Limb Lengthening Forum

Limb Lengthening Surgery => Limb Lengthening Patients Experiences => Topic started by: yash on August 21, 2021, 06:30:51 AM

Title: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 21, 2021, 06:30:51 AM
hello guys, had the surgery yesterday.. couldnt write much yesterday due to sleepiness..
after over an year of consideration have decided to undergo cross lengthening. my current height is 1.64m target is to reach 1.74m.
so yesterday had my left femur done with lrs fixator and right tibia done with ilizarov ring fixator.. with an intramedullary nail
the surgery took a lot of time, nearly six hours, apparently my bones  were harder than usual to do a perfect corticomy...
i am attaching the pics of fixators... post operative xrays will be taken tomorrow..

https://imgur.com/a/UQPKeQl




Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: Thehighest on August 21, 2021, 06:47:37 AM
oh my bad six hours, is the same time as if you have done a bilaterial tibia LON?
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 21, 2021, 06:49:11 AM
oh my bad six hours, is the same time as if you have done a bilaterial tibia LON?

of the six hours, femur took 4 hours and tibia took 2 hours. and even according to dr saini bilateral tibia would take only 4 hours, since its easier to access.
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: DonBones on August 21, 2021, 07:05:08 AM
hello guys, had the surgery yesterday.. couldnt write much yesterday due to sleepiness..
after over an year of consideration have decided to undergo cross lengthening. my current height is 1.64m target is to reach 1.74m.
so yesterday had my left femur done with lrs fixator and right tibia done with ilizarov ring fixator.. with an intramedullary nail
the surgery took a lot of time, nearly six hours, apparently my bones  were harder than usual to do a perfect corticomy...
i am attaching the pics of fixators... post operative xrays will be taken tomorrow..

https://imgur.com/a/UQPKeQl

That's a long surgery. Perhaps with harder bones they will also heal faster :)

Cross lengthening sounds like one of the higher difficulty levels, hope you will be alright and good luck :)
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 21, 2021, 07:21:34 AM
yeah bro, thats the reason, i have very safe limits in each bone... chose cross because physio becomes lot easier.. when the frames are not adjacent to each other- tibia.. and i will not have enough mobility if i go for bilateral femur...
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: DonBones on August 21, 2021, 07:34:35 AM
yeah bro, thats the reason, i have very safe limits in each bone... chose cross because physio becomes lot easier.. when the frames are not adjacent to each other- tibia.. and i will not have enough mobility if i go for bilateral femur...

