cold legs and that I'm still trembling.
I'm offered more blankets and get assured, that the trembling would go away soon.
After some time, my legs start to feel more and more uncomfortable.
Suddenly I realize that it's not the cold that I still feel in my legs, but pain!
I call the nurse and ask her for painkillers, but she says that I'm already getting painkillers through my arm and points with her finger to some bottle hanging above my stretcher.
I ask for a higher dosage and she agrees to seek a doctor for permission.
I'm then given a higher dosage, but for some reason, the pain in my legs persists and it even becomes more painful over time.
I have no choice but to ask the nurse for even more painkillers which she clearly is not fond of this time.
But not even the next higher dosage can stop my pain from growing.
I’m crying from pain now.
I’m sweaty, shaking and all I can think about is pain.
I yell at the nurses; I just want the pain to stop no matter how they do it.
The nurses call a doctor for help.
I don’t know what’s going on anymore.
All I know is that they change my medication and that they plug me to some small mobile device which is connected to my right hand’s catheter.
After some time, which feels like eternity, the pain finally goes down again.
There is still some pain left in the end, but it’s bearable now and feels like tender kisses compared to the pain I felt before.
I didn’t know that my legs could possibly hurt so much and it’s save to say that this has been the most painful experience I’ve ever had.
I think without these painkillers I would have passed out.
Personal pain level shortly after surgery: 9/10
The “special” medication has brought it down to 4/10
The doctor says that I’m getting permanent painkillers now via infusion and that I can press the button of my small device if I need additional relieve of pain.
But the device is set to only work 4 times per hour, because any more than this could lead to an overdose.
I’m carried back to my room. Everything is still as I left it.
I can see the clock on the wall, it’s 05:35 PM.
I’m getting tired again, but the 4/10 pain keeps me awake.
I press the button for the first time.
The device makes a strange mechanical noise and pumps an additional amount of painkillers into my vein.
The pain goes down to approx. 2/10 which is fine for me.
But the affect only lasts for about 10 minutes, then it goes up to 4/10 again.
So this is me after surgery, I’m tiered but I can’t sleep and have to press a button every 15 minutes to keep the pain down which would allow me to sleep if I didn’t have to press the damn button.
At about 10:00 PM someone brings me late dinner, I’m supposed to eat but I have lost my appetite.
I’m like a zombie for the rest of the night.
Neither awake nor asleep.
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So how is your pain threshold right know?
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Thanks for sharing this with us Chris, it was a very thrilling tale and I'm curious what happened next.
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The first Two weeks are hell, after is not that difficult.
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So how is your pain threshold right know?
Four days after surgery the pain went down to like 3/10 when lying around and 4/10 after walking.
So I agreed to switch to oral painkillers.
Now I'm 12 days post-op. My pain is 1-2/10 when lying around and 2-3 the moment I start walking.
I put ice packs on my legs and take 600mg Ibuprofen twice to three times a day.
Thanks for sharing this with us Chris, it was a very thrilling tale and I'm curious what happened next.
Welcome, but I think I'll have to write a short summary for the remaining days to catch up with time.
I've been busy since I'm home again, which probably is a good thing :P
The first Two weeks are hell, after is not that difficult.
Mostly agree, but it's rather three weeks for me, because my body really didn't like the surgery.
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You're doing the femur first right. Man that pain must really be be 9/10 like you said.
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Don't take Ibuprofene.. It can cause non-union
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You're doing the femur first right. Man that pain must really be be 9/10 like you said.
No, I started with tibia. I just had bad luck and my body didn't like the surgery at all.
So much swelling and stiffness. Now I'm afraid of external femur to be honest :-X
Don't take Ibuprofene.. It can cause non-union
Source?
I got a prescription from my local doctor and now I'm eating them like Smarties :P
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Like all NSAIDs, it slows bone consolidation since it depresses the inflamatory cytokines... And Bone regrowth like any kind of growth in the body, is based on those cytokines... Don't take NSAIDs of any kind. No LL doctor prescribes them unless pain is truly unbearable
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Like all NSAIDs, it slows bone consolidation since it depresses the inflamatory cytokines... And Bone regrowth like any kind of growth in the body, is based on those cytokines... Don't take NSAIDs of any kind. No LL doctor prescribes them unless pain is truly unbearable
Okay, I will look into it and go to the hospital tomorrow. They do limb reconstruction, so they should know actually.
Thanks for the heads up :)
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February 1st, 2017
These are my legs the day after the surgery:
(https://s24.postimg.org/4iedrfiox/IMG_5251.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/4iedrfiox/)
(https://s15.postimg.org/m1ubnys6v/IMG_5253.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/m1ubnys6v/)
Right leg; monorail LON
(https://s7.postimg.org/ahn3vewo7/IMG_5254.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/ahn3vewo7/)
Left leg; monorail LON
I wasn't the perfect candidate for LON to begin with.
There was almost not enough space for nailing and the fixators had to be attached at different angles because of my legs' physiology.
The fixators are also of different sizes, one has 4 pins and the other one has 5 pins, because during surgery I got "holes" (as the doctors called it) in my right tibia.
The nails used are 8.5mm nails from Smith&Nephew.
There is still bleeding (waste blood) on both of my legs.
The construction is fully weight-bearing.
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Why u picked monorail over classic ilizarov?
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Why u picked monorail over classic ilizarov?
They are much more comfortable and I'm not going to lengthen more than 4,5cm, which makes them quite save.
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February 2nd, 2017
The day has started with bad news for me.
They took some x-rays of my legs the day after surgery and now the doctors are worried that my bone canals might be too tight to glide over the nails while lengthening.
I have to go to the operation table again and Dr. Deepak and his team do some test lengthening while an x-ray beam is directed to my legs.
If lengthening doesn't work they will give me general anesthesia, get the nails out again and do some reaming.
The idea of going trough a second surgery has frightened the sh*t out of me.
Luckily, the lengthening works, so they use the time to check my devices.
They want to replace the threaded rod of my right leg's device which is responsible for lengthening with a smoother one.
It's stuck so they try to break it free with a screw driver first. But they still can't get it out so they go for a hammer.
I almost sh*t my disposable underwear ;D
But it doesn't hurt at all, just some vibration going trough my leg.
Now I'm confident as to how stable those devices are :D
In the afternoon, Dr. Deepak and his team come to my room and ask me to stand up and walk for the first time.
I don't think it is a good idea, but they keep on insisting, so I raise up my heavily drugged body and get my feet to the ground in front of my bed.
They give me a walker and many helping hands, and suddenly, I stand :)
Walking a few steps is painful though even with painkillers and due to a lot of swelling and stiffness, my movement is very limited.
But I consider this to be the first step out of the hospital and back home again.
I just have to keep on exercising.
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February 3rd - 5th, 2017
Just doing some walking exercises and waiting for the pain to go away.
The bleeding of one of my pin sites persists, but the doctors say it's because I'm still getting blood thinners and that the issue will resolve on its own.
Four days after surgery, the pain has gone down to like 3/10 when lying on bed and 4/10 after walking. I agree to switch to oral painkillers.
My appetite is back again and I have developed a craving for everything that tastes sweet.
Sleeping is also way better now, but I can't manage to sleep for more than 4 hours, so I sleep twice a day.
I was planning to finalize my visual presentation (for university), but I can't focus on anything important.
So I rather kill time with watching TV and chatting with friends.
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are you planning to lengthening at home?
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I'm confused...why did you say earlier that 4.5 is the maximum you can do? Is it because of the monorail?
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are you planning to lengthening at home?
Yes, I'm at home right now :-)
I'm confused...why did you say earlier that 4.5 is the maximum you can do? Is it because of the monorail?
Yes, it's because they made two mistakes with the monorail.
Just found out about the second stupidity and now I can't do more than 3.5cm :'(
I'm Mr. Bad Luck and now I have 28 days left to find a solution (before I reach 3.5cm).
I will write about it shortly.
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February 6th, 2017 - Discharge from Hospital and Flight Home for Consolidation
Discharge has been arranged for 8-9 AM.
I wake up at 5:30 AM to some tea.
When the ward boys come to my room I tell them that I will clean and dress myself today :)
I put on my modified jeans and special underwear and make sure that everything is in my bags.
At about 7 AM, a ward boy carries me to the Billing Office.
The final bill amounts to ~46000 INR which is about 670 EUR more than what has been estimated. But I was in the operation theater for a second time, I needed a lot of additional painkillers and I asked for essential replacement parts for my external fixators (just in case).
After that, I’m carried back to my room for breakfast.
I ask the sisters to call me a taxi and also to ask the taxi driver to help me getting into the airport until I have wheelchair support (this is important!).
For my flight home I got the following from my doctors and the hospital staff:
A letter from the ISIC stating that I'm clear to fly
A document proving that I have metal in my body for medical reasons
Dr. Surbhit's phone number in case anyone at the airport still has questions
Essential replacement parts for the external fixators
A medical report for my doctors at home
Medication for 7 days
When it’s time to leave the hospital, a ward boy carries me down to the main lobby.
The taxi driver is very polite and helpful. It’s the first time I like one of those greedy taxi drivers actually.
When we arrive at the airport he has a lot of struggle to get me my wheelchair support.
I can watch him through the glass front of the airport
He has to return several times just to let me know that he’s still working on it :)
I know that once I sit in one of those wheelchairs there is no way for me to exchange my rupees into euros and smuggling Indian currency through customs is a crime.
So I give the kindest taxi driver in Delhi the biggest tip in his lifetime ;)
Making it into the plane is easy from now on and the service is free of charge.
The customs officer checks my legs for explosives :D
The people around me look at me like I was Robocop.
The direct flight is not so pleasant. If you can afford better than economy class, do your legs a favor.
At 40.000 feet me legs feel heavy, and after some time, my left leg’s pin has started to bleed again.
A girl sitting next to me asks what has happened to my legs. I’m very open about LL at home, but on the airplane, I lie and tell her that I have had a traffic accident. For the rest of the flight she tells me how brave I am and how strong I look. I’m offered bubblegum and cookies.
I’m happy to be at home now :)
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I will be following this diary closely as you are doing literly what i plan to do.
Do you know how long the Monorails are going to be on for?
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I'm super excited to see progress. congrats on the surgery and thanks for the detailed diary since i'll most likely be going with ISIC too
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also you said you are doing your femurs aswell - what method?
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Monorials plus a nail are quite Safe, the nail preventa misalignments.
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Any update? How's lengthing at home?
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I'm super excited to see progress. congrats on the surgery and thanks for the detailed diary since i'll most likely be going with ISIC too
Welcome, Digits :)
I will be following this diary closely as you are doing literly what i plan to do.
Do you know how long the Monorails are going to be on for?
also you said you are doing your femurs aswell - what method?
Any update? How's lengthing at home?
I'm lengthening over a nail, so as soon as I have reached my final height I can have the nails locked and my fixators removed.
I will do my femurs once I've graduated which is about 11-13 month from now. I wanted to do all four segments in one go, but I've run out of time.
