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[Walsandrew]

Hi all, I'm very aware that 95% of people on this forum are coming from a very different perspective to me - so I apologise in advance! But as someone who has also been very unhappy with their height  and proportions for such a long time, albeit in the other direction, I too am exploring my options.

I am a 30 year old man, who stands at 196cm tall, however I have the same torsoe length as my brothers who are 5ft10 and 5ft11. I have legs with are very disproportionately long in comparison to my torsoe, and am hoping to shorten in femurs by about 5, 5.5cm (any more and I think my arms would look too long!) to hopefully correct some of this disproportion, help my confidence and reduce some of the lankiness (despite many years spent weight training!). I will eventually summon the confidence to post some more pics, as well as projections.

Unlike LL, there is such little information online, no case studies and you can mostly only find out by emailing orthopaedic surgeons or those institutes already doing lengthening. Without any case studies in particular, I am really, really hoping to speak to anyone who has gone through with this procedure or who is planning to. I have PM'd some members of this forum who have previously posted threads but never heard back.

So I would love to hear from anyone at all who has gone through or is considering going through this procedure, and am equally open to advice from anyone who is kind enough to offer it!

FYI I live in London (UK) and have only been able to identify one orthopaedic surgeon here, who is both very well respected and who might consider doing this procedure for me with a psychologist's report.

[accountdeleted]

What is your crotch to floor inseam?

[Walsandrew]

Don't think I have done that measurement, but I think I am 128cm from belly button to the soles of my feet, from a measurement I did a few years ago!

[Walsandrew]

There must be some LSers on here...

[epoc]

You literally can't unless your family is blind

[Walsandrew]

Err how is this relevant to what I'm asking?

[Iron_Man]

Upload a photo, maybe you look fine. If you have a normal wingspan and your shoulders don’t look narrow, then even with a short torso you shouldn't look bad

[Walsandrew]

Thanks for your response. I think the narrowness of my shoulders doesn't help, but I've also spent the last 10 years quite regularly weight training, so I don't think that's going to suddenly change. Here are my pictures, though I have lost some muscle, since gyms have been closed for two months!

I have such long femurs, which is where I want to just lose a little bit of my height, maybe around 5.5cm, just so I don't look quite so long/lanky, and still have a good height of 190cm. Also not to feel like I have to do regular heavy weight training for the rest of my life just to 'fill out' and compensate for my disproportion.

https://imgur.com/WlIZhe0
https://imgur.com/TSmthJ6

If anyone is willing to help me with doing some morphed photos too, I would really appreciated, since I am awful at photoshop!

[Ostentician]

Dude, you look fine. If you worked out a bit and focused on your shoulders you wouldn't look awkward at all. I know that 196 cm is an impractical and uncomfortable height all around but consider the fact that it also has its benefits, like being intimidating and more attractive to women. Women find long legs attractive too, so unless your face is fked up you've got nothing to worry about.

[Walsandrew]

Thanks for your feedback man. I appreciate it, but really I have felt so disproportionate for such a long time, that I am convinced that I want to do something about this and make me more confident for the rest of my life. I have had also had therapy and am very aware that I may see things worse than they are (so do we all), and that surgery won't fix everything, but I do believe it will help my proportions and bring me to a normal height for my torsoe size.

In terms of muscle, I have been working out for years and though I do gain the least in my shoulders, I am quite well built in my upper body. I really just look lanky/narrow shouldered, because of my excessive height / leg-torso proportions.

Any other advice much appreciated, especially from anyone interested in leg shortening!

[Futureller]

Not sure if you're a troll, I'm just gonna assume you're not.  We all understand the feeling here of being uncomfortable with our bodies so I understand how you feel.  But you need to calculate the risk reward ratio.  I can see in many cases how a guy has a lot to gain going through LL from a short stature.  Confidence, respect, more women to date, more success.  In your case being what most people in the world consider an alpha male and great height to be, in your case the only thing you are likely to gain is more confidence, which dont get me wrong is very important, to feel better about yourself, but being that you have a perfectly healthy body I don't think your risk reward ratio is worth it man.