How long will all of this take?
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 21, 2021, 07:43:32 AM
How long will all of this take?
Surgery yesterday
Start of distraction- 6th day
Distraction- 50 days
15 day gap to restore Rom
2nd surgery
Same as above..
Best case scenario- will remove all 4 fixators by my bday in 1st week of jan
Return to normal walking after 2 months .
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 22, 2021, 06:48:24 AM
Pain was the worst on the night after surgery... Never experienced such pain so Will give it a 10/10..only the epidural helped then..now pain is fading away real fast..and movement is increasing rapidly... according to Dr hirdesh..it is common for swelling to occur upto  2 weeks..
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 22, 2021, 03:46:02 PM
The entire team deserves a special mention, since they are really concerned about me..I also am constantly under supervision of one of their staff during the entire hospital stay..will probably shift to guest house after 5 days in hospital.2 days to go
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 23, 2021, 09:36:55 AM
My reasons for undergoing ll:
Being less than 10 percentile in height has always affected my confidence ever since I was in high school .I tried a lot of remedies to grow taller, but none of them actually work.these include homeopathy & Ayurveda meds, stretching exercises etc..even during my undergraduate years, I always felt people gave less respect to short guys...no matter what kind of person a tall guy is, they used to be the talk of the town. So undergoing this procedure was really important for me to regain my confidence..I am lucky to have supportive parents who agreed with my decision.. and found a dedicated ll team.
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: DonBones on August 23, 2021, 10:59:05 AM
Good luck! :)
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 23, 2021, 12:23:22 PM
Good luck! :)
thank you  :)
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 23, 2021, 01:45:48 PM
post operative xrays: .
https://imgur.com/a/tv8de0K
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 24, 2021, 04:33:37 AM
as people say, femurs are definitely more difficult to handle than tibias, doing one femur at a time is being hard for me due to restricted movement of the thigh...must be really difficult for people who chose bilateral femurs..doing everything to improve my ROM and reduce swelling.
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 25, 2021, 04:17:36 PM
I actually regretted doing femur since morning..but just had my first physiotherapy session and am very happy to say that proper physiotherapy plays a big role in femur patients to reduce suffering.we did physiotherapy for about 30 minutes and pain levels dropped by atleast 50-60% and my knee flexion which previously was no more than 30° improved significantly to atleast 80%.an experienced physiotherapy team is really important for this surgery from start to end..also as seen in my x-rays saini sir did a great job in not inserting the half pins theough the knee..seen some surgeons doing that and those patients having significant knee issues .
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: Growing on August 26, 2021, 04:41:40 AM
Thanks for the update man. I wishing you a speedy recovery. Respect for going all in.
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 26, 2021, 05:09:57 AM
Thanks for the update man. I wishing you a speedy recovery. Respect for going all in.
yep growing, i just wanted this to be a one time affair for life. going for single segment would safely take me to a max of 169-170, which is still below 30 percentile . so had to go for both segments.  also once all the nails are locked there isnt much difference between externals and interrnals
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: Sorcerer on August 26, 2021, 05:43:33 AM
yep growing, i just wanted this to be a one time affair for life. going for single segment would safely take me to a max of 169-170, which is still below 30 percentile . so had to go for both segments.  also once all the nails are locked there isnt much difference between externals and interrnals
There are crucial differences between internal and external femurs.The latter advangtages the former very much in any aspect except price.
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 26, 2021, 06:19:31 AM
There are crucial differences between internal and external femurs.The latter advangtages the former very much in any aspect except price.
I was talking about advantages post locking of nails..except scars, what others do you have in mind?
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: Thehighest on August 26, 2021, 03:12:27 PM
Did your doctor mention the risk of nail breakage?
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 26, 2021, 04:06:00 PM
Did your doctor mention the risk of nail breakage?
During lengthening or consolidation?
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: Thehighest on August 26, 2021, 04:51:19 PM
During consolidation
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 26, 2021, 05:36:09 PM
During consolidation
Nail breaking during consolidation is a risk that is very rare and usually due to small diameter of nail and excessive activity before proper consolidation..it is a very easily preventable complication by adhereing to safe limits..by the way the complication is the same for externals and internals..
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 31, 2021, 03:53:12 PM
Day 11 post surgery..
Lengthened 5mm so far in both tibia and fenur..will have my first xray in a week, after which Dr hirdesh will decide whether to go 1.25mm in the femur...though there is no pain femur is really discomfortable..want to get rid of the frame as soon as possible..on the other hand, I am not really worried about tibia frame at all..it hardly causes any discomfort.
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 31, 2021, 04:02:23 PM
We are working really hard to restore ROM, but complete ROM is expected after fixator removal since the schanz pins may obstruct movement of muscles and tendons in the femur
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: notadetective on August 31, 2021, 04:54:23 PM
Day 11 post surgery..
Lengthened 5mm so far in both tibia and fenur..will have my first xray in a week, after which Dr hirdesh will decide whether to go 1.25mm in the femur...though there is no pain femur is really discomfortable..want to get rid of the frame as soon as possible..on the other hand, I am not really worried about tibia frame at all..it hardly causes any discomfort.

Hi yash,

Cross lengthening is very hard and I wish you good success in this journey. With the support of the team I am sure you will reach your goals and recover with determination.

Is the PT deciding the lengthening rate for you? I think you should check with your surgeon.

Do you know of any success stories with cross lengthening at your center? What is the average length they are able to get for their patients through cross lengthening?

Cross lengthening is usually done when wearing ex-fix on femur right? Is there really a benefit of doing it with monorial on femur? Do you find it convenient compared to bilateral tibia which other patients must be doing there?

Good luck yash, I will follow this diary
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on August 31, 2021, 08:14:38 PM
Hi yash,

Cross lengthening is very hard and I wish you good success in this journey. With the support of the team I am sure you will reach your goals and recover with determination.

Is the PT deciding the lengthening rate for you? I think you should check with your surgeon.

Do you know of any success stories with cross lengthening at your center? What is the average length they are able to get for their patients through cross lengthening?

Cross lengthening is usually done when wearing ex-fix on femur right? Is there really a benefit of doing it with monorial on femur? Do you find it convenient compared to bilateral tibia which other patients must be doing there?