I wish to be taller so badly, but I also don't want to create a gap in my resume.
Lengthening at home feels great :)
I'm used to my surrounding, I have family support, life doesn't move on without me and it's less expensive.
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Oh okay, sounds like you're doing well :) - wait so how much did cost for just tibia surgery, I basically want to go there get surgery and come home as my job will allow for it and I have friends/family who would help me.
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Oh okay, sounds like you're doing well :) - wait so how much did cost for just tibia surgery, I basically want to go there get surgery and come home as my job will allow for it and I have friends/family who would help me.
The hospital bill was very close to 7000 EUR (~6500Euros was estimated). I needed additional intensive care and drugs, so it's justified.
I'll have to pay again for locking the nails and removal of the fixators.
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February 10th, 2017
It's 10 days after surgery now, so I went to my local hospital and had some x-rays taken:
(https://s3.postimg.org/gihu52nmr/image.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/hks0nm6fz/) (https://postimage.org/index.php?lang=english) (https://s2.postimg.org/nnibnrptl/image.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/3swa1nalx/) (https://postimage.org/index.php?lang=english)
(https://s10.postimg.org/m02nn9e3t/image.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/4zjrel12d/) (https://postimage.org/index.php?lang=english) (https://s18.postimg.org/ucdgymbex/image.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/zb0zd5f7p/) (https://postimage.org/index.php?lang=english)
I indeed have two more cracks in my right shin. Still don't understand what happened to me during surgery :o
But it could explain the higher pain and much more swelling I've been having.
Dr. Deepak has already lengthened my legs by 4-5mm.
Tomorrow, I will start lengthening at 2x 0.5mm per day.
Edit:
I can stand and slowly walk using a walker. Walking unaided is impossible. When I want to go outside, I have to use a wheelchair.
I've been having a lot of foot swelling, especially in my right one.
I have to take blood thinners once a day.
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Hopefully the shin cracks don't prove to much of an issue - did you fly to Indira Gandhi airport? Doesn't look to far from the hospital - looking to get my passport sorted for March and go out that way for a consultation
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The hospital bill was very close to 7000 EUR (~6500Euros was estimated). I needed additional intensive care and drugs, so it's justified.
I'll have to pay again for locking the nails and removal of the fixators.
Great to hear that everything is going well. I consolidating at the moment since I was doing 4 cm with ilizarov only. Ill give you some advice since you might need it:
1. make sure you keep you feet at 90 degree with bandages or exercise band. I had Ilizarov frame to tie them on but I'm sure you will be able to figure something out. When you do that keep you slippers on or some kind of shoes that let you skin breath and have firm insole to keep the whole feet straight. Wear it even at night! If you do that ballerina foot should not be a problem.
2. Dont do 1mm per day. You're bone can handle that but not the tendons and muscle in your legs. If you go slower the rest of the leg can adjust better( I made mistake of doing 1mm per day and later i regretted that!)
3. Walk and stand as much as you can but be extremely cautious(if you fall and break a leg you're in big trouble!)
4. At the beginning dont pomp yourself with calcium and vitamin D. You do not want pre consolidation.
5. Take vitamin C and garlic in capsules to avoid infection. 90% of people get an infection but if you got antibiotics you will be fine. Its important to keep a strong immune system.
6. Keep positive and make sure you dont watch depressing movies( I made that mistake as well ;P )
7. Do not underestimate LL. I know you want 4.5 cm or less but you still can get severe ballerina foot or club foot.
8. Be very careful about taking advice from ppl that never got through LL but fell like they are experts because they stay in the forum 24h a day
9 if you want to sleep on you side put a pillow between your legs.
I guess that most of those things you probably know or should know. If you got questions let me know. Stay safe. :)
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Hopefully the shin cracks don't prove to much of an issue - did you fly to Indira Gandhi airport? Doesn't look to far from the hospital - looking to get my passport sorted for March and go out that way for a consultation
According to my doctors at home, the "cracks" in my right leg might have been made to reduce pressure when they put the nail in.
Yes, Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL). Its very close to the ISIC.
Great to hear that everything is going well. I consolidating at the moment since I was doing 4 cm with ilizarov only. Ill give you some advice since you might need it:
1. make sure you keep you feet at 90 degree with bandages or exercise band. I had Ilizarov frame to tie them on but I'm sure you will be able to figure something out. When you do that keep you slippers on or some kind of shoes that let you skin breath and have firm insole to keep the whole feet straight. Wear it even at night! If you do that ballerina foot should not be a problem.
2. Dont do 1mm per day. You're bone can handle that but not the tendons and muscle in your legs. If you go slower the rest of the leg can adjust better( I made mistake of doing 1mm per day and later i regretted that!)
3. Walk and stand as much as you can but be extremely cautious(if you fall and break a leg you're in big trouble!)
4. At the beginning dont pomp yourself with calcium and vitamin D. You do not want pre consolidation.
5. Take vitamin C and garlic in capsules to avoid infection. 90% of people get an infection but if you got antibiotics you will be fine. Its important to keep a strong immune system.
6. Keep positive and make sure you dont watch depressing movies( I made that mistake as well ;P )
7. Do not underestimate LL. I know you want 4.5 cm or less but you still can get severe ballerina foot or club foot.
8. Be very careful about taking advice from ppl that never got through LL but fell like they are experts because they stay in the forum 24h a day
9 if you want to sleep on you side put a pillow between your legs.
I guess that most of those things you probably know or should know. If you got questions let me know. Stay safe. :)
Thank you, Doomsday, I appreciate it :)
Out of curiosity, you once wrote that you did 5cm, then 4,5cm and now it's 4cm. What happened?
February 16th, 2017
I was at my local hospital today and they had some bad news for me.
My left foot is twisted inwards.
At the ISIC, they told me it was because of swelling and that it would go away on its own.
But now my doctors at home have told me, that Dr. Deepak's team twisted the lower part of my tibia slightly and locked it with the fixator, hence the bad foot agle.
Now I will have to stay at 1mm per day as long as my body can bear it and I won't take calcium anymore.
My goal is to be done as quickly as possible and the callus formed in the end has to be as soft as possible, so that they can make a correction in my left leg when they lock the nails :(
If it doesn't work, they will have to break my left leg again after lengthening.
The other problem that I've been having is that I have no idea how much I will be able to lengthen.
The rail on my left leg is long enough for 4.5cm, but I wanted to do 5cm, because my left tibia is 5mm shorter than my right one.
This was discussed several times, written down and perfectly clear to everyone involved, and yet, only the rail on the right leg supports >5cm
The main components of both monorail devices (the distraction screws) have only 40mm written on it instead of >45mm.
And to make it even worse, I tested the replacement kit that I got and I could only turn the screw to precisely 35mm!
A reputable hospital and professional staff, and yet, I have run into two really stupid complications.
I hate my life >:( :'(
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According to my doctors at home, the "cracks" in my right leg might have been made to reduce pressure when they put the nail in.
Yes, Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL). Its very close to the ISIC.
Thank you, Doomsday, I appreciate it :)
Out of curiosity, you once wrote that you did 5cm, then 4,5cm and now it's 4cm. What happened?
February 16th, 2017
I was at my local hospital today and they had some bad news for me.
My left foot is twisted inwards.
At the ISIC, they told me it was because of swelling and that it would go away on its own.
But now my doctors at home have told me, that Dr. Deepak's team twisted the lower part of my tibia slightly and locked it with the fixator, hence the bad foot agle.
Now I will have to stay at 1mm per day as long as my body can bear it and I won't take calcium anymore.
My goal is to be done as quickly as possible and the callus formed in the end has to be as soft as possible, so that they can make a correction in my left leg when they lock the nails :(
If it doesn't work, they will have to break my left leg again after lengthening.
The other problem that I've been having is that I have no idea how much I will be able to lengthen.
The rail on my left leg is long enough for 4.5cm, but I wanted to do 5cm, because my left tibia is 5mm shorter than my right one.
This was discussed several times, written down and perfectly clear to everyone involved, and yet, only the rail on the right leg supports >5cm
The main components of both monorail devices (the distraction screws) have only 40mm written on it instead of >45mm.
And to make it even worse, I tested the replacement kit that I got and I could only turn the screw to precisely 35mm!
A reputable hospital and professional staff, and yet, I have run into two really stupid complications.
I hate my life >:( :'(
After distraction my doc confirmed 5 cm, then i moved to the Uk and i had misalignment in both legs. Partially my legs were consolidated so the correction could be only done through compression in the right direction. Basically my doc messed me up and NHS in the UK made my legs as they should be. The good thing is that I have no ballering or a keen pain etc so not the end of the world. I will be definitely doing my femurs.
BTW. I looked up monorail with combination of a nail and the scars look terrible. Better look it up too :)
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After distraction my doc confirmed 5 cm, then i moved to the Uk and i had misalignment in both legs. Partially my legs were consolidated so the correction could be only done through compression in the right direction. Basically my doc messed me up and NHS in the UK made my legs as they should be. The good thing is that I have no ballering or a keen pain etc so not the end of the world. I will be definitely doing my femurs.
BTW. I looked up monorail with combination of a nail and the scars look terrible. Better look it up too :)
Oh, sorry to hear that. But I think 4cm is still worth it.
That's why I want to do 4,5cm btw. The 5mm are my buffer or insurance against some loss.
Yes, the scars from monorail LON are somewhat terrible. But hey, you haven't really lived without scares ;)
And many ladies find scars intriguing or even sexy on men.
Also, when I'm done with everything I can still go to a dermatologist for an hour or so and have some fun with the CO2-Laser :P
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with who did you do your LL doomsday?
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As someone who has done 4.8cm and has previously been a 4cm, it's totally worth it.
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Is it just me or do the doctors as ISIC seem pretty imcompetent? No offense, but they apparently messed up your foot angle and gave you a rail that's not long enough for your desired length?! What's up with that I ask myself.
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Is it just me or do the doctors as ISIC seem pretty imcompetent? No offense, but they apparently messed up your foot angle and gave you a rail that's not long enough for your desired length?! What's up with that I ask myself.
I didnt want to be the first to say this but he seems to have been going through a lot of issues. I mean the price is cheap but at what price physically?
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Is it just me or do the doctors as ISIC seem pretty imcompetent? No offense, but they apparently messed up your foot angle and gave you a rail that's not long enough for your desired length?! What's up with that I ask myself.
They messed up my foot angle, yes. But I wouldn't go so far and call them incompetent.
I think it was an accident and could have happened with any doctor, even if I would have gone to an expensive surgeon where I live.
I still recommend them, but I want everyone to know that things can happen.
What really pisses me off are the distraction screws, because now I have to get my hands on longer ones before the time runs out.
I got a replacement kit (because they care about their patients) and even I didn't notice the bold letters saying 40MM. It's even written on the screws installed.
So ridiculously stupid from all of us :-\
Let's see how they react to this first, I'm gonna contact them on WhatsApp tomorrow and send them an email with pictures.
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with who did you do your LL doomsday?
non of the Doc from this or the old forum.
