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[HandsomeJack]

Dear readers,

allow me to share my experience with the LL surgery I have underwent in early November 2022 in Vietnam under Dr. Quynh. I have done LON on tibias and successfully lengthened 7cm (the exact height gain was actually 7,28cm, as per the last CT scan).

Despite this forum offering a plethora of useful info, I often found some of the journals here to be all over the place or drowning important details, the threads being polluted by off topic discussions and, if you spend a while reading the posts here, you will find many of the posters to be mentally challenged. However, I still believe this forum to be the best source of LL information and that most of the readers here are still just reasonable people, and so, I will attempt to make this entry throughout, easy to read and objective. If there is something I omit, you can find it in a detailed journal that I kept, which I will link below. Unlike this post, that journal is full of my subjective thoughts and unnecessary additional info. But I take it some people might find it useful reading into the little details. After all, a large stressor about this surgery is the unknown. Perhaps lifting the veil a little bit can ease a few minds.

DAY TO DAY JOURNAL LINK: https://files.catbox.moe/rrau22.pdf


I have decided to make this forum post only after being done with the entire procedure in order to give a complete, throughout and unfragmented report. For this purpose, I consider being done as being able to walk unassisted.

•   male | 27yo | 170cm → 177cm | LON tibias
•   Dr. Quynh | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Nam Sai Gon International (hospital)
•   standard room package | 21,600 USD all included (price from 11/2022. Might be different now)
•   surgery on 12.11.2022 | frame removal on 16.03.2023 | walking unassisted from 07/2023
•   lean, athletic build and good flexibility prior to surgery; despite that, I still struggled with tightness in the higher centimetres
•   developed slight ballerina feet and knee bending towards the end. Knee bending went away very swiftly, ballerina persisted and required diligent stretching and walking to overcome


DISCLAIMER
7cm on tibias is a lot and the risk of complications is exponentially higher than in the 5cm surrounding range. Please only decide for this much if your doctor approves it and you are content with undertaking that risk. Just because I got lucky and got to 7cm without bigger issues doesn’t mean others might. There are people who got fked up with way less centimetres lengthened. The reasons I went for this much were (i) doctor approved 7cm as my max safe limit when assessing my initial x-ray, (ii) I was very flexible prior to the surgery and had faith in my ability to recover flexibility after the lengthening, and, most importantly, (iii) during the first surgery, they discovered my bones to be abnormally hard, which made me confident in the ability of my bones to take this much. And I suppose I could add (iv), my risk tolerance is somewhat high.

Surgery
For everything surrounding my surgery and the following days, I have nothing but praise. The Nam Sai Gon International hospital is modern, clean and professional. I understand that Vietnam is not considered a first world country, but the hospital certainly is on a first world level, as is the care within. You go through all sorts of tests first – blood, urine, heart, etc. – to make sure you can safely have the surgery. On surgery day, all the way up to the operating table, the assistants are there with you should you need anything. Upon waking up, I recall no pain at all, being able to move my feet and not even feeling dizzy or anything. All I felt was some discomfort in my feet for a little while, but that’s about it. In the few days I spent in the hospital room, I don’t recall any pain, even when the epidural ran out. I could sleep ok. Overall, I felt good and strong and all the initial exercises went really smoothly. Even the first walk. During your stay in the hospital, the nurses are there often for various tasks, especially the first three days, such as IV change or taking your pressure, so your condition is closely monitored. And, of course, there is a caretaker lady in the hospital room with you 24/7. Or you could always call one of the assistants. The point is, the entire time around surgery and for the hospital stay, I felt like I was in the care of people who knew what they were doing. You stay in the hospital for about a week.

Pain
Everyone’s experience and pain tolerance is different, keep that in mind. In the beginning, I was told by the assistants that from their patients experiences, the amount and timing of pain can be vastly different.