Good luck yash, I will follow this diary

Hey notadetective,

Thank you for your kind words..I know cross is difficult and that's the reason I have very realistic goals in each segment.there are not many things that can go wrong in 4.5cm lengthening per segment.

Though I would confirm it with surgeon, i would still trust Dr Hirdesh as he has over 12 years of experience with ll patients.in fact I was really surprised by his knowledge even of the surgical processes and different kinds of ll devices which even some surgeons don't have.

There have been 4 other cross lengthenings here, one of whom I personally contacted with...they did in the range of 11- 14 cm

I am doing with monorail on femur . ilizarov femur is so barbaric in my opinion.i mean we can't even take a poop with it. monorails is the standard here for any femur lengthenings.i can't compare it with bilateral tibia because, if u want one segment u will go with tibia..if you want both cross is the only way. Don't even think of bilateral femurs since discomfort will be unthinkable..in my case with one femur it's a bit uncomfortable but manageable..I am just counting days when the femur frame will be removed
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on September 03, 2021, 07:01:50 AM
Knee Rom has improved significantly. currently it is above 100° flexion and normal extension. But complete ROM is expected after frame removal since pins may obstruct smooth movement of muscles and tendons.
Attached is knee ROM pic..no issues with tibia leg, can flex as much as the frame allows
http://imgur.com/a/UXtPWEh
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on September 04, 2021, 11:26:01 PM
1cm taller so far. things are improving pretty fast. the only issues i am facing are the discomfort with the frames and mild knee and calf pain in the femur leg. this pain may be due to distraction. taking mobizox(skeletal muscle relaxant+diclofenac) and tramadol( opiod analgesic) alternatively to deal with this  pain, patience is the key for femur lengthenings. things will improve from 12-14th day. attaching a video of the physiotherapy session.

https://imgur.com/a/afIUjad
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: GrowANut on September 05, 2021, 12:17:47 AM
You seem to have really good mobility for just undergoing the surgery good job man keep it up.
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on September 05, 2021, 02:51:16 AM
You seem to have really good mobility for just undergoing the surgery good job man keep it up.
thanks mate, i think the regular physiotherapy is paying off
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on September 05, 2021, 04:48:49 PM
since everything including pain is settled now, will go full on on physio from now,,

btw dr harry has created a new channel to share information about limb lengthening for which there are very few resources from indian context..
check it out   https://youtu.be/pS4jJxNDJ3k
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: Shatter. Gee. 11 on September 06, 2021, 05:44:45 AM
hello guys, had the surgery yesterday.. couldnt write much yesterday due to sleepiness..
after over an year of consideration have decided to undergo cross lengthening. my current height is 1.64m target is to reach 1.74m.
so yesterday had my left femur done with lrs fixator and right tibia done with ilizarov ring fixator.. with an intramedullary nail
the surgery took a lot of time, nearly six hours, apparently my bones  were harder than usual to do a perfect corticomy...
i am attaching the pics of fixators... post operative xrays will be taken tomorrow..

https://imgur.com/a/UQPKeQl

Bro, How much did it cost?
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on September 06, 2021, 10:00:51 AM
Bro, How much did it cost?
You can visit heightincreaseinfo.com or contact them for exact details .but pricing would vary based on choice of hospital, how many months you plan to stay etc..3 months stay is included in the package but some of us choose to stay here for physiotherapy after distraction
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on September 07, 2021, 04:45:59 PM
everything is going well as of now.. femur requires more pin site care than tibia.. so in order to avoid unnecessary issues, i will just lengthen to the amount where my height neurosis will be lost. i think this will be anything around  171-172cm.  an advantage with femur though is that you get what you lengthen unlike tibia where there might be loss upto 5mm..
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: Growing on September 07, 2021, 05:42:35 PM
since everything including pain is settled now, will go full on on physio from now,,

btw dr harry has created a new channel to share information about limb lengthening for which there are very few resources from indian context..
check it out   https://youtu.be/pS4jJxNDJ3k