Ive been in touch with Dr Kulesh and Solomin and I really regret i didnt decide to go with them. Biggest mistake ever.
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What size distraction screws do you need then? s confusing, I'm using your diary to plan my trip - I'm hoping once my passport comes back and it's valid I can go down mid March for consultation and have surgery near end of March.
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What size distraction screws do you need then? craps confusing, I'm using your diary to plan my trip - I'm hoping once my passport comes back and it's valid I can go down mid March for consultation and have surgery near end of March.
I need 50mm distraction screws. The rail on my left leg is only long enough for 45mm. But it seems that I can glide with the component which is pressing the pins to the rail over the edge by 5mm without compromising the stability of the fixator. I suddenly I had this wild idea this morning when I was looking at my fixators, now I'm hopeful :)
I will upload some pictures of the device.
International patients have shorter waiting periods, if they agree to make you taller, your first consultation with Dr. Deepak and the surgery will most likely be only a couple of days apart. Make sure that you can pay the estimated bill as quickly as possible. International money transfers can take quite long. The Statebank of India is kinda slow and the Billing Office can't get a confirmation from their own bank whenever they need to.
When the estimated bill says e.g. 450.000 INR, transfer 500.000 INR so that you won't have to worry about transferring additional money while you are wounded.
And make sure to have a credit card with heigh enough limit. I'm a university student with only a part-time job and so my limit wasn't that high to begin with. So I went to my bank and asked them to up my limit for 1-2 months.
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Did you go to your bank before hand to say you were wanting to transfer money? or - how did you actually go through that? the main part for me is actually getting everything sorted for surgery and not the surgery itself. I want to only spend like 2 weeks - 3 weeks max before going home.
How much have you lengthened so far since surgery and how you coping at the moment?
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Did you go to your bank before hand to say you were wanting to transfer money? or - how did you actually go through that? the main part for me is actually getting everything sorted for surgery and not the surgery itself. I want to only spend like 2 weeks - 3 weeks max before going home.
How much have you lengthened so far since surgery and how you coping at the moment?
I was quite naive when I first went to Delhi, thinking transferring money to India would be as quick as between European countries.
After my consultation with Dr. Deepak, I contacted my parents and gave them the okay to go to my bank on my behalf.
Then a lot of stuff happened which I already have written about in my diary.
I ended up flying home and losing 7 weeks of my precious time due to a legal fight with my bank, slow money transaction, holidays, bureaucracy and also the response time of the ISIC's Billing Office (I had to kindly push them several times).
My advise: transfer money using the ICICI Bank. It's the same bank the ISIC uses for credit card billings.
They promise quick transfers and they give you a tracking number. This number can help the Billing Office to confirm your payment hassle-free.
Or maybe there is a branch of the State Bank of India in you country. This could work too.
Just try to avoid transferring money to India from your regular bank account.
There are many travel websites also discussing this problem.
A third way could be to ask your banker to raise your credit card limit to let's say 10.000 [whatever you currency is] for just one month.
There would be no risk for them if they see you having enough money on your account. And there is Prepaid-Visa.
I hope that was helpful.
I should be at 1,2cm right now. After surgery, I woke up 5mm taller, because team Deepak had already lengthened my legs a bit ;D
About 2,5 weeks later, I still have a lot of bruises and my legs are a bit stiff. Pain has been 1/10 when lying around and 2/10 after walking or doing exercises.
Following Tbike's advise, I have stopped taking Ibuprofen. I have a prescription for Tilidin now.
Despite my joint stiffens, I'm quite flexible actually once I have warmed up. My legs are 1cm longer and I can still reach and touch the floor with my palms (not just the fingertips) :)
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A update from chris yess ;D
So sorry to hear you going through issues, perhaps when your in your consolidating period and able to eat proper vitamins and nutrients the crack in your shin will heal up.
However this makes me suspicious about Dr. Deepak.
When are you planning on stopping from turning 1mm/a day? Reducing it a bit will make the pain significantly less
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A update from chris yess ;D
So sorry to hear you going through issues, perhaps when your in your consolidating period and able to eat proper vitamins and nutrients the crack in your shin will heal up.
However this makes me suspicious about Dr. Deepak.
When are you planning on stopping from turning 1mm/a day? Reducing it a bit will make the pain significantly less
Haha, you're welcome :D
My doctors at home have told me that the "cracks" could have been made to reduce pressure in my right leg while putting the nail in.
Like I've mentioned in my diary somewhere, my bone canals were extremely tight, so it makes sense for now.
Dr. Deepak does not work alone. It's a team of four actually and Dr. Deepak is the chief. They stick together most of the time, do consultations together, operate on you together, look after their patients together, they even went to the cinema together after coming to look after me on a Saturday :D
The big advantage is that there are four brains at work for the price of one doctor, but it might also lead to some confusion every now and then if the communication is not working properly.
I'm not planning to stop turning 1mm per day for now. I don't have pain from lengthening; it's totally pain free even.
My pain still comes from the surgery, because it was a hefty one and my body didn't like it at all.
But it's slowly getting better and better and I hope to be pain-free by the end of next week.
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How often are you stretching etc a day? You said you plan to do femurs - LON too? I want to do LON femurs for 8CM if that's even possible (as in if the equipment supports that length), pains not an issue for me, I've felt horrible amounts of pain for a period of my life I can pretty much zone it out - then with some small lifts nothing crazy - id be at 174-175 and happy.
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Hi Chris
Can you tell me the wingspan?
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How often are you stretching etc a day? You said you plan to do femurs - LON too? I want to do LON femurs for 8CM if that's even possible (as in if the equipment supports that length), pains not an issue for me, I've felt horrible amounts of pain for a period of my life I can pretty much zone it out - then with some small lifts nothing crazy - id be at 174-175 and happy.
I'm stretching two time a day, but there will be more sessions depending on how much I have lengthened.
I will do external LON on femurs next year if I don't have any other option. But I really hope that Dr. M. will have his affordable internal nails available for us by then.
The rail fixation system from Pitkar available to the ISIC supports up to 10cm.
But don't get any wild ideas now, I wouldn't do more than 6cm on femur if I were you.
(https://s2.postimg.org/6hawyutcp/CD_Unit.png)
Hi Chris
Can you tell me the wingspan?
Height: 161cm (evening) 163 (morning)
Wingspan: 162cm
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that's good to hear! Well my femurs are quite stubby compared to my tibias, i think it was from when i was young i would spend countless hours on the computer kneeling so my femurs were stunted. 8cm is just a goal because it wouldn't look out of place and it means that i can still wear lifts and my tibias would look prop and i would be around 174 max 175 with shoes and 172/3 without which is plenty for me - but yeah you're right, i would only go for 8cm if everything was going smoothly my realistic goal is 6.5/7 as i want to be just above 170 but ideally i have this fixation on 172.
do you feel that you're not experiencing much pain because you're not over doing the stretching or that you feel comfortable in your environment and it's less stressful so you spend less time thinking about it. How is your weight bearing during the lengthening phase and how is your flexibility?
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do you feel that you're not experiencing much pain because you're not over doing the stretching or that you feel comfortable in your environment and it's less stressful so you spend less time thinking about it. How is your weight bearing during the lengthening phase and how is your flexibility?
I still have some pain from the surgery. The lengthening itself doesn't hurt at 1mm per day. Stretching and some muscle training twice a day (15mins per session) seems to be enough for me.
To be at home definitely helps not to think about LL or pain that often. I might not look like it, but I had strong legs and I was VERY flexible and I think that I still profit from it.
But it will stop sooner or later, no doubt about it and then I will slow down from 2x 0.5mm per day to 3x 0.25mm per day and increase my training.
Like I said in my diary, my monorail fixators are fully weight-bearing. I can stand and slowly walk using a walker. Walking unaided in impossible. If I want to go outside, I have to use a wheelchair.
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February 19th, 2017 - Removing the Stitches
It's 19 days after surgery and I'm at 13-14mm.
Rate of lengthening: 2x 0.5mm per day
Still some pain and swelling from the surgery, especially when I stand for more than 30 seconds.
Then I can feel where the pins are and pressure builds up in my legs which quickly leads to more swelling in my feet.
Lengthening itself still doesn't hurt at all and I still profit from my very good flexibility.
I was supposed to have my stitches removed with my doctor next Tuesday.
But I'm cheap, so I had decided to save the money and to do it on my own today.
It turned out to be quiet easy, but it took me like 2 yours to get rid of all those small and sometimes really tight knots everywhere.
I had to slightly cut trough my skin several times to even get to the sutures so I could clip them :o
But it's done now and I like the result. No reason to pay an expensive doctor :D
When changing the bandages, I also took the chance to take some photos of my scarred legs for those who might be interested:
(https://s31.postimg.org/juzp5jr1z/IMG_5334.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/juzp5jr1z/)
(https://s31.postimg.org/3y0x8tynr/IMG_5337.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/3y0x8tynr/)
Left leg (knee, tibia, fibula):
(https://s27.postimg.org/b2imuvl33/IMG_5345.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/b2imuvl33/) (https://s27.postimg.org/sh2v35i7z/IMG_5347.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/sh2v35i7z/) (https://s27.postimg.org/sv472r2bj/IMG_5349.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/sv472r2bj/)
Right leg (knee, tibia, fibula):
(https://s27.postimg.org/z3piwbzwf/IMG_5342.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/z3piwbzwf/) (https://s27.postimg.org/nsmv7yt1b/IMG_5343.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/nsmv7yt1b/) (https://s27.postimg.org/ugevgtn5r/IMG_5341.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/ugevgtn5r/)
I also noticed some pin cutting on my right knee, but it isn't much and it doesn't hurt:
(https://s31.postimg.org/a08jzbn3r/IMG_5340.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/a08jzbn3r/)
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I've done LL with orthofix monorails too my friend.
I can assure you that after 2-3 cm lengthening they are not weight bearable so be careful with standing, even with a walker.
I started to walk with monorails and a walker only after about 1.5 month I stop lengthening.
Of course you could start walking almost after finishing lengthening because you did LON while I did external only, but for now be very careful.
Also, I see that your fibulas have a huge cut and I am almost sure that there will be a non alignment between their sides. What did your doctor told you about that and why he didn't to a small cut like in tibias and hold tibia and fibula with a screw to let them lengthen the same?
I am very curious about your doctors decision for your fibulas and I would like to know the reason for doing that.
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I've done LL with orthofix monorails too my friend.
I can assure you that after 2-3 cm lengthening they are not weight bearable so be careful with standing, even with a walker.
I started to walk with monorails and a walker only after about 1.5 month I stop lengthening.
Of course you could start walking almost after finishing lengthening because you did LON while I did external only, but for now be very careful.
Also, I see that your fibulas have a huge cut and I am almost sure that there will be a non alignment between their sides. What did your doctor told you about that and why he didn't to a small cut like in tibias and hold tibia and fibula with a screw to let them lengthen the same?
I am very curious about your doctors decision for your fibulas and I would like to know the reason for doing that.