Despite pain itself being one of the most talked about topics here, there is a number of other things that might prove to be an equally daunting challenge. For example, the constant low amount of discomfort that is ever present can be debilitating over time. Subtle nerve spasms in a tiny area in your foot, despite not being painful, can completely rob you of sleep. Compounding fatigue can sap your strength like nothing else during the last millimetres. I think I experienced a plethora of different kinds of pains and discomforts. There is pain that you can push through with willpower. There is pain you cant. Pain that disarms you, pain that bothers you. Pain that cuts, pain that stings. Pain that takes your physical strength, pain that takes your mental strength. My point is, don’t treat the reported pain levels one-sidedly, as in “I can handle 5/10 pain for a month, Ill be fine”. Because it downplays the diversity of hardships you might potentially experience.

In summary, I experienced all sorts of pains and all sorts of discomfortable feelings. Despite what I wrote, if I really, absolutely had to rate it all with a number, I could summarize my overall pain number as around 6-7/10 for the entire experience. One thing I would like to emphasize – I went into this thinking that the pain would gradually build up and basically be the worst by the end. Not true for me. Rather, it was up and down. One day could be great, next three awful. But if I had to pinpoint the pain peak, it would be around 4-5cm.

Don’t worry though. You have painkillers, should you need them. And of course, you can always talk to the assistants/nurse if you feel like you need different meds or anything else. There is always a way. And, in my experience, there is a huge improvement in your comfort and sleep if you slow down your lengthening, even more so once you stop completely.

Accommodation
The best part of the package they offer is the accommodation, food and constant care that is all within the package price.

The standard rooms are medium sized rooms with a large bed. You can ask for anything extra, you can bring anything extra you want – my neighbour brought a ps5, a guy in a different apartment brought his entire gaming pc. Personally, I didn’t bring much aside from clothes and a laptop and it was completely enough for me. They provide all the medical necessities for lengthening – vitamins, painkillers, walker, etc.

In the main room of the apartment, a caretaker lives. They contract old ladies who each stay for however long they want – I believe two of ours stayed over a month, others for a few weeks. They bring you meals, do your laundry, clean your room daily and assist you whenever you need it. I would say they understand their role and don’t bother you unnecessarily and are very nice overall. I could open my door from the bed so I could call on them from there, but my neighbours just called them on the phone whenever they needed them to come for something.

You get three meals per day, usually with a balanced meat/carbs/vegetables ratio. Theres fresh fruit pretty often.

Six days a week, a nurse comes in to change your bandages + clean your wounds and legs + disinfect the pin sites. She takes a picture of every single one of your pin sites every time and if there is anything, anything at all about your legs that would require addressing, it is addressed and solved. I cannot stress enough how great this is. This brings the infection risk to a minimum, which, as I understand, is the main concern with external LON. Besides, the nurse herself is great and helpful.

Also six days a week, physiotherapy. Takes about an hour, mixing exercises, stretches and assisted stretches, finished with a walk. Gets harder every day.

Overall, I believe the accommodation has everything you might need during your lengthening, they have the system set out pretty well. The only responsibility you are left with is your lengthening, exercising and wearing the anti-ballerina shoes. Which seems easy enough but gets harder as your fortitude wains.


(pic with a timestamp, hopefully the link works. Cant figure out why the preview shows it sideways):



Anyways, I wish to help anyone who chooses to undertake this procedure to the best of my abilities with the limited experience I have with it. Feel free to pm me. Or, if you find yourself in Prague, Id be happy to meet up.

I will make another post in a few months or so.

 

[otaviognu]

I think that a taller person can do 7 cm on tibias, because what matter is the percentage that person may lengthen compared the size of tibia. But 7 cm should be the max.

[a9284850]

Hi jack. Your article is good. If lengthen speed is 0.75 or 0.5 is better? You do the yoga before? I also want to lengthen for 7 cm in Vietnam.Can I add your WhatsApp or Instagram?my id is a9284850. My email is a9284850 @gmail.com

[href]

Thank you for posting this detailed journal Jack. My plan has been to go to Dr. Quynh as well, so reading this answers many questions I had and alleviates many of the concerns I had.