Those scars be looking crazy, crazy 😳
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on September 08, 2021, 03:45:18 AM
Those scars be looking crazy, crazy 😳
well they fade over time and scar revision surgery is always an option. but for me it would suck 20 times more to be short for life than to have those scars..
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on September 08, 2021, 04:27:56 PM
started standing and taking a few steps with the help of walker. was a bit hard at first, but once you are on track it becomes very easy.. attaching standing pics
https://imgur.com/a/qdRgLIt

also one major advantage here is, dr Harry personally takes care of pin site care everytime he visits us. this is very helpful since he exactly knows how to prevent infection.. thats the reason they have very less pin site infections. hoping even my journey goes well without any infections...
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on September 18, 2021, 01:17:26 PM
had my xray today.. based on the measured length in xray there is a maximum difference of 5mm between distracted length and net gain... one thing though is i was turning wrong screws for a week in femur so femur is 7mm behind tibia..  will probably cover it by doing 1.25mm in femur which i think is safe...
pain levels are nearly zero, but i still take a pain killer before going to bed which reduces waking up in night. sleep is also pretty decent. though i didnt weigh myself according to what people are saying i might have lost 4-5 kilos since surgery...
attaching pic of the latest xray.. am really happy that things are going smoothly
https://imgur.com/a/bvC3sVS
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on September 18, 2021, 01:26:59 PM
one advice i would like to give to prospective llers is, to take lactulose/laxatives, for atleast a week after surgery immediately starting after surgery. because we are prone to constipation during that  time..i probably had my worst constipation for 5 days after surgery.. it  was resolved by lactulose, thats when i realised starting lactulose from day of surgery would prevent this from happening
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: Growing on September 21, 2021, 01:10:55 AM
So how many months do you plan on staying there? You'll have to do the other legs too right? So this will be about 6 months span right?
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on September 21, 2021, 03:02:55 AM
So how many months do you plan on staying there? You'll have to do the other legs too right? So this will be about 6 months span right?
hey growing,

yeah, the cross lengthening packagae includes a six month stay.. also included in those 6 months is a 20-25 day gap in between both phases to restore ROM, muscle recovery and a 30-40 day recovery period after the removal of the final fixators. .. this is possible because i have conservative targets.. so i will be on fixators around 120 days(both phases included)....the rest 2 months can be used for recovery
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on September 21, 2021, 04:03:01 PM
1 month post surgical update:
 so far though i lengthened a bit more. i have a net gain of 23.5mm on tibia and 18mm on femur.. muscles  and tendons are starting to become tight.
things are going smoothly.. the only hiccup was me turning wrong screws in femur.. which will probably extend this phase 1 fixators by 8-10 days...
ROM is nearly normal in the femur.. nearly 125 degrees of flexion and complete extension.. the tibia leg can flex as much as the frame allows to ..  days are passing real fast. since i am sleeping nearly 10+ hours per day, doing a reasonable amount of physio and studying materials related to my career..

if anyone is considering doing both femur and tibia with externals i recommend to do only cross lengthening. since i can see how restricted my femur in terms of positioning leg is i can understand that bilateral femur would be almost like torture.. with cross lengthening i can sleep on my side on the tibia leg and put my femur leg on a pillow in front of me.. this is a really comfortable sleeping position not possible with bi femurs

about the team:
my experience has been great so far.. they take great care in having a positive result and to avoid complications.. consulted dr saini sir twice since surgery ,he is happy with my progres.. dr harry sir is one of the most experienced physio in ll, without whom this ROM would not be possible.

due to some personal and career  events coming in my life i am reconsidering my goals to reduce extension phase by 1 month(1.5-2cm total decrease in target) which also reduces recovery time by 2 months.. so i can have those 3 months for my things... so considering stopping at 4.5cm femur and 4.5cm tibia, for total of 9cm..i am happy with any thing at 8.5cm net gain or more
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on September 29, 2021, 01:43:09 AM
will reach a total 6cm today in my phase 1 cross lengthening.. 3.2 in tibia and 2.9 in femur, will be doing 1.25mm/day in femur and 1mm/day in tibia to reach 4cm simaltaneously on both segments. had pin site irritation and mild swelling and pain  on one of my tibia pin site.. dr harry gave me prophylactic antibiotic(zocef) for 3 days.. though he also gave me pain killer for the mild pain , i didnt need them as the pain subsided within 6-8hrs after recleaning the pin site... planning the next xray this week or the starting of next week... if everything goes as planned i will be able to lock these nails and remove fixators in the second week of october.
 i think the phase 2 is going to be easier with all the things that work for me figured out.. am expecting to have phase 2 surgery in the first week of november.