Hey Body Builder, would I be correct in assuming this is the same person from the 'other' forum with the same name? If so, great to have you here man. It would be awesome if you could post a thread describing a quick overview of your lengthening, complications, where you are now etc. I'm sure people would love to read it.
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Hey Body Builder, would I be correct in assuming this is the same person from the 'other' forum with the same name? If so, great to have you here man. It would be awesome if you could post a thread describing a quick overview of your lengthening, complications, where you are now etc. I'm sure people would love to read it.
Yes, I am the same person.
And yes I'd like to write about my current condition, even more because in the next months I'll have a new surgery to have both my achilles tendons shortened and fix a minor misalignment I have in my right tibia that may cause premature arthritis and must be fixed.
I hope a moderator could help me about where is the most suitable topic to write about my current condition and my upcoming surgery because I don't want to hijack threads of fellow LL'ers.
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Patients Experiences category should be fine
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At 14mm you only have approx 30 more days till you reach your goal and the fixator is off 8) the swelling should go down soon no biggie. I'm concerned about the pain ur experiencing while standing for a prolonged amount of time because standing is vital for good recovery but ur only doing 4.5cm so you should be fine. Nice warrior scars too.
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Well my femurs are quite stubby compared to my tibias, i think it was from when i was young i would spend countless hours on the computer kneeling so my femurs were stunted.
I don't think that's possible mate.
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I'm just taking a guess - I have no idea if it actually would do anything.
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I've done LL with orthofix monorails too my friend.
I can assure you that after 2-3 cm lengthening they are not weight bearable so be careful with standing, even with a walker.
I started to walk with monorails and a walker only after about 1.5 month I stop lengthening.
Of course you could start walking almost after finishing lengthening because you did LON while I did external only, but for now be very careful.
Also, I see that your fibulas have a huge cut and I am almost sure that there will be a non alignment between their sides. What did your doctor told you about that and why he didn't to a small cut like in tibias and hold tibia and fibula with a screw to let them lengthen the same?
I am very curious about your doctors decision for your fibulas and I would like to know the reason for doing that.
Hmm... Dr. Deepak is convinced that my monorails are fully weight-bearing. They even wrote it in the medical report for my doctors at home.
Maybe Pitkar devices are more weight-bearing than orthofix devices?
Or they took into account that my weight is ~60kg and that the nail prevents misalignment in case of some minor bending. I don't know.
But I appreciate your advise and will make sure to put less weight on my devices from now on. Better safe than sorry.
Regarding the fibulas, Dr. Deepak told me beforehand that he would have to remove some part of the bone since they would heal "much, much faster".
My doctors at home were surprised about the amount taken out too, but they didn't say anything bad about it.
So maybe it was the right thing to do or maybe it was overkill. Again, I don't know.
I have accepted my faith, that I will have to have another surgery for fixing my left leg's angle, so it doesn't matter anymore if I had to have my fibulas corrected as well I guess...
The longer my diary, the more frustrated and insecure I become :-\ :P
At 14mm you only have approx 30 more days till you reach your goal and the fixator is off 8) the swelling should go down soon no biggie. I'm concerned about the pain ur experiencing while standing for a prolonged amount of time because standing is vital for good recovery but ur only doing 4.5cm so you should be fine. Nice warrior scars too.
Yup, without scars, you haven't really lived ;D
But it will be more than 30 days, because I'm planning to slow down to 3x 0.25 at some point.
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February 21st, 2017
Today, I'm exactly three weeks post-surgery :)
Amount lengthened: 15mm
Rate of lengthening: 2x 0.5mm per day
Pain from lengthening: none
Pain from surgery: 2-3/10 in right leg
Painkillers: 3x Tilidin
Supplements: 2x 600mg calcium per week
Exercises: 2x 15min per day
Standing: 5min every hour
Strength in legs: 7/10
Knee ROM: 0° to >90°
Ballerina: none
Right now, I'm working on a solution to my problem regarding the max. amount I can lengthen.
My goal is 45mm. The "CD Units" on each of my Pitkar monorail devices have 40mm written on it. But my replacement unit could only be turned to precisely 35mm. Seriously, WTF >:(
There are 40mm and 80mm units available from Pitkar. There is no way that I could fit the 80mm unit on my rail because of the way it was assembled.
(https://s27.postimg.org/fkg8y87cv/IMG_5352.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/fkg8y87cv/) (https://s27.postimg.org/9v00dx16n/IMG_5304.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/9v00dx16n/)
Now I've found standard 55mm units from Orthofix and I hope that maybe, just maybe they could fit on my Pitkar devices.
Pitkar
(https://s21.postimg.org/osckf4in7/IMG_5367.png) (https://postimg.org/image/osckf4in7/)
Orthofix
(https://s12.postimg.org/81sbj9v6x/CD_Unit_Orthofix.png) (https://postimg.org/image/81sbj9v6x/)
The pins of the Pitkar unit are 5mm in diameter, does anyone happen to know the measurements of the Orthofix units? ;D
I will just contact Orthofix and hope for the best.
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How's progress been? You had any solutions in regards to your nail?
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How's progress been? You had any solutions in regards to your nail?
Not yet, I'm still waiting for a reply from the Orthofix customer service.
In the meantime, I can go to my uncle's workshop this weekend. Then I will use his power tools to turn the compression-distraction unit with high pressure until it breaks.
I want to find out whether it really can only be distracted to 35mm instead of 40mm, plus the pipe is 50mm actually.
I hope that just the replacement unit is broken and that I won't have to by other ones. One CD unit from Pitkar costs ~100 EUR and I'm sure the Orthofix units will be even more expensive.
So it's worth giving it a shot in the workshop first, before I spend money.
Regarding my progress, I've switched from 2x0.5mm per day to 3x 0.25mm per day.
Didn't have a choice, because my right leg still hurts even without lengthening and it's too sensitive.
When I turned for the last time yesterday, I almost screamed and had sudden twitching in my right leg.
I don't want to take even more painkillers per day, so I just slowed down a bit and it has worked wonders so far.
No I can lengthen without making the pain worse.
I wish this would go away soon, but I rather think that I will have to live with the pain until the fixators come off.
39 days left...
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You're on the home stretch now Chris. Each day you are closer to finishing lengthening and then it's on to recovery, consolidation and the rest of your life. Fingers crossed for easy sailing here on out.
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If I was you I would reconsider doing femurs with that hospital.
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Regarding my progress, I've switched from 2x0.5mm per day to 3x 0.25mm per day.
Didn't have a choice, because my right leg still hurts even without lengthening and it's too sensitive.
When I turned for the last time yesterday, I almost screamed and had sudden twitching in my right leg.
39 days left...
Hey Chris,
Maybe you should take a one day break from lengthening and give time for the soft tissues to catch up. I have read many people doing this in many diaries. One day will not make a big difference in your final goal.
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39 days is not that long and it seems your doing well and occupied in your own environment. once you've finished lengthening, are you flying back to India to get the nail locked and monorail removed?
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If I was you I would reconsider doing femurs with that hospital.
Hear hear.
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You're on the home stretch now Chris. Each day you are closer to finishing lengthening and then it's on to recovery, consolidation and the rest of your life. Fingers crossed for easy sailing here on out.
Thanks! :)
Hey Chris,
Maybe you should take a one day break from lengthening and give time for the soft tissues to catch up. I have read many people doing this in many diaries. One day will not make a big difference in your final goal.
You're right. Not exactly what you meant, but I think I will take a one day break for my right leg tomorrow. I'm gonna lengthen my left leg by 5 more millimeters anyway, so I could give my right leg a break once a week without losing time.
39 days is not that long and it seems your doing well and occupied in your own environment. once you've finished lengthening, are you flying back to India to get the nail locked and monorail removed?
That's the plan...
If I was you I would reconsider doing femurs with that hospital.
Hear hear.
I hear thee.
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It doesn't sound that bad - maybe reconsider but I mean the complications seem more of a small mistake? The surgery and everything else seemed fine from what I can tell, apart from money transfer ... Then again reading other diaries from different doctors I don't really see any major problem in this one
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It doesn't sound that bad - maybe reconsider but I mean the complications seem more of a small mistake? The surgery and everything else seemed fine from what I can tell, apart from money transfer ... Then again reading other diaries from different doctors I don't really see any major problem in this one
Hmm...I'm just not sure about them at the moment.
I like Dr. Deepak and his team. They are friendly and (appear) professional and there is a good chemistry between them. The hospital staff is very kind and helpful. The hospital itself is very clean and the single-bed rooms are good enough for western standards. Their medical equipment is mostly western standard. The food was okay and you can ask for adjustments at any time. The costs are lower, because they don't have different prices for westerners.
The messed up foot angle could have happened with any doctor, I knew the risks and I'm okay with it.
But there is a lot more:
They technically broke my right leg three times. Maybe it was to reduce pressure while putting the nail in. But it's just a guess from my doctors at home.
A lot of bone has been removed from my fibulas. My doctors at home where supersized about the amount taken out, but they didn't say anything bad about it. Was it too much bone? I will finally know on Friday when I'll have new x-rays taken of my legs.
The fibulas have not been fixated with a screw. It doesn't have to be a bad thing, but it can lead to misalignment.
Then they seem the have confused sides. My left leg is shorter, but only the rail on my right leg supports more lengthening. Or not? Because in theory, I could lengthen exactly 5 more millimeters (the missing ones) and go over the edge of the rail without compromising the stability of the fixator. But they never told me to do so.
So they either have tweaked the fixator like pros or they messed up and I'm just lucky to see a solution.
And finally, the CD units. They put 40mm units on my devices. Maybe the screws can unofficially be turned to 45mm, but the replacement unit I got could only be turned to 35mm. Now I'll check whether the replacement unit is broken and whether it could have been distracted to 40 or even 45mm.
So many things look just wrong at the moment, but they could also turn out to be alright.
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I guess it's hard to say ATM - the surgery itself tho didn't seem shoddy nor the care ... Wonder what the x-ray will look like, if I went there - I might ask for ideally for the support of the 10cm screw even if that's not what I'm going for so that i don't run into the same complications?
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I guess it's hard to say ATM - the surgery itself tho didn't seem shoddy nor the care ... Wonder what the x-ray will look like, if I went there - I might ask for ideally for the support of the 10cm screw even if that's not what I'm going for so that i don't run into the same complications?
Well, since you're planning to do femurs, there are no feet or fibulas that could get messed up, so I think you should be fine with the ISIC, regardless of what has happened to me.
And again, because this is the way I am ;D I ask you to NOT do more than 6-7cm on femurs, ever!
On Saturday or Sunday, I will take one of my replacement CD units apart, than we will know if we can trust the numbers written on it.
By the way, I think that I have found a simple way to lengthen a bit more without buying longer CD units. Also gonna write about it this weekend.
Edit: Oh, and it would be awesome, if you could also write a diary about femur LON at the ISIC, if you decide to have your surgery with them :D
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Chris,
As at least one other has agreed with you, 4 cm is definitely 'worth it'. When two people are of comparable heights, the difference between them is very noticeable from both ends when one takes off their shoes- most shoes are only around 3cm, if even that.