[mellowrain]

this is so detailed! I will take some time to read it over. thank you for sharing.

[Bagga]

Dear readers,

allow me to share my experience with the LL surgery I have underwent in early November 2022 in Vietnam under Dr. Quynh. I have done LON on tibias and successfully lengthened 7cm (the exact height gain was actually 7,28cm, as per the last CT scan).

Despite this forum offering a plethora of useful info, I often found some of the journals here to be all over the place or drowning important details, the threads being polluted by off topic discussions and, if you spend a while reading the posts here, you will find many of the posters to be mentally challenged. However, I still believe this forum to be the best source of LL information and that most of the readers here are still just reasonable people, and so, I will attempt to make this entry throughout, easy to read and objective. If there is something I omit, you can find it in a detailed journal that I kept, which I will link below. Unlike this post, that journal is full of my subjective thoughts and unnecessary additional info. But I take it some people might find it useful reading into the little details. After all, a large stressor about this surgery is the unknown. Perhaps lifting the veil a little bit can ease a few minds.

DAY TO DAY JOURNAL LINK: https://files.catbox.moe/rrau22.pdf


I have decided to make this forum post only after being done with the entire procedure in order to give a complete, throughout and unfragmented report. For this purpose, I consider being done as being able to walk unassisted.

•   male | 27yo | 170cm → 177cm | LON tibias
•   Dr. Quynh | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Nam Sai Gon International (hospital)
•   standard room package | 21,600 USD all included (price from 11/2022. Might be different now)
•   surgery on 12.11.2022 | frame removal on 16.03.2023 | walking unassisted from 07/2023
•   lean, athletic build and good flexibility prior to surgery; despite that, I still struggled with tightness in the higher centimetres
•   developed slight ballerina feet and knee bending towards the end. Knee bending went away very swiftly, ballerina persisted and required diligent stretching and walking to overcome


DISCLAIMER
7cm on tibias is a lot and the risk of complications is exponentially higher than in the 5cm surrounding range. Please only decide for this much if your doctor approves it and you are content with undertaking that risk. Just because I got lucky and got to 7cm without bigger issues doesn’t mean others might. There are people who got fked up with way less centimetres lengthened. The reasons I went for this much were (i) doctor approved 7cm as my max safe limit when assessing my initial x-ray, (ii) I was very flexible prior to the surgery and had faith in my ability to recover flexibility after the lengthening, and, most importantly, (iii) during the first surgery, they discovered my bones to be abnormally hard, which made me confident in the ability of my bones to take this much. And I suppose I could add (iv), my risk tolerance is somewhat high.

Surgery
For everything surrounding my surgery and the following days, I have nothing but praise. The Nam Sai Gon International hospital is modern, clean and professional. I understand that Vietnam is not considered a first world country, but the hospital certainly is on a first world level, as is the care within. You go through all sorts of tests first – blood, urine, heart, etc. – to make sure you can safely have the surgery. On surgery day, all the way up to the operating table, the assistants are there with you should you need anything. Upon waking up, I recall no pain at all, being able to move my feet and not even feeling dizzy or anything. All I felt was some discomfort in my feet for a little while, but that’s about it. In the few days I spent in the hospital room, I don’t recall any pain, even when the epidural ran out. I could sleep ok. Overall, I felt good and strong and all the initial exercises went really smoothly. Even the first walk. During your stay in the hospital, the nurses are there often for various tasks, especially the first three days, such as IV change or taking your pressure, so your condition is closely monitored. And, of course, there is a caretaker lady in the hospital room with you 24/7. Or you could always call one of the assistants. The point is, the entire time around surgery and for the hospital stay, I felt like I was in the care of people who knew what they were doing. You stay in the hospital for about a week.

Pain
Everyone’s experience and pain tolerance is different, keep that in mind. In the beginning, I was told by the assistants that from their patients experiences, the amount and timing of pain can be vastly different.