pain is probably 0-2/10 varying throughout the day,, i am probably only using pain killers once or twice weekly.
days are passing quickly with my schedule and sleep is also good. am sleeping around 11 hours a day..lol  :)
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on September 30, 2021, 11:52:43 AM
current knee rom in femur leg:   ;D
https://imgur.com/a/UDJfgel
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on October 04, 2021, 08:44:15 AM
currently over 7cm with my phase 1 of cross lengthening(3.7 in tibia and 3.5 in femur) will reach 8cm by this friday.. planning for xray on saturday. as i would have turned to 4cm in both femur and tibia by then.. i am happy that the pin site irritation due to tearing has started to heal well, but reduced the intensity of physio in the tibia leg due to this..
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: gary on October 04, 2021, 09:13:20 AM
ur leg look v healthy., good work
yash

its not thin not weak looking
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on October 04, 2021, 12:12:44 PM
ur leg look v healthy., good work
yash

its not thin not weak looking
thanks gary , having a lot of bulk has helped me . i used to weight around 78 kgs pre surgery , am expecting it to drop down to 65kg by the time i get done with cross lengthening..
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on October 05, 2021, 05:44:37 PM
had an acute bout of abdominal distress and fever today.. was really afraid of a pinsite infection and appendicitis... (the pain was exactly more on the site of appendix).. but apparently it didnt turn out to be anything serious as it subsided with a proton pump inhibitor(antacid) and a anti pyretic(paracetamol).. all pin sites were carefully assessed by dr harry and they turned out to be good.. hope this doesnt return atleast until i remove my phase 1 frames which is expected in around 7-9 days,,,,
reached 3.7 in femur and 3.8 in tibia so far
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on October 07, 2021, 11:09:36 PM
fortunately the fever and pain didn't recur....
will be reaching over 8cm today based on amount distracted. in cross lengthng phase 1. 4.1cm on tibia and 4-4.1cm on femur.. pain levels are almost negligible...x-ray is scheduled for tomorrow. hoping i get all the distracted length in the xray also..
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on October 09, 2021, 03:19:11 PM
had the xray today, so far everything seems good.. femur had a gain of 3.3cm and tibia had a gain of 4.1cm . there is a bit of pain in the shin. so tibia will be done at .75mm per day.. also the distraction im femur doesnt give a full net gain, as the mass that the frame must distract is more and also due to the muscles in the femur. so increasing the rate of femur distratcion to 1.5mm/day.. currently my net gain in phase 1 is 7.4cm in both segments.. i would distrat for an other 10 days and have the frame removed by 20th of this month.. though i can go upto 12cm safely in cross lengthening, i dont want to exceed 9cm as that would give me a satisafactory height and also preserve my athletic ability as much as possible....

attaching the xray pics:
https://imgur.com/a/GOCX9p1
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on October 12, 2021, 03:23:09 AM
so far everything is good, except the pin site tearing which is not preventable in femur... it kind of pains.. the phase 1 fixator removal and locking surgery is scheduled on 20th oct.. i would have a net gain of 4.5cm on tibia and a minimum of 4.2cm on the femur. taking collagen as a supplement has really helped in skiin healing of the pin sites.
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on October 14, 2021, 12:08:19 PM
had a consultation with dr pradeep sharma. he reviewed my xrays and was pretty satifsfied with my callus generation..
he was very reserved yet attentive to all my questions..
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on October 16, 2021, 04:12:53 PM
guys i am 3-4 days away from phase 1 fixator removal and locking surgery . wil post a detailed review of my journey so far soon. for newbies to cross lengthening these pics show how it works ..

https://imgur.com/a/xmBZydN
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: LLprime3 on October 16, 2021, 07:57:50 PM
one advice i would like to give to prospective llers is, to take lactulose/laxatives, for atleast a week after surgery immediately starting after surgery. because we are prone to constipation during that  time..i probably had my worst constipation for 5 days after surgery.. it  was resolved by lactulose, thats when i realised starting lactulose from day of surgery would prevent this from happening

Underrated post. Or prepare your anus in advance to give child birth.

After cross lengthening one side, the knee level will vary by x cm for some time until the next cross lengthening operation is completed.
Is it not an issue? No one has ever stopped after one cross lengthening surgery, right?
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on October 16, 2021, 09:12:15 PM
Underrated post. Or prepare your anus in advance to give child birth.