Keep at it man, you'll be done with it before you know it.
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Chris,
As at least one other has agreed with you, 4 cm is definitely 'worth it'. When two people are of comparable heights, the difference between them is very noticeable from both ends when one takes off their shoes- most shoes are only around 3cm, if even that.
Keep at it man, you'll be done with it before you know it.
Thanks and I'm staying modest :)
I'm afraid that correcting my left foot angle and perhaps the fibulas could cost me height due to compression. Then I would gain less than 4cm.
That's why I'm thinking about doing 5mm extra.
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February 23rd, 2017
Amount lengthened: 16.5mm
Rate of lengthening: 2x 0.5mm per day 3x 0.25mm per day
Pain from lengthening: since 15mm some pain in right leg
Pain from surgery: 2-3/10 in right leg
Painkillers: 3x Tilidin
Supplements: 2x 600mg calcium per week
Exercises: 2x 15min per day 3x 30min per day
Standing: 5min every hour
Strength in legs: 7/10
Knee ROM: 0° to >90°
Ballerina: none
Nothing to report actually. Will have my next x-rays taken tomorrow.
In the meantime:
My Life Hacks for Lengthening at Home
Part 1: Raising the Bed Frame
I'm a lover of futon beds (very low ones), but they are definitely not designed for LLers.
Too bad that I had completely forgotten about it until I had returned home with broken legs :P
I had to ask my beloved family to raise the bed frame for me.
So, as a reminder to everyone who wants to lengthen at home, make sure that your bed frame is high enough and that you can easily sit down and get up again with just using your hands.
41-43cm is a typical height for chairs, at least where I live. Take also into account that you will grow in your legs ;)
(https://s28.postimg.org/i8eh3vfrd/IMG_5373.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/i8eh3vfrd/) (https://s28.postimg.org/6kkf9bqmh/IMG_5382.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/6kkf9bqmh/)
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3/10 pain? thats great your bed frame looks like a nightmare for a LLer lol. Like if you accidentally banged your leg against it you'd die.
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Did you get your x-rays and stuff?
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cant edit previous post - sorry.
Did you need a medical visa still and if so, how did you get one?
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Did anyone of you LLers have early consolidation?
Was it a "real" surgery or was it just an ambulant and rather quick treatment?
Could it be re-cut easily, because it was still "soft" callus?
How painful was it compared to the first surgery?
Where you able to leave the hospital the same or the next day (and go home)?
If you did it in India, Russia, Poland or Czech Republic, how much did you have to pay approx. for re-cutting?
Do you know a good (and affordable) hospital in Russia, Poland or Czech Republic where I could have my callus re-cut? (I'm trying to avoid India)
Sorry for all the questions, but I'm somewhat panicking right now.
Thanks in advance!
PS: if you didn't have early/per-consolidation, but still have VERY good knowledge about it, please feel free share your information too.
(https://s7.postimg.org/yaikcb13r/early_consolidation.png) (https://postimg.org/image/yaikcb13r/)
X-ray from yesterday.
I started distracting 10 days after surgery @ 1mm per day.
But the osteotomy in my left leg was done poorly, leading to early consolidation no matter how fast I lengthened.
I was doomed from day one without knowing.
I turned to 1,7cm, but I'm still at 7mm, the rest became pin bending.
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Poor osteotomy... Rotated tibia... These docs sure don't seem to know what they are doing...
Sorry to hear about your difficulties Chris
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Poor osteotomy... Rotated tibia... These docs sure don't seem to know what they are doing...
Sorry to hear about your difficulties Chris
Ugh.. this is heartbreaking. A lot of these "doctors" see a desperate client base and an opportunity for easy money... makes you wonder if there shouldn't be some sort of universal accreditation process to be allowed to perform this sort of surgery.
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Ugh.. this is heartbreaking. A lot of these "doctors" see a desperate client base and an opportunity for easy money... makes you wonder if there shouldn't be some sort of universal accreditation process to be allowed to perform this sort of surgery.
Actually there is.. It's called ASAMI. I bet the docs in that hospital are not members of this association. I believe Rozbruch is as the rest of the top tiers ones (for those who use or used ilizarov)
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Actually there is.. It's called ASAMI. I bet the docs in that hospital are not members of this association. I believe Rozbruch is as the rest of the top tiers ones (for those who use or used ilizarov)
But thats what i mean... its a paper tiger registration if you don't have to be a member and can still perform it.
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But thats what i mean... its a paper tiger registration if you don't have to be a member and can still perform it.
That's the problem with third world countries and some western ones as well. Even in the USA there are certain "wacky docs".
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Did anyone of you LLers have early consolidation?
Yes. I had an early consolidation in my right leg, both Tibia and fibula. This happened at around 3 cm, when my doctor spent weeks trying to correct bow legs with improperly placed TSF frames. So I had to undergo another surgery to re-break my tibia and fibula, re-position a rod and wires that hold the lower TSF ring onto the bone.
Was it a "real" surgery or was it just an ambulant and rather quick treatment?
It was a real surgery. The duration of the surgery was about 2 hours and I was under general anesthesia. However, unlike my first surgery, I didn't have to get admitted for 5 days. It was an outpatient surgery, so got admitted at 8:00 am in the morning and left the hospital at 10 pm in the night.
Could it be re-cut easily, because it was still "soft" callus?
Yes. It wont be solidified so the process is less easy and not noisy. The scars however remain the same size, in fact are more pronounced because the cut is made in the same area.
How painful was it compared to the first surgery?
It was not as painful as the first surgery. I was on painkillers for only couple of days. I had this surgery 3-4 months post my first surgery, so I guess my body is used to dealing with this pain.
Where you able to leave the hospital the same or the next day (and go home)?
Same day
If you did it in India, Russia, Poland or Czech Republic, how much did you have to pay approx. for re-cutting?
I paid 33k INR , which is 500 USD.
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Thanks for your info, fujitora.
My German doctor said they have a special tool for cutting callus and it should be just a small outpatient surgery.
I'm still waiting for the estimate and hope it won't cost me a fortune.
I don't want to fly back to India.
@egocentrical
Stay away from the ISIC !
I can't prove it, but I just know that each of my legs where done by different people.
I think that Dr. Deepak did my good leg and someone else of his team did the messed-up one.
This will be a gamble if you go there and you won't know who will operate on you.
And they can very well mess up your femurs. They could make a poor osteotomy which will result in early consolidation (like it happened to me).
They could twist one of your femurs which would rotate your entire leg in- or outwards, not just the foot (similar to what happened to me). And the monorail on one of your femurs could later turn out to be too short, as it also happened to me.
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did you have only early consolidation on one leg then?
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Man, this is terrible. What did Dr. Deepak have to say about this?
Good luck and stay strong. It will be worth it in the end.
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did you have only early consolidation on one leg then?
Yes, only in my left leg.
My right leg is totally fine (apart from the mysterious cracks and pain) and my left leg is f*cked up and has probably every complication known to mankind.
Man, this is terrible. What did Dr. Deepak have to say about this?
Good luck and stay strong. It will be worth it in the end.
Thanks, and I haven't contacted him yet. I wanted to but there was a lot to work out first.
But I think now I have a list:
- twisted tibia leading to foot pointing inwards
- 3cm of fibula cut out; still no callus as of now
- fibula in left leg has misalignment (in both legs no screws used)
- poor osteotomy in left leg
- very early and inevitable consolidation because of the poor osteotomy
- bending in the monorail, because of unknowingly lengthening to 1,7cm while having consolidation at just 7mm
- 1.5cm discrepancy in leg length (and slowly getting more)
- because of the pin bending the angle of the monorail has changed and now I will have to turn more mm for less mm of lengthening
- too short monorail, only allows lengthening to 4cm instead of 4,5cm; maybe confused left and right leg
- the compression-distraction units from Pitkar have 40mm written on it but can only be distracted to max 35mm
- 10mm of the rail wasted because of the consolidation and bending
- max. 25mm possible now (only left leg)
- Pitkar can't be bought where I live
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Yes, only in my left leg.
My right leg is totally fine (apart from the mysterious cracks and pain) and my left leg is f*cked up and has probably every complication known to mankind.
Thanks, and I haven't contacted him yet. I wanted to but there was a lot to work out first.
But I think now I have a list:
- twisted tibia leading to foot pointing inwards
- 3cm of fibula cut out; still no callus as of now
- fibula in left leg has misalignment (in both legs no screws used)
- poor osteotomy in left leg
- very early and inevitable consolidation because of the poor osteotomy
- bending in the monorail, because of unknowingly lengthening to 1,7cm while having consolidation at just 7mm
- because of the pin bending the angle of the monorail has changed and now I will have to turn more mm for less mm of lengthening
- too short monorail, only allows lengthening to 4cm instead of 4,5cm; maybe confused left and right leg
- the compression-distraction units from Pitkar have 40mm written on it but can only be distracted to max 35mm
- 10mm of the rail wasted because of the bending
- max. 25mm possible now
- Pitkar can't be bought where I live
I don't even know what to say Chris. The countless mistakes and error made from the beginning alongside the astounding incompetence of those at ISIC in the way they have treated you actually disgusts me, it's gone from bad to worse as I have been following this diary and ended up at this point. They are dealing with peoples lives and in the process ruining them, ISIC should be permanently shut down and never allowed to operate again or at the very least convinces those here not to make the same mistake. It further convinces me that undergoing this very serious and dangerous procedure anywhere other than a developed Western country is playing with fire, there are a few good results but the vast majority have been riddled with complications and there is little recourse for recompense if something does go wrong. I'm so sorry you have had to go through this and I hope you somehow resolve all of these issues, you are a very strong person.
Please keep us updated, best of luck and try to remain positive, your complications can and will be solved in the end.
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Isn't the "don't go to India" message that is being told for years not being clear enough?
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Isn't the "don't go to India" message that is being told for years not being clear enough?
It's more you get what you pay for.
Parihar has a good reputation
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Isn't the "don't go to India" message that is being told for years not being clear enough?
Where should you go to then if you don't have a hundred thousands dollars/Euros? Stay short forever?
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I think whoever posted this hospital information is partially responsible for your problems. You're owed an explanation.
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It's more you get what you pay for.
So I only got one good leg because I paid half the price? ;D
Fact is that someone did a good job for little money and someone did a bad job.
Hence it is possible to have good results at the ISIC, but you will never know who is operating on you while you're on the table because "Deepak" is a team.
Well, now I can spend the other half on fixing.
But I highly doubt that I will have spent as much on becoming taller as when I would have gone to an expensive doctor.
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Where should you go to then if you don't have a hundred thousands dollars/Euros? Stay short forever?
Italy? South Africa?
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Italy? South Africa?
This should still be 50.000EUR price-range.
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Italy should be 30k EUR max and you can also go back home
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I think whoever posted this hospital information is partially responsible for your problems. You're owed an explanation.
I called that guy out multiple times on his diary because his diary didn't add up.