Despite pain itself being one of the most talked about topics here, there is a number of other things that might prove to be an equally daunting challenge. For example, the constant low amount of discomfort that is ever present can be debilitating over time. Subtle nerve spasms in a tiny area in your foot, despite not being painful, can completely rob you of sleep. Compounding fatigue can sap your strength like nothing else during the last millimetres. I think I experienced a plethora of different kinds of pains and discomforts. There is pain that you can push through with willpower. There is pain you cant. Pain that disarms you, pain that bothers you. Pain that cuts, pain that stings. Pain that takes your physical strength, pain that takes your mental strength. My point is, don’t treat the reported pain levels one-sidedly, as in “I can handle 5/10 pain for a month, Ill be fine”. Because it downplays the diversity of hardships you might potentially experience.

In summary, I experienced all sorts of pains and all sorts of discomfortable feelings. Despite what I wrote, if I really, absolutely had to rate it all with a number, I could summarize my overall pain number as around 6-7/10 for the entire experience. One thing I would like to emphasize – I went into this thinking that the pain would gradually build up and basically be the worst by the end. Not true for me. Rather, it was up and down. One day could be great, next three awful. But if I had to pinpoint the pain peak, it would be around 4-5cm.

Don’t worry though. You have painkillers, should you need them. And of course, you can always talk to the assistants/nurse if you feel like you need different meds or anything else. There is always a way. And, in my experience, there is a huge improvement in your comfort and sleep if you slow down your lengthening, even more so once you stop completely.

Accommodation
The best part of the package they offer is the accommodation, food and constant care that is all within the package price.

The standard rooms are medium sized rooms with a large bed. You can ask for anything extra, you can bring anything extra you want – my neighbour brought a ps5, a guy in a different apartment brought his entire gaming pc. Personally, I didn’t bring much aside from clothes and a laptop and it was completely enough for me. They provide all the medical necessities for lengthening – vitamins, painkillers, walker, etc.

In the main room of the apartment, a caretaker lives. They contract old ladies who each stay for however long they want – I believe two of ours stayed over a month, others for a few weeks. They bring you meals, do your laundry, clean your room daily and assist you whenever you need it. I would say they understand their role and don’t bother you unnecessarily and are very nice overall. I could open my door from the bed so I could call on them from there, but my neighbours just called them on the phone whenever they needed them to come for something.

You get three meals per day, usually with a balanced meat/carbs/vegetables ratio. Theres fresh fruit pretty often.

Six days a week, a nurse comes in to change your bandages + clean your wounds and legs + disinfect the pin sites. She takes a picture of every single one of your pin sites every time and if there is anything, anything at all about your legs that would require addressing, it is addressed and solved. I cannot stress enough how great this is. This brings the infection risk to a minimum, which, as I understand, is the main concern with external LON. Besides, the nurse herself is great and helpful.

Also six days a week, physiotherapy. Takes about an hour, mixing exercises, stretches and assisted stretches, finished with a walk. Gets harder every day.

Overall, I believe the accommodation has everything you might need during your lengthening, they have the system set out pretty well. The only responsibility you are left with is your lengthening, exercising and wearing the anti-ballerina shoes. Which seems easy enough but gets harder as your fortitude wains.


(pic with a timestamp, hopefully the link works. Cant figure out why the preview shows it sideways):



Anyways, I wish to help anyone who chooses to undertake this procedure to the best of my abilities with the limited experience I have with it. Feel free to pm me. Or, if you find yourself in Prague, Id be happy to meet up.

I will make another post in a few months or so.

the picture u shown - it is not LON

[Beemer m3]

hello during surgery of removing the frame what did medication did they give u to remove the frames? i heard it was only morphine?

[6anon]

any updates mate, how are things?

[HandsomeJack]

Dear readers,

I have recently undergone the IM nails removal from my tibias with the same doctor/company, so allow me to share my experience here with you. I didn’t want to post anything earlier, as I am still convinced writing it in this way – that is, concentrating the information into a large post, instead of small posts scattered throughout multiple pages – makes this more readable, more concise. Also, despite not posting more, I still come here and reply to the private messages, so please, don’t hesitate to ask about anything. To all the people in my private messages – thank you for your kind words and of course, best of luck with your own LL. Im always happy to help and talk, so please, don’t hesitate to message me.