After cross lengthening one side, the knee level will vary by x cm for some time until the next cross lengthening operation is completed.
Is it not an issue? No one has ever stopped after one cross lengthening surgery, right?

lol... these are really ugly and smelly  babies though .. ..
yeah the knee levels do vary by the amount lengthened.. but i will be having my phase 2 surgery within 20 days of the removal.. according to dr harry that would be sufficient to regain the range of motion and gain a bit of muscular strength to support an other surgery. fortunately i had enough weight so even though i lost a bit, i still can undergo another surgery soon. 
i have seen only one person who had the first cross lengthening and is still waiting to undergo the second surgery after 2 years. he is android_cll on the forum. unfortunately he had nerve damage in the femur leg, and had drop foot so he couldnt undergo second surgery. his diary helped me to take a lot of care and necessary supplements related to nerve regeneration and currently i dont have any such issues
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on October 18, 2021, 12:13:19 PM
guys, i am less than 48 hours away from the phase 1 fixator removal. so heres a quick summary of my journey..

i had been on external fixators for around 60 days.. gained 4.5cm in the left femur and 4.7cm in the right tibia for a total of 9.2cm. apparently based on safety  upto 5mm  can be gained during the fixator removal if desired.. will think about it and total my net gain to 10cm..
fortunately, i did not have any major complications during this distraction phase.  there were 0 pinsite infections, thanks to dr  harry and their pin site protocol.i was always afraid of antibiotic use due to fear of resistance and callus regression, fortunately didnt use a lot of them . the need for pain killers was only during the initial 15 days after the surgery and femur was more troublesome than tibia. 
with cross lengthening there have been previous patients who gained upto 14cm but i was particularly concerned about an easier consolidation and recovery and am pretty happy with 173cm .. which is satisfactory height for me. apart from giving me a faster recovery, better atheletic recovery 10cm gain is also good for my proportions and wingspan, which is around 165cm.

the team here is really a patient centerd team. dr harry has always been quick in addressing any concerns that we may have and providing the best of comfort to any limb lengthening patient .dr saini and dr pradeep sharma have been prompt in their followups and consultations.. currently my ROM, though is not complete, is normal enough to carry on regular activties without any discomfort.according to harry, the next 20 days to 25 days after locking surgery are going to be really intense with the recovery program to support second surgery.

Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on October 22, 2021, 04:47:11 AM
had the removal and locking surgery yesterday.. i am fortunate enough to have a pain less process, though the legs feel a bit heavy after the surgery.
i had a net gain of around 10cm in both the bones.. the next month will be intense physio.. fortunately the alignment of the bones and the appearance of the joints is really good. really  satisfied with the heightincreaseinfo team.

Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on October 22, 2021, 09:28:56 AM
https://imgur.com/a/JNGOJI6
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on October 24, 2021, 08:58:30 PM
Inflammation has decreased a lot and movement has become normal.  Intense physio starts today..left tibia and right femur will be done by 15-nov
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on October 28, 2021, 03:20:01 PM
3 days after the fixator removal surgery everything felt good, 7 days ROM has returned to near normal. now its all about strengthening for the next 15 days to support a second surgery .. femur is a bit tight but with proper physio tightness is going away quicky. also i have a mild 2cm  ballerina.. working real hard on it..
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on October 30, 2021, 04:15:19 PM
knee extension in the femur leg which was around 10 degress less than complete extension after the surgery has almost returned to normal. and ballerina is almost gone. this is within 10 days after removal surgery.
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on November 11, 2021, 09:25:57 AM
hey guys, second surgery is scheduled around 18-20th of this month... am making reasonable progress though things will become perfect only after the second surgery of cross lengthening.. uploading a video of my walking right now.. as you can see ballerina is completely gone in the tibia leg. also the range of motions in all the segments have become completely normal in both the legs which is a requisite to undergo the second surgery. by the time fixators of second surgery will be removed hopefully these bones consolidate so that my recovery will be much smoother..

https://imgur.com/a/ZGatxjv
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on November 17, 2021, 03:26:26 AM
second surgery is scheduled on 21st nov. was scheduled earlier, but  i had issues related to payment and had to postpone. the team was kind enough to schedule and plan the surgery on a sunday for my convenience.. anyways,if things go according to plan  its about 8 weeks by the time i will have my fixators off which will be the biggest thing in my ll journey..since after that road to recovery is pretty straight forward
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on November 18, 2021, 01:50:35 AM
walked completely unassisted, since i wanted to do that before second surgery.. gait was a bit bad but it boosts up the confidence levels and positive vibe a lot. hopefully i wii have the same recovery timeframe for the second surgery also...
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on November 21, 2021, 05:54:19 PM
Had the step2 surgery today..in sharp contrast to the last surgery where I felt a lot of pain..this time it's surprisingly low..and not even noticeable.. hopefully it stays thisway..