Chris,
If you are looking for a cheap alternative that could fix your legs, look towards Russia. However, that bone gap u have, if it turns out to be a non union, then don't bother going there. There are plenty of diaries on old forum in Russia, give them a read.
Good luck,
TS
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So I only got one good leg because I paid half the price? ;D
Fact is that someone did a good job for little money and someone did a bad job.
Hence it is possible to have good results at the ISIC, but you will never know who is operating on you while you're on the table because "Deepak" is a team.
Well, now I can spend the other half on fixing.
But I highly doubt that I will have spent as much on becoming taller as when I would have gone to an expensive doctor.
Do you think someone would be able to request only Deepak to operate? and convey this as evidence as to why? .. longshot but shrug
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I called that guy out multiple times on his diary because his diary didn't add up.
Well at the very least his moderator privilege should be revoked since he posted a bad hospital and someone ran into complications because of it.
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Well at the very least his moderator privilege should be revoked since he posted a bad hospital and someone ran into complications because of it.
I don't think you can blame someone for simply providing the information of somewhere offering limb lengthening. They could no way predict that this would be the result. The 'Limb lengthening doctors' section isn't to provide 'good' hospitals which is completely subjective, but to provide their information for prospective patients to be aware of. Also, the author of the diary that TrueSpartan is talking about isn't the same person as the moderator who posted ISIC's information, the moderator neither underwent limb lengthening with nor ever expressly recommend ISIC at any point.
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The moderator guy did it with another doc (Parihar) not this Deepak guy
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I don't think you can blame someone for simply providing the information of somewhere offering limb lengthening. They could no way predict that this would be the result.
Was first thread but I found another one where dirt cheap clinics were posted and he was already called out on it.
http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=305.0
http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=253.0
Even if he didn't outright recommend, these clinics would be unheard of if he didn't post them and people who ran into terrible complications like Chris would have gone elsewhere, so there is a degree of responsibility for Chris's outcome as well as anyone else who went to a doctor he posted and got messed up.
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Chris is an adult and made the decision to go there on his own, he is his own person and bears the responsibility for any and all of his actions including choosing ISIC for the procedure. All the other user did was post the information of the place, he didn't make anybody do anything and bears absolutely no responsibility for Chris' result as it was up to Chris to research and decide on whether to go through with the procedure and where, to suggest otherwise is ridiculous and a poor attempt at shifting blame where there is none. I'm sure Chris doesn't blame the user for simply posting its information.
The section itself even has a stickied thread which states;
The Directory of Limb Lengthening Doctors serves as a informational database of all Limb Lengthening Doctors available around the world. The directory is intended for informational purposes only.
In plain English, this section is not a recommendation or non-recommendation of any Doctors.
How that information is used by somebody is their decision and responsibility.
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My advice seems to be ignored.
I've been saying the following for years now
DO NOT GO TO INDIA. The hospitals there are third world. Forget comparing them to America or Europe. India is well below Russia and Turkey
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My advice seems to be ignored.
I've been saying the following for years now
DO NOT GO TO INDIA. The hospitals there are third world. Forget comparing them to America or Europe. India is well below Russia and Turkey
I completely agree, it isn't a coincidence that all of these complications appear to occur from cheap lengthening in hospitals in these countries by doctors who in my opinion should not be doing so. I don't know how people can knowingly take such a gamble that has the very real possibility of becoming disabled for the rest of their lives for height gain - yes, the other hospitals are more expensive, but for a reason and offer a much higher chance of a satisfactory recovery, doing it on the cheap is never worth the risk with your health when there are much better options even at a higher price point.
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Was first thread but I found another one where dirt cheap clinics were posted and he was already called out on it.
http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=305.0
http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=253.0
Even if he didn't outright recommend, these clinics would be unheard of if he didn't post them and people who ran into terrible complications like Chris would have gone elsewhere, so there is a degree of responsibility for Chris's outcome as well as anyone else who went to a doctor he posted and got messed up.
That doesn't make him responsible. It's clearly stated(on every doctor's information page, linking to here: http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=55.0) that the post's purpose is to provide information and how someone uses that information is upto them. Every patient's responsibility is to thoroughly research the surgeon's history. The old forum used to recommend "good" doctors and censor "bad" doctors and it turned into a monopoly.
Thanks, and I haven't contacted him yet. I wanted to but there was a lot to work out first.
But I think now I have a list:
- twisted tibia leading to foot pointing inwards
- 3cm of fibula cut out; still no callus as of now
- fibula in left leg has misalignment (in both legs no screws used)
- poor osteotomy in left leg
- very early and inevitable consolidation because of the poor osteotomy
- bending in the monorail, because of unknowingly lengthening to 1,7cm while having consolidation at just 7mm
- 1.5cm discrepancy in leg length (and slowly getting more)
- because of the pin bending the angle of the monorail has changed and now I will have to turn more mm for less mm of lengthening
- too short monorail, only allows lengthening to 4cm instead of 4,5cm; maybe confused left and right leg
- the compression-distraction units from Pitkar have 40mm written on it but can only be distracted to max 35mm
- 10mm of the rail wasted because of the consolidation and bending
- max. 25mm possible now (only left leg)
- Pitkar can't be bought where I live
That was hard to read. I really hope these get fixed. My best wishes are with you.
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It's more you get what you pay for.
Parihar has a good reputation
I think your right. I hope it is not the same with mitchov internals.
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Damn, this is super hard to hear bro. Have u contacted deepak about this?
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Damn, this is super hard to hear bro. Have u contacted deepak about this?
Maybe I will once my left leg has been fixed, but their opinion is not important to me anymore.
Update
I'll have a surgery on Wednesday at a German hospital to fix my left leg. It will be expensive, but my parents will take care of the bills.
My mother has been crying since she had learned about me having leg discrepancy and a messed up foot angle.
And my father has taken charge of me and my fate.
I had to promise to never ever set a foot in a foreign hospital again, or my father will personally come to break my legs :-X
I'm an adult and this has been my "big-boy lesson". If I ever do something stupid like this again, I'll be on my own.
And to make it even worse: I had to agree to have my right tibia nail locked during this surgery as well, because my father wants me to end this "madness".
This is not appealable :'( :'( :'(
I'm turning like crazy now and hope to reach >2.5cm by that time.
Life is unfair and then you die. And this is also cruel, but I still I love my parents.
I'm NOT blaming anyone for anything on this forum.
The only people to blame are the idiot(s) who messed up my left leg and Dr. Deepak for not checking his assistant doctor's work.
And regarding cheap doctors: I'm not gonna say "stay away from India or any other development country".
I'll rather say: Only go to known doctors with good reputation. The price has nothing to do with it.
And to lengthen at home has been a good decisions so far.
I will keep this thread updated, because I still have to lengthen my left leg.
I'm going to post pictures of my scares too now and then so you can see their progress.
I think they heal quite well. Too bad one of my scars will be cut open again on Wednesday...
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So sorry to all what happened to you there...you really don't deserve it. If you ask me, Deepak and his team should be taken to court for this madness. Yes, you agreed to doing this potentiall dangerous surgery, but all the things they made wrong are simply unacceptable from a medical standpoint.
Do you have any idea what you are gonna do about all your lengthening goals? I can imagine that's the least of your worries now.
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I wish you a good recovery.
What is your nationality? Just wondering why you have to pay for the German treatment, but maybe you are a non-european citizen?
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Maybe I will once my left leg has been fixed, but their opinion is not important to me anymore.
Update
I'll have a surgery on Wednesday at a German hospital to fix my left leg. It will be expensive, but my parents will take care of the bills.
My mother has been crying since she had learned about me having leg discrepancy and a messed up foot angle.
And my father has taken charge of me and my fate.
I had to promise to never ever set a foot in a foreign hospital again, or my father will personally come to break my legs :-X
I'm an adult and this has been my "big-boy lesson". If I ever do something stupid like this again, I'll be on my own.
And to make it even worse: I had to agree to have my right tibia nail locked during this surgery as well, because my father wants me to end this "madness".
This is not appealable :'( :'( :'(
I'm turning like crazy now and hope to reach >2.5cm by that time.
Life is unfair and then you die. And this is also cruel, but I still I love my parents.
I'm NOT blaming anyone for anything on this forum.
The only people to blame are the idiot(s) who messed up my left leg and Dr. Deepak for not checking his assistant doctor's work.
And regarding cheap doctors: I'm not gonna say "stay away from India or any other development country".
I'll rather say: Only go to known doctors with good reputation. The price has nothing to do with it.
And to lengthen at home has been a good decisions so far.
I will keep this thread updated, because I still have to lengthen my left leg.
I'm going to post pictures of my scares too now and then so you can see their progress.
I think they heal quite well. Too bad one of my scars will be cut open again on Wednesday...
Ehh man I feel sorry for you. I was in similar situation but I didnt tell my parents and stayed with my doc till the end then docs in the UK fixed the alignment so im the consolidation phase with by happy 170cm.
Depending on your height and how comfortable you feel you can always got to Russia and for 20K euro you can do LON and achive around 5-6cm.
For now just fully recover and give you parents some peace of mind. I bet they are terrified.
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I think they should know so they wont say you mentioned nothing to do them about your prooblem. At the very least they see how incompetent they were. And does put a end to your height goals or will you just wait and save to go to a western doctor.
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Chris, any update about your situation? How are you these days?
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Hey guys,
sorry for not updating, but I'm not in the mood for writing a lot about LL right now.
I had my surgery on Wednesday.
As my father insisted, the right tibia nail got locked.
I could only make it to 2,3cm, the rest became bending.
My left leg got re-cut again, but it didn't help. Lengthening is still not possible.
My German doctor now thinks that also the bone canal is too tight for the tibia to glide over the nail. Absolutely everything done to this leg by Dr. Deepak is messed up. EVERYTHING!
Well, money wasted.
Now I'm left with two choices:
1) Have the nail hammered out again and try lengthening with this shady monorail fixator. This will most likely cause misalignment and I will have to live with the fixator on.
2) Have the nail locked and live with ~1 inch leg discrepancy for one year. Then have both nails taken out and the left tibia broken for the third (!) time. Maybe in Russia or in Serbia.
I think, I will opt for 2), because now there are several bone fragments in my leg and half of my tibia is split. My doctor said it would finally need to heal. And I don't trust the alignment of the fixator.
I'm starting to wish I was dead again, because I doubt I will have enough money for both fixing my left tibia and doing femurs at the same time next year :'(
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this sounds so crappy mate . wish you all the best best
man i wished you would have saved more money and taken a better doc.
when its not a cosmetic case any longer but like a ''problem'' dosent your cuntry support to fix it maybe ?
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Hi Chris. We are more or less the same height so I understand how the world treat us. However, even if I'm intruding, I wanted to advise you to do what is best for your health. Your father is giving you a second chance to return to normal life. Do a damage control surgery in Germany, let your bones heal and afterwards do a corrective surgery of the leg discrepancy. Your health is more important than your height ambition.
Hope you recover fast
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Hang in there Chris.