Let me separate this post into two parts: first, a summary of the time period from when I started walking unassisted until the nail removal (the consolidation phase), and then, second, the nail removal experience and following months.


CONSOLIDATION PHASE (07/2023 - 09/2024)

After the frame removal (16.03.2023), the recovery rate felt fairly quick. Around every week or two, there has been some improvement in walking, in ballerina, in the feeling inside of the legs. After I dropped the crutches (around 07/2023), I slowly began to forget I even had leg surgery (for context, you progress from two crutches to using only one to eventually none). My walking was normal, nothing hurt, I could ride the bike, I could swim. I didn’t run or jump, as I was trying to prevent any possible damage to the nails and screws, but eventually, after a few months, I recall jumping to a pullup bar and thinking “oh huh that didn’t feel any different”. So eventually, your legs heal and your condition pretty much normalizes. My main sport/hobby is yoga, which I do about daily, and over the year, I watched by body recover and improve. Early on, positions using knee strength or pushing knees into the mat still hurt a bit and I felt a little uncertainty when doing any form of a squat. But towards the end, I was easily able to do some of the more leg-intensive positions, like archer squats, dancer or bird of paradise.


Here are some tips and ideas that I would like to emphasize after living with the IM nails inside my legs for almost two years:


Can you feel the screws/nails?

I did feel the nails and screws in a number of positions and angles. Not necessarily pain, but a sensation, a feeling, simply knowing they are there. The lower screws are pretty close to the skin, so you can feel them when you run your hand over.
Before I had LL, I read on this forum from somebody that the nails make your legs feel “less pliable”. I can confirm. The bones do have a natural tendency to very slightly bend/make micromovements under certain angles, but the nails can make them feel stiffly straight. This is not a strong sensation btw, just something I have noticed in some specific situations. Like climbing a ladder or a bunch of leg-focused yoga positions. I wouldn’t say the sensation of the nails and screws is painful or in any way making your life worse. But looking back now, it definitely feels better – mostly mentally – to not have them inside my legs.

I have also had a sensation that turns into pain in an area under my right knee if I bent the right leg and put it over the other leg for a prolonged (few minutes) period of time (basically sitting cross-legged). I wasn’t sure if this was some permanent condition, but when I told this to the assistant prior to nail removal, he immediately went “oh that’s definitely the upper screw, it will disappear after removal”. And he was completely right! It was gone basically right away.


What was the most difficult during recovery?

I originally thought that it might be difficult to protect the lower screws. They are so close to the skin that any larger cut in that area would immediately expose them. But I think due to them being on the inside of the legs, the risk is generally low. I have never had a moment when I had to specifically watch out for that area.
What probably took the longest to get used to was going down stairs. For a couple of months, I felt the upper part of the nail with the screws with each downward step. Not necessarily pain, but I could tell the area was under stress. It improved after a couple of months, but it was probably the sensation that stayed with me the longest. Completely fixed after nail removal.


Tips for consolidation phase, ballerina, stiffness?

To reduce equinus (ballerina), pick a bunch of exercises that push the heels down or stretch the calves area and find out which works good for you. Mix them up. Maybe get a rubber band and use your hands to pull the foot towards you, maybe try doing some downward facing dogs. Find what works for you and feels right. Mix it up. A very effective stretch for me was a simple standing position with my back against the wall, each hand holding something for stability and pushing one of my heels down with force, using the hands as counterforce. To demonstrate, I have attempted to make a little picture:

(picture of a stretch that greatly helped me reduce my equinus. Hopefully it uploads)


Under no circumstances consider ATL surgery (achilles tendon lengthening to surgically fix equinus (ballerina)). Ballerina, even pretty bad one, can and will be fixed by walking and stretching. There are many people on this website that will attest to that. If you want to read about the ATL and see it is not worth it, search this forum, I believe the user @Bodybuilder had some insightful posts about it.