Previous segments have consolidated very well .will post x-rays tomorrow
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on November 21, 2021, 09:17:42 PM
http://imgur.com/a/LC7TQul
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on November 22, 2021, 01:32:18 AM
To people who did with precise 2 or lon, based on my x-rays is it good enough bridging for complete weight bearing?
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on November 25, 2021, 03:12:54 AM
femur, similar to the first step is pretty uncomortable.. i think it will take an other week for the femur to get a good degree of flexion and have  a smooth distraction. for all potential llers be very strong for the first 10 days in femur surgery
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on November 29, 2021, 05:55:32 AM
transitioned from surgical pain to muscle pain.. hematoma which was formed due bleeding from cortex in the left tibia has almost resolved.. hematomas are so painful especially on movement..

started distracting yesterday..
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on December 02, 2021, 02:00:03 PM
knee flexion is not as good as the first surgery this time.but expecting it to improve with physiotherapy. rest of the things are going good.. wishing for a faster removal of frames so that my ROM will be completely restored.
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on December 05, 2021, 05:16:29 PM
hey guys,
things are going pretty good.. knee flexion in tibia leg is normal but femur will become normal after frame removal.. pain is pretty moderate.. lengthened 0.7mm so far in both tibia and femur
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on December 14, 2021, 04:01:28 PM
guys, things going well. so far lengthened about 1.5cm each in both tibia and femur.. so my frames removal is on track by 10-jan-22.. attaching latest xray
 https://imgur.com/a/2Mo5gm3
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on January 05, 2022, 03:53:25 PM
hey people, things are going good. i am really happy for reaching almost the end of this external fixator journey without experiencing any major complications.  as expected my removal is on track by 10th jan of this month subject to the availabilty of the surgeon .will probably get a confirmed date within a day or two. muscle loss is very apparent and my focus would be on gaining as much flexibility and strength as possible.. but otherwise things have been fine.

attaching my final xrays before removal. if any the next xray will only be on the day of removal in the hospital.
https://imgur.com/a/yFCv0QV
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on January 13, 2022, 06:20:12 AM
had the removal surgery on 09th. heaviness has gone since then. will probably start physio in  2 days
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on January 19, 2022, 01:12:54 PM
working on my range of motion currently my right femur is at 100 passively...left is normal
left tibia has ballerina of around 3cm. right is not so apparent.. working to improve them through intense physiotherapy
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on January 23, 2022, 09:26:46 PM
rom significantly improved. right knee flexion at active 110 left knee 125. still a bit of ballerina in leflt tibia
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on January 28, 2022, 06:41:43 PM
things going pretty well right now.. roms have returned to normal . ballerina is almost gone.. also measured my final height at 173cm in everning which i feel is a decent height.  only gaining muscular strength and bone consolidation is left. will focus vigorously on muscle strengthening and walking from now
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on February 13, 2022, 04:19:26 AM
everythings returned to normal except walking. currently on crutches right now,, hopefully will be able to walk unassisted within a month. will soon update my latest xrays
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on February 15, 2022, 04:43:31 AM
https://imgur.com/a/0UDzbRt

latest xrays
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on March 03, 2022, 08:20:53 AM
latest walking video
https://imgur.com/a/OGrbYz
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: thankscience on March 03, 2022, 10:41:21 AM
The link didn't load anything for me.
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: yash on March 11, 2022, 09:40:41 AM
reached home after 7 months stay with heightincrease info .. overall the expereince was great. i think it will take an other 2 months of strengthening to get back to normal gait . walking atleast 40-50 min on treadmill everyday apart from the walk for adl
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: Growing Experience on June 01, 2022, 02:02:33 PM
what's the update?

Back to normal GAIT?
Title: Re: cross lngthening externals LON with dr hirdesh and dr saini..femur-5.7 tibs 4.7
Post by: balme on August 22, 2022, 02:19:08 PM
hi yash, how are you doing nowadays? any update?