I also think that option 2 is the best decision. A 1 inch leg discrepancy for one year does not sound that bad. Hopefully a more capable doctor can fix your leg after that.
Good luck and my best wishes for you, buddy.
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I'm really pulling for you Chris.
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Chris, considering that you have a nail on your tibias I don't think that the risk of misalignment is so big.
So if I were you I would try to continue lengthening to have both my legs equal and not do another surgery only to fix this discrepancy.
After all you will do X rays so if you start to see a misalignment then you'll stop.
The faults that Deepak did to your surgery are some of the worst I've ever seen and I understood it from the first time I saw your X rays with one of your tibias broken in 3 spots and your fibulas been cut so much that a non alignment is almost for granted.
The good thing is that all these can be fixed and only fibulas will probably remain non aligned but in reality you can be completely functional even with fibulas open, because only cuts next to ankle are important for fibulas, cuts so higher doesn't really matter..
Anyway, you must be optimist and if you really want to become taller, noone can deny you your dream.
You are young and you have plenty of time to do another LL in a good doctor this time and not in the butchers of India who had crippled many LLers.
Keep strong dude!
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My God
Chris, fix your legs with a good doctor and after that think about femurs.I wanted to go to Russia the Next year but I think I will wait a little more. If you want femurs use only the best devices, I know that low price is very attractive, but if the devices in femurs are not accurate, you can end with permanent damage. About the idea of dying, I cant understand like you the horrible situation you are living, but all have a second opportunity, you will see.
My best wishes
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Getting taller should be the least of your concerned you are messed up right know. You really should wait until you are financially independent because I think you're dad would carry out his threat if you tried it again.
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Thanks for your replies and condolences :)
I decided to keep my monorail fixator on until my left leg is fully consolidated. Not another surgery to lock the second nail.
I have a lot of cracks and bone fragments in my left tibia. In fact, it looks like scrambled eggs. The widest gap is just 7mm, so hopefully consolidation shouldn't take longer than 3 month.
It will save my dad a lot of money and I already asked my parents if I could use that money for later fixing my leg (leg discrepancy and foot angle) instead of just locking the nail.
To my supersize, both agreed under one condition: no more wheelchair.
They want to see me healthy enough to walk on crutches and to attend university, which will start on Monday again.
If I can't do it, they will make me lock the second nail to speed up the process.
I've been successfully trying to walk on crutches since two days after surgery (last week), so challenge accepted ;D
My plans are to first recover from my LL surgeries and especially have my left leg healed up completely.
Then in March 2018 which is exactly one year from now, I will have my rods removed and my left tibia broken again.
It will be unilateral lengthening for just 2,1cm (right leg is 2,3cm; left leg is 7mm but it was 5mm shorter than my right leg initially).
I don't want to and I probably can't put another nail in my tibia, so I will have to live with the fixator for up to 6 month.
Keeping my fixator on now for another ~3 month will show me if I could really do it. I could have the nail locked any time this time, but not later.
I don't know where I could fit in LON femurs timewise and I still need a very good explanation for my father why I need to go to a foreign doctor again and why he is save this time around.
I'm thinking about Dr. Mitcovic or Dr. Solomin.
But I have one year to figure out :P
Hope is what keeps me ticking. I won't give up!
Edit: Oh, and since "height and the ladies" is a big topic here at the forums at the moment: I'm one inch taller now and there are more than some girls who are 163-164cm at my university.
I will report back if suddenly being on eye-level with them creates a difference in their behavior ;)
Edit2: I had necrosis around one pin on my right leg. I will write about it tomorrow and also show some updated pictures of my scars healing.
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Do you feel taller at one inch gain.
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If i was you i would keep the rod and get Solomin to remove it. That guy is one of the best ortophedics in the world https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DbJGAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA673&lpg=PA673&dq=orthofix+solomin&source=bl&ots=tAAjn9iUIM&sig=JQMdP_rlW0EXpE1ZH32E6AYBPFg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjapsL26t7SAhUBkxQKHSMYC8kQ6AEINDAC#v=onepage&q=orthofix%20solomin&f=false his own book on helping people with much more complicated situation than yours.
He also coinveted ortho suv http://www.ortho-suv.org/razrabotk-eng/ortho-suv-manual-engl.pdf with is aquvilent of TSF.
I talked to him and he is happy to do LATN and personally i think that would be the best thing for you.
I think you could get removed the rod and get full ilizarov or ortho suv frame installed with anticipation for the rods. Then after lets say 2 or 3 months they would get proper lengthening and alignment followed with rod insertion in both leg.
Unlike indians they got massive knowledge and work very closely with Parihar etc. They also got world class hospital in st Petersburg(which btw is an awesome city).
I would also recommend to not be cheap like you were last time. Although Solomin is cheap now it wont last long. Ruble is going up and once a doctor has enough interest from CLL patients with money they will definitely rise the prices.
Considering your situation and the process i think you would have to to have around 15k euro for around 6 cm.
One thing is very important - regarding you situation doctors will adjust price for you. Nothing is written in a stone and you always need to negotiate.
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Good luck with your recovery, and you should also focus on hitting on some of these shorter girls. Go get them, tiger. Seriously, you are not losing motivation after all your struggles, you're my inspiration.
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Wow this diary has been a roller coaster ride :P. Seriously I hope you manage to get your legs fixed though when you said your legs looked like scrambled eggs I got kinda hungry. I understand your pain; still finding a good reason to explain to my parents why Im wearing braces after I come back from india after 3 months.
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cole saws, where did you have your surgery?
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Havent had it yet. Im planning on going to parihar to get external tibias for a 6cm increase from 163 to 169cms. Maybe I can explain to him I was born intersexed but forced to get estrogen injections which stunted my growth (id actually be 5'8 if I wasnt given estrogen shots) and get an extra cm so I can be 5'7 (170cm).
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Well I'm so sorry to hear about Chris's experience. Once again, this diary serves a big lesson to stay away from unreputable cheap doctors and India in general, of course the exception being Dr. Parihar. Save more and lengthen from a reputable surgeon rather than risk being crippled for life just to save money.
All the best wishes to you Chris, hope you recover well.
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Be careful on how you behave on your consultation, he would send you to a psychologist is he sees something weird.
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I already told people here to not depend upon tolly's diary becoming greedy about money.I advice people to work hard and save momey and then go for internals being it tibias or femurs.His was just one diary and he was not willing to even help me wirth his email or contact no.Thank god he didn't.Everything will be alright Chris,not to worry :).
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Yes. I went to an unknown/unreputable doctor in India.
I preached on this forums that the price for LL is not important to have good results and I still say it isn't.
Fact is that most short people have not enough money and spending 5 to 10 years to earn the cash for a money-greedy doctor is nothing more than a waste of ones remaining youth and lifetime.
You don't really profit from LL when you're kinda old!
One leg turned out totally fine.
The other isn't, but most likely because Dr. Deepak let one of his assistant doctors perform the surgery on the bad leg without checking this guy's results.
So it is not like Dr. Deepak was incompetent/not skilled. You just can't trust team Deepak. That's a difference!
Now one of my legs is messed up, but I can still live with it without pain. I'm not crippled.
If everything went fine, I would have paid about 13.000 EUR (total) to become taller.
Now I'll have to spend one more year, have more surgeries and to pay about 25.000 EUR.
That's still waaaay cheaper than most doctors and I still won't have to wait 5 to 10 fking years.
Whining about more risks, more pain, scars and lack of social acceptance due to visible external methods is for the weak. Then you simply don't want LL badly enough.
I don't blame anyone and I don't regret anything.
And now please stop turning my diary into a false example for why an entire country is supposedly bad and why you should pay ridiculous amounts to doctors just because they are famous!
Find a reputable doctor, not an expensive one!
If you have the money for internals, go for it, I would do the same if I had it, but this diary is for the poor and hopefully more down to earth than some other diaries that remind me of going to the spa or buying sports cars.
Regarding the user "tolly": He was legit. Both Dr. Deepak and Dr. Surbhit told me about one of their two patients who did 8cm.
And tolly contacted me twice asking how I'm doing long after he had stopped posting here.
Stay fair!
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It's amazing that your spirit hasn't flagged. You will most definitely achieve your goal with your mindset, it'll just take you more time.
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Yes. I went to an unknown/unreputable doctor in India.
I preached on this forums that the price for LL is not important to have good results and I still say it isn't.
Fact is that most short people have not enough money and spending 5 to 10 years to earn the cash for a money-greedy doctor is nothing more than a waste of ones remaining youth and lifetime.
You don't really profit from LL when you're kinda old!
One leg turned out totally fine.
The other isn't, but most likely because Dr. Deepak let one of his assistant doctors perform the surgery on the bad leg without checking this guy's results.
So it is not like Dr. Deepak was incompetent/not skilled. You just can't trust team Deepak. That's a difference!
Now one of my legs is messed up, but I can still live with it without pain. I'm not crippled.
If everything went fine, I would have paid about 13.000 EUR (total) to become taller.
Now I'll have to spend one more year, have more surgeries and to pay about 25.000 EUR.
That's still waaaay cheaper than most doctors and I still won't have to wait 5 to 10 fking years.
Whining about more risks, more pain, scars and lack of social acceptance due to visible external methods is for the weak. Then you simply don't want LL badly enough.
I don't blame anyone and I don't regret anything.
And now please stop turning my diary into a false example for why an entire country is supposedly bad and why you should pay ridiculous amounts to doctors just because they are famous!
Find a reputable doctor, not an expensive one!
If you have the money for internals, go for it, I would do the same if I had it, but this diary is for the poor and hopefully more down to earth than some other diaries that remind me of going to the spa or buying sports cars.
Regarding the user "tolly": He was legit. Both Dr. Deepak and Dr. Surbhit told me about one of their two patients who did 8cm.
And tolly contacted me twice asking how I'm doing long after he stopped posting here. Stay fair!
I know you are still enthusiastic but your results prove the contrary. People put down India as many doctors are unknown, and don't have the same skills as more expensive doctors. Parihar seems like the only one there with a consistent trend of reliability. I do think the biggest mistake was not staying there for distraction, they would have had to have done something seeing all your complications.
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I do think the biggest mistake was not staying there for distraction, they would have had to have done something seeing all your complications.
I have German doctors at home who look after me. No need to waste money on a stay in India.
The only thing you can do with my left leg is to start all over again, because the three most important things are messed up:
1) poor osteotomy with bone fragments and a split tibia; always contact between the bones --> prevents lengthening
2) the tibia can't glide over the nail inserted because it is too tight --> prevents lengthening
3) the monorail fixator is not aligned properly --> prevents lengthening and the pressure built up while trying to lengthen is additionally bad for 1) and 2)
That's checkmate for my leg.
Like my German doctors said, the tibia really needs to heal first. Then off with the fixator, then out with the nail and break the leg again.
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Idk why ppl don't spend 9.300€ for mitkovic who is very experienced in this field and doesnt cost much, you could have spent 13.000€ on mitko and he has 100x experience of who you went to
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Idk why ppl don't spend 9.300€ for mitkovic who is very experienced in this field and doesnt cost much, you could have spent 13.000€ on mitko and he has 100x experience of who you went to
Who would you chose between Parihar and Mitkovic or any other doctor for Tibiae?