My supplement stack for leg recovery was a solid amount of D3 (about 8000IU) paired with K2 MK-7 (they are usually sold together), some vit C (1000+ mg), some calcium, some collagen building supplement (collagen/glycine/gelatin) and usually I got a vitamin complex/mineral complex/vit+min complex to cover any deficiencies. I will leave the supplement effectivity and necessity debate and research up to you, but this was my stack, which I believe was useful, although I of course don’t have a comparison, so I cant say how much work it did. BUT, do keep in mind that no supplement will substitute proper sleep, proper nutrition and physical activity.

Ages ago, I read an exchange on a fitness forum that went something like this: Question: “How do I get better at bench press?” – Answer: “Do bench press.” It sounds like an anecdote, but that is my main advice for the consolidation phase. You improve your walking by… walking. Just go out there with your crutches and walk until you get tired. Do it again in a few hours. Go on morning walks, go on evening walks, walk to the store, walk to the forest. Simply practice, practice, practice. Dont rely on some miracle stretch, miracle supplement or some miracle meal plan. Simply walk. That is how you improve your walking, your ballerina, get the blood flow, get the oxygen in the legs and properly stimulate your recovery. Walk, eat well, sleep well.

A massive help in the first months after frame removal when I was learning to walk with and later without crutches were shoe lifts. Not some orthopedic ones, but cheap trash that lifts only your heels. Be careful though, its very easy to get used to them since they add height, but long term, they damage your posture, your back. Use them only to help yourself in the beginning.

A great way to gauge your recovery is putting on socks while standing. Can you do it without stumbling? Can you pull your leg sufficiently high? Is your balance normal? Can you do it with the same speed and ease as before surgery?


Can people tell you’ve had surgery?

No. I have never had anyone bring up my scars unless I told them about this. And I have walked around the city in shorts, routinely go swimming, go to the sauna… never. I don’t think most people would ever press you about this in any way. I did lie a few times when I was in crutches. I used the “I was a reckless retard and fell off a bike in Vietnam lol” and it always worked flawlessly. Remember that when people see a scar, they think about it differently than you do if they are unaware of its origin. You look at it and see pin sites, nail insertion points… normal people just see a scar and think something along the lines of “oh I guess he got surgery or something. Anyway…”


NAIL REMOVAL (11.09.2024)

I didn’t have an exact date in my mind for the nail removal. They suggest waiting 1-2 years. My plan was to wait at least a year and then decide. Since it has been about a year, the legs felt fine, I had the money and the option to take 2-3 weeks off, in the summer of 2024, I thought it was the ideal time to go. I saw some opinions here about going to a different doctor for the nail removal, as its an easier surgery, so you don’t have to fly all the way across the world again, but I am of the opinion that not only is Dr. Quynh good, but it makes the most sense to have the nails taken out by the same doctor who put them in.

For reference: my first surgery was on 12.11.2022, frame removal on 16.03.2023. That makes it 1 year and 10 months from nail insertion to nail removal and 1 year and 6 months from frame removal to nail removal.


Just like before (see link in my first post), I made a little day-to-day journal for the nail removal. I have trimmed it and tried to only keep useful info in it, so here is a shortened, summarized version:

22.07.2024
Today, I have contacted the company about planning my nail removal. I learned that they have capacity for me during Sept/Oct and we exchange some other info. Im told my stay in there should be at least two weeks. Apparently, you can walk pretty much the next day after the surgery, but for the stitches to heal, they prefer you don’t walk for about 5 days, with the stitches removal being around day 10. Or day 12-14, if you opt for scar revision during your surgery. They recommend walking with crutches for about 1-2 months after the removal, just to be safe.