It's not like your going to be expanding your dating pool and respect and all the stuff a short guy would get after LL.  Your issue is just in your head and i highly doubt anyone looks at you and sees the same issues you're seeing.  And like another person said, girls like long legs on a guy, stubby legs are unnattractive.

You're healthy don't be breaking your legs just because you feel uncomfortable about something that I personally doubt anyone else in the world notices or dislikes about you besides yourself.  Short guys face real discrimination, i think the only person discriminating your proportions is yourself. I would say love what you got, im sure 120% of us in this forum would rather have your proportions than our own lol. And I love working out and know a lot about it.  If you're not gaining weight you simply aren't eating enough.  I know you're tall and got to eat a bit more to fill out but if you don't skip meals you will gain weight.  Eating is more weighted to getting bigger than working out itself. 

[Walsandrew]

Not sure why I would be troll, given I've fully explained my attentions and acknowledged some of the dysmorphia I may have, or how I would be one any more than the many people on here who are 5ft9-11 and considering heightening or those asking about arm lengthening or obsessing about 1cm deviations of proportions.

I take your points but would mainly reiterate that being excessively tall (i.e. 196cm plus) doesn't carry with it all the benefits you presume, not if you have a history of being mocked for it, or you are very disproportionate like I am, receive daily comments, suffer from cramp on every form of transport, anxiety about needing be down the gym to 'fill out' when I have a life to lead and enjoy other exercise. Oh and I'm gay, and I'm not trying to expand my dating pool, though I'd say gay guys, being guys, are way veiner than women. But ye mainly I want to look and feel way better, and not significantly disproportionate - aren't those pretty much the motivations of most LLers?

[Uzair Sain]

You have a great potential.
You just need to workout more and build the shoulders.
I am fed up of people who are blessed with height but wont take care of their body.
You are just weak ,try to become strong and you will be fine

[Walsandrew]

What an unhelpful first post/contribution to this forum. Yes I have my own height dysphoria, no you don't know other people's realities. Stop projecting.

[Tartar]

Hi Walsandrew!
First of all I envy you! 196 is a such great height! Anyway, I'm not informed about leg shortening, but I talked with the surgeon I should be operated with and he told me that once a guy came to him asking for shorten legs cause of his low armspan. He told him that it was better to lengthen arms instead of cutting legs and they opted for that.
It's a different situation from yours, but I told you this to explain that is possible to reach your target. Seeing the pictures your tibia seems to be quite long, I think that you should look very good removing some centimetres from it, maybe an high knee is more beautiful but remember that a longer femur is always more natural; in addition it gives the illusion of a longer torso. I don't know the complications of the tibia lenghtening, but I think that one of the main problem could be related to the lower tightness of the triceps (calf), and it could be a problem since it's a postural muscle. Anyway it should be an easier process compared to the leg lenghtening; you don't have to wait for the regeneration of centimetres of bone. But I'm not an expert so take these tips with caution
If you like you could share with us some information about your body, such as Armspan, Inseam, Sitting height

[short]

On the pictures you are skinny-fat, you should workout and learn to eat. That's why your proportions look odd. Look at so called "hero-proportions" which are long-legged.

[Walsandrew]

I think your point might have been better made with real people, rather than fictional super heroes haha. I've generally trained very consistently (4 times a week) and maintained a diet throughout my 20s (lockdown/no gym photo may not help massively), and not everyone has superhero genetics or the ability to train 2 hours a day every day. Tbh the only 'bodybuilder' I've ever seen with proportions even close to mine is this guy, but he's 6ft1 so I'd say my leg are 10cm longer than his.

https://www.google.com/search?q=simeon+panda&sxsrf=ALeKk00Yc1js0nftoziKandIRgvTscVTFw:1592297767267&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjLqK22-4XqAhXUlFwKHYrEB1MQ_AUoAXoECBAQAw&biw=1440&bih=718#imgrc=YwqJvbOirrL2pM