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I have German doctors at home who look after me. No need to waste money on a stay in India.
The only thing you can do with my left leg is to start all over again, because the three most important things are messed up:
1) poor osteotomy with bone fragments and a split tibia; always contact between the bones --> prevents lengthening
2) the tibia can't glide over the nail inserted because it is too tight --> prevents lengthening
3) the monorail fixator is not aligned properly --> prevents lengthening and the pressure built up while trying to lengthen is additionally bad for 1) and 2)
That's checkmate for my leg.
Like my German doctors said, the tibia really needs to heal first. Then off with the fixator, then out with the nail and break the leg again.
Yeah, but they won't know the same information than the ones that did the surgery. At least to have a clear answer of what the hell happened. Did you ever communicate with them after? They might think they did a great job with you.
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Do you feel taller at one inch gain.
Yes, I'm feeling taller. But I'm very short and so one inch makes a big difference.
I'm on eye-level with the short girls now. The ones who know me but don't know that I did LL have definitely noticed it.
When we were queuing in the canteen (I need help to carry my lunch) I tried to stay straight with my crutches and I could see the girls comparing heights ;D
The big guys don't see any difference though.
If i was you i would(...)
Thanks :)
Good luck with your recovery, and you should also focus on hitting on some of these shorter girls. Go get them, tiger. Seriously, you are not losing motivation after all your struggles, you're my inspiration.
I have never been an inspiration to anyone. Thank you. This feels even better than getting a little bit taller :)
Regarding the girls: I'm 4 days in the new semester. Being on crutches has its advantages with the ladies I can tell you ;D
Like I've written above, the short girls who are my height now are definitely comparing heights. And one girl who was like 2 inches taller than me (now 1 inch) said I would look good when we met again.
My big crush (she's not my girlfriend and she is single) was smiling when she picked me up for school (she has a car) and when I asked her if I looked taller she smiled even more and said yes. Too bad she is still 4cm taller than me :'( She is very supportive and she said several times that she could understand why I wanted to become taller. But now she also noted that I was very confident in her eyes (before LL) and it felt like I had to defend myself a little and assure her that I'm still confident. Maybe I have won one point for height and lost another for less confidence, I don't know :P
But in a nutshell, I definitely have been noticing a difference in the girls' behavior when I'm around their height.
So it's not about being tall, it's about being their height/taller then them.
Wow this diary has been a roller coaster ride :P. Seriously I hope you manage to get your legs fixed though when you said your legs looked like scrambled eggs I got kinda hungry. I understand your pain; still finding a good reason to explain to my parents why Im wearing braces after I come back from india after 3 months.
I've also posted it in another thread, but I'm a fan of traffic accidents ;) Both cars stood still, you tried to pass through, then one drive suddenly hit the gas and you got jammed between both cars. Both legs broken and they had to take you to the hospital for surgery. It worked several times without problems for the rare ppl in my life who better should not know the truth.
All the best wishes to you Chris, hope you recover well.
Thank you, LichKing :)
Everything will be alright Chris,not to worry :).
Thank you too :)
It's amazing that your spirit hasn't flagged. You will most definitely achieve your goal with your mindset, it'll just take you more time.
Yea, I will never give up. I think the most important thing for my brain is that I'm making progress at all.
Despite the shorter leg, gaining one inch has saved me for now.
Idk why ppl don't spend 9.300€ for mitkovic who is very experienced in this field and doesnt cost much, you could have spent 13.000€ on mitko and he has 100x experience of who you went to
My surgery was 7.000 EUR for LON. The rest was additional expenses. Dr. Mitkovic's 9.300 EUR is without LON and expenses.
But I'm planning to go to Dr. Mitkovic or Dr. Solomin from now on.
Yeah, but they won't know the same information than the ones that did the surgery. At least to have a clear answer of what the hell happened. Did you ever communicate with them after? They might think they did a great job with you.
Well, to be honest, on Saturday, I received an email from Dr. Deepak asking me how I'm doing because he didn't hear from me (see everyone, like I said, he does care about his patients).
I haven't replied yet, because I don't want to argue since I really like(ed) him as a person.
This is my weak spot. I hate trouble :-X
But I should talk to him at least once and let him know, I'm aware of that.
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One leg turned out totally fine.
The other isn't, but most likely because Dr. Deepak let one of his assistant doctors perform the surgery on the bad leg without checking this guy's results.
So it is not like Dr. Deepak was incompetent/not skilled. You just can't trust team Deepak. That's a difference!
You are wrong. Dr. Deepak is incompetent for allowing someone else to do bad job and not checking it. He was in charge during the surgery and when someone under-perform he is fully responsible. Thats why they are called assistants( they still learn and can make mistakes)
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Well, to be honest, on Saturday, I received an email from Dr. Deepak asking me how I'm doing because he didn't hear from me (see everyone, like I said, he does care about his patients).
I haven't replied yet, because I don't want to argue since I really like(ed) him as a person.
This is my weak spot. I hate trouble :-X
But I should talk to him at least once and let him know, I'm aware of that.
Dr. Deepak may be a good guy but you can't kiss the ground he walks in because of that. He fked up your legs. He at the least needs to know that. His opinion/emotions probably don't matter but he needs to know what happened as a result of his incompetence.
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Chris, I have been reading your diary from the beginning. It's really great that you maintain your positive thinking even after all the trouble. You seem right in your writings. Everyone who wants to go through cll needs to read your dairy not only because to be careful with choosing the doctor but to remain hopeful. I wish you a speed recovery. Since you are very young, you have time to take things slowly. All the best.
If anyone knows about dr suhas shah in Mumbai. Please let me if he is good doctor.
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Hi Chris
How are you doing man ? Hope things are getting better.
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Hi Chris
How are you doing man ? Hope things are getting better.
Hey :)
I'm almost back to normal live with still having my monorail fixator on my left leg.
No need to lock the tibia nail. In about 3 weeks I will have new x-rays taken again, and if I'm lucky, I can take it off by early to mid May.
I'm planning to remove the fixator by myself btw., hope the pain won't punch me into coma :P
I've been taking the stairs with my crutches since 1.5 weeks now and I even made it to a bus stop twice when my friend couldn't pick me up for university.
I'm even fit enough to do my part-time job again, starting on April 17th. Yay!
Sleeping still sucks though, because I'm one of those people who prefer to sleep on their stomach.
Now having to live with one fixator on, I've come to the conclusion that unilateral lengthening on tibias would indeed have been good choice for me.
Today, I would rather take 4-6 moth per leg and can still take part in life instead of locking myself away with almost no mobility and to be depended on others.
Here is also an update on my experience with lengthening modest amounts:
I could only become 1 inch taller (for now). I can confirm that everyone who was up to 2 inches shorter and up to 3 inches taller than my initial height noticed my gain of only 1 inch, regardless of whether they knew I did LL or not. And I'm an university student, I know and I meet a lot of people (even on crutches ;)).
I'm still feeling way too short though, which shouldn't be a surprise since I haven't even made it past 165cm yet :'(
But the short girls (160-165cm) keep treating me differently now and it helps my broken ego. Everyone wants to feel potentially attractive to the opposite sxx after all.
Respect from other men is still far off though, but I've started to tell myself that I've been doing harder, more painful and more dangerous things to my body than probably all of those wannabe-gangstas ever will.
And thanks to LL, the most important development for me is that now I can wake up every morning knowing that I'm doing something about my too short appearance, even though it now will take me two more surgeries and approx. 2 more years to finally be done with it. I'm much calmer now, because I can see light at the horizon.
Also, if the LL journey is getting long, live on its road and make it a lifestyle ;)
Peace!
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Hey :)
I'm almost back to normal live with still having my monorail fixator on my left leg.
No need to lock the tibia nail. In about 3 weeks I will have new x-rays taken again, and if I'm lucky, I can take it off by early to mid May.
I'm planning to remove the fixator by myself btw., hope the pain won't punch me into coma :P
I've been taking the stairs with my crutches since 1.5 weeks now and I even made it to a bus stop twice when my friend couldn't pick me up for university.
I'm even fit enough to do my part-time job again, starting on April 17th. Yay!
Sleeping still sucks though, because I'm one of those people who prefer to sleep on their stomach.
Now having to live with one fixator on, I've come to the conclusion that unilateral lengthening on tibias would indeed have been good choice for me.
Today, I would rather take 4-6 moth per leg and can still take part in life instead of locking myself away with almost no mobility and to be depended on others.
Here is also an update on my experience with lengthening modest amounts:
I could only become 1 inch taller (for now). I can confirm that everyone who was up to 2 inches shorter and up to 3 inches taller than my initial height noticed my gain of only 1 inch, regardless of whether they knew I did LL or not. And I'm an university student, I know and I meet a lot of people (even on crutches ;)).
I'm still feeling way too short though, which shouldn't be a surprise since I haven't even made it past 165cm yet :'(
But the short girls (160-165cm) keep treating me differently now and it helps my broken ego. Everyone wants to feel potentially attractive to the opposite sxx after all.
Respect from other men is still far off though, but I've started to tell myself that I've been doing harder, more painful and more dangerous things to my body than probably all of those wannabe-gangstas ever will.
And thanks to LL, the most important development for me is that now I can wake up every morning knowing that I'm doing something about my too short appearance, even though it now will take me two more surgeries and approx. 2 more years to finally be done with it. I'm much calmer now, because I can see light at the horizon.
Also, if the LL journey is getting long, live on its road and make it a lifestyle ;)
Peace!
Great progress in a very short amount of time. Awesome man, keep going!!!
I couldn't even walk with crutches for 7 months, even with full weight bearing frames. For you to do it in just a month, that shows you're physically fit for this journey.
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Great progress in a very short amount of time. Awesome man, keep going!!!
I couldn't even walk with crutches for 7 months, even with full weight bearing frames. For you to do it in just a month, that shows you're physically fit for this journey.
Thanks :-)
Yes, I'm VERY flexible and I had strong and trained legs to begin with. Despite the pain, I also tried to use the walker whenever I could which helps a lot to fight atrophy.
But then again, I only made it to 1 inch with my first surgery. If I could have done 4cm as planned (or 2 inches like you did) things would probably be a bit harder for me now.
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It's very inspiring to see your determination.
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I wanted to leave my old diary dead and buried, but today I noticed, that there are 5 of 4 distal screws under both of my knees.
The fifth screw seems to be behind the IM nail without any purpose and they are also not in my medical records.
My German doctors never mentioned anything about it, but they had other concerns fixing me I guess.
Oh well, I will just add this to my flaw-list and ignore it.
(https://s2.postimg.org/7tbt87vf9/Trigen_Meta-_Nail.png) (https://postimg.org/image/7tbt87vf9/) (https://s2.postimg.org/y08eqfob9/5of4_Screws.png) (https://postimg.org/image/y08eqfob9/)