08.08.2024
Tickets are bought, visa is in process. Few weeks left.

23.08.2024
I asked whether I can make the payment already, as I want to have everything done and in order as soon as possible. No problems, I sent the money again with Wise (Transferwise changed its name), again with no issues. Payment was done within few short hours. 2500 USD for all including surgery, accommodation, food, etc. Its paid, I got the plane tickets, im ready. Im going only with a carry-on bag, as I don’t think I will need much stuff for the 2ish weeks Ill spend there. Im not even taking a laptop. Interestingly enough, Im not worried about anything surgery related at all. Like 0/10 worry. If anything, im excited to finally have this last piece of the entire process ahead of me. Part of me feels like since I went through the initial surgery and then the frame removal already, I can do this one. The only thing im worried about is probably the flight. Man I don’t like flying.

06.09.2024
Safely made it to Ho Chi Minh City, met with the assistant and once again made the apartment building Dragon Hill my temporary home. Very nostalgically, I even got the same apartment on the 9th floor, but this time, the larger room in the back.

07.09.2024
Right in the morning, the hospital and all the tests. Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, today is Saturday. Later on, we discuss my x-rays – the front of the left leg is not fully healed yet. But its still solid, so there should be no issue. In the evening, Mr. T asked me if I would join him in meeting a Japanese guy that came last night to answer some of his questions. I agreed, we met and had a nice dinner together. Through the use of a translator, he asked me a bunch of classic questions about pain, surgery, etc. I recall one of them being "do you have any regrets?". I said no.

08.09.2024
Got a message about my health check results, will have to go to the hospital tomorrow morning to have an additional cardio check. I had the same thing happen last time, and I recall Mr. T told me last time that a large number of patients get this, so its nothing unusual.

09.09.2024
Morning hospital visit. A very pleasant cardiologist lady asked me a bunch of stuff, looked at the results of my heart tests and at the end told me all my results are good.

11.09.2024 (SURGERY DAY)
Funny coincidence, I got hospital room 709 again, same as last time. Im told this surgery is easy compared to the first one. Mr. C said an important thing - for all the patients he saw, they always succeeded in removing the IM nail. Worst case a screw breaks, they leave it there for now, but again, Mr. C tells me for all removals he saw, they always took it out. Im a little nervous. About 4-5/10 nervousness. When I got wheeled into the operating room, this time, we waited there a bit. They put both my arms to armrests along the bed and hooked both of them up to something, so I was lying there in a T pose for a while. Mr. C and the Dr talked a bit, and just like before the first surgery, the Dr, while talking, casually examined my legs and touched them a few times. And just like the first surgery, this calmed me down a bit. The Dr simply gives off a feeling like he knows what hes doing, which is very reassuring. Once again, just out of curiosity, when being put to sleep, I counted how many breaths it took. This time, I made it to 10 before falling asleep.

Waking up in the ICU, Mr. C was next to my bed, telling me right off the bat that the operation was a success. I felt minimal pain, which during the few hours I stayed at the ICU completely faded away. I could move my toes and feet just fine, even my whole legs if being very careful about the stitches. Overall, I was pretty happy it was over and excited that it went well. I think it was 6 pm by the time I got wheeled back to my hospital room. Nurses changed my iv and i didn’t hesitate to devour the lukewarm chicken & rice broth waiting there for me. Delicious.

Mr. C sent me a message with a summary of the following days. Apparently, I can try standing up with crutches by Tuesday if theres no pain or tightness. Thats about 6 days from now. Also, I’ll be taking antibiotics and stitches removal should be around the next Saturday. About 10 days from now. Of course, all of this depends on an x-ray that will be taken tomorrow morning. I’ll apparently leave the hospital tomorrow around 2 pm. I feel good.

12.09.2024
Around midnight, nurse changed my iv and checked my legs. Theres a bit of blood around the outside upper part of my right leg, so she puts an extra bandage around it. I remember I had the same thing happen last time after the frame removal surgery, so I dont pay it any mind. I didnt really feel very sleepy, so I spent the night mostly in hibernation, sometimes falling asleep for a short period of time. But I still felt good and fresh in the morning. During the morning, it was the classic x-ray, iv removal and then a bandage change. Went back to the apartment after lunch.

13.09.2024
I woke up after a deep, delicious sleep with the legs feeling good. I felt this sensation - which might sound a bit esoteric, but nonetheless - that energy can flow freely through the legs, completely without any metal as an obstruction to it. Like my legs were once again part of the whole body as one unit and can finally fully and properly heal.

15.09.2024
Knee tightness seems to have mostly disappeared. I did some light movements each day to help it. By today, I can again bend my legs so that calves touch the hamstrings. During bandage change, seeing the stitches, all seems to be healing well to me.

19.09.2024
In the morning, they brought me a pair of crutches. I did some light leg exercises to warm up the legs and prepared for my first stand up. I was genuinely worried. I had no idea what its going to feel like. Considering the front of my left leg hasn’t fully healed yet, I was afraid that too much pressure on it will cause damage. At the same time, I had no idea how its going to feel without the nails inside - what if it feels weak? What if I lose balance? Will I have to move really slowly? Carefully, I plant my bare feet on the floor and with the support of the crutches, lift myself to a standing position. To my surprise, all feels completely normal. I put on my shoes - I thought, for greater stability - and start a slow walk with the crutches. All feels completely fine. No pain, no pressure, no weird sensations. I turn. I walk a bit faster. I make multiple laps. I go into the kitchen and back multiple times. Stand, sit, walk... to my surprise, all is and feels completely fine. I am elated and genuinely happy.

23.09.2024
Even the entire flight home, despite having to go through the entire airport hassle (I flew Ho Chi Minh → Doha → Prague) and having to walk or stand with the crutches for a while at a few points, the legs felt completely fine.

02.10.2024
exactly three weeks since surgery. I’m very surprised at how well the legs are.

05.10.2024
First full day without crutches. Walked a good amount, and even did some garden work at my mom’s place. All completely fine. Good amount of stairs up and down. All fine.

05.11.2024
I am retarded and have overestimated myself. Of course I have dropped the crutches too early. Later in October, I had a streak of days when I walked a lot and felt my left leg a little bit in the evenings. On about day three of this, I felt some pain in the left leg. Well, back to walking with a crutch. I used one crutch again to support myself for about two weeks now and all seems better again. I had a little walk without it today and all seems well. But I can tell it still needs a little while to be certain. I will keep the crutch for the next week.

03.01.2025
This will be my last entry to wrap it up. After the last journal entry, I have taken a few more days walking with the crutch and then dropped it completely. My walking has returned to normal, my life has returned to normal. I got back into yoga fully, back into the gym. Walking normally, living free with my new height. There are no more issues with the legs, they feel completely normal, pain free and even strong.


X-RAYS:

(there should be 4 pictures, hopefully they upload. X-rays were taken basically right before and after nail removal)









At the end, I would like to add three disclaimers: 1) this is my experience and yours might differ. Don’t take anything in my journal at absolute face value, you never know what issues you might run into or how will your body respond; 2) the time it took me to go from crutches to complete walking to fully healed legs was probably longer for me than average, as I lengthened by an amount that is generally considered beyond the safe limit (7,28cm); 3) I stretch a lot, basically daily, for years now. I will be a certified yoga instructor this year (finally!). That means my leg flexibility and mobility are probably above the average person, so what im trying to say is, please don’t be discouraged if you dont see an immediate response to your stretches or if your equinus is not moving and it feels like the muscles hit a wall with tightness that just feels impossible to overcome. It isn’t. Keep at it and im certain you will eventually see results.

Once again, good luck to all of you going through your own LL journeys and of course, don’t hesitate to pm me, im always happy to help. I might post a few pics or videos in a few months that show how the legs recovered.

[HandsomeJack]

Here is an additional post to fit more photos.

(there should be 13 pictures. Hopefully they upload)

[lucindaris]

Thank you for your update, very detailed diary. I plan to do femurs with Becker, but I am thankful for many informations related to your case!