The procedure – inserting a metal rod into your legs with screws that must be tightened every few hours for months – sounds like something straight out of a medieval torture chamber.
Yet hundreds of men from the UK are paying to go abroad for this operation, which involves surgically severing both leg bones, and needs at least three months’ convalescence – all in the hope of gaining extra inches in height.
For reasons of cost many – such as Sami, a 23-year-old student – are opting to travel to Turkey for this leg-lengthening treatment, which has been popularised in recent years by success stories on social media.
At around £17,000 for the operation (compared with up to £100,000 in private UK clinics) it’s not cheap.
Yet despite this – and the gruelling recovery period – for Sami and men like him who are deeply self-conscious about their height, it’s a price they will gladly pay.
Sami, who has just completed his three-month leg-lengthening and rehabilitation treatment, is delighted with the results of his ‘Turkey legs’ operation, which increased his height from 5ft 7in to 5ft 11in in three months (see pictures).
‘It was painful and hard – and very isolating at times – but I’m now thrilled with my height, it was worth it,’ he tells the Mail.
But many UK experts are worried about the increased popularity of the op for cosmetic purposes – which is only offered in a small number of UK clinics – because of the complexity of the operation and the risk of causing damage to other tissues.
Sami was delighted that the procedure took him to his target height of 5ft 11in
Amir Qureshi, a consultant knee surgeon at University Hospital Southampton, stresses ‘it is not a trivial procedure’.
And describing the procedure as ‘cosmetic’, he says, ‘risks misleading people into thinking it’s a simple, low-risk operation. It isn’t. It’s major reconstructive surgery on a weight-bearing limb.’
He adds: ‘Complications can occur, anything from nerve injury and stiffness to failure of the bone to heal, through to infection or – in the very worst cases – loss of the limb.’
Nonetheless men such as Sami are undeterred.
Sami explains that when he stopped growing in his late teens, he had to accept that a longed-for growth spurt would never happen.
‘My friends were all taller than me – it affected my confidence and I always felt really self-conscious,’ says Sami, speaking on condition of using a pseudonym because he is embarrassed about having the procedure, as are many men who are now flying to Turkey to have it done.
He tried wearing shoes with a slight heel, or chunky trainers to gain a few centimetres.
‘But I was still shorter than all the men I met and even some women,’ he says.
Then a year ago he saw video posts on social media of men who’d gone to Turkey for limb-lengthening surgery.
A computerised cartoon showed a patient having his legs broken, a metal rod inserted and explained the process of turning the screws several times a day.
‘As the screws turned, the rod pulled and the bone – that had now grown around the rod – would stretch too,’ says Sami.
‘It looked painful and arduous, but it seemed the only option I had – I was so unhappy with my height, I would try anything.’
The Wanna Be Taller clinic in Istanbul treats men from all over the world
A patient has his leg prepared for the procedure to lengthen the bones of the upper thigh
After doing his research, Sami booked the procedure at the Wanna Be Taller clinic in Istanbul, flying there from Birmingham, where he is studying, in May this year (he used private means to pay).
He was taken to the clinic, where he met the surgeon who would perform his operation.
Sami recalls: ‘I was nervous but there were other men there from all over – Spanish, British, Arabs. All in the same boat. We were put up in a hotel affiliated with the clinic until we had our surgery.’
Limb lengthening is a complex orthopaedic procedure that involves cutting the thigh or shin bones under a general anaesthetic, then stabilising the limb using a fixation device such as a metal rod and nails, or an external frame.
A gap is left between the two sections of bone, enabling new bone to grow into the gap, slowly lengthening the limb.
Originally developed in the mid-1960s (and the technique subsequently refined in the 1990s) to address significant leg-length differences caused by injuries, congenital deformities or as a consequence of polio, leg lengthening is only performed on the NHS to restore function and quality of life in cases of medical need.
Mr Qureshi explains that the process lengthens the leg by about 1mm per day – once the target is reached, the bone then needs time to strengthen. This stage is called consolidation, where the soft, newly formed bone has to harden enough to carry weight safely.
That adds roughly another 30 to 60 days for every centimetre gained.
‘So in practice, each extra centimetre can take six to eight weeks,’ explains Mr Qureshi.
‘For someone hoping to gain 5-8cm, you’re looking at many months of treatment. It’s uncomfortable, it’s prolonged, and it requires real commitment from the patient.’
There is a risk of long-term complications too. For example, the insertion of the pins and wires required during surgery may lead to nerve damage in the leg that can cause temporary or even permanent loss of sensation. There is also the chance that the bones won’t unite as intended leading to instability that may reduce the range of movement in the knee or lead to arthritis in other joints such as the ankle.
And it can take months for the new bone to achieve the strength of the old bone, meaning there may be a raised risk of fractures.
There is a risk of long-term complications too. For example, the insertion of the pins and wires required during surgery may lead to nerve damage in the leg that can cause temporary or even permanent loss of sensation. There is also the chance that the bones won’t unite as intended leading to instability that may reduce the range of movement in the knee or lead to arthritis in other joints such as the ankle.
There is a risk of long-term complications too. For example, the insertion of the pins and wires required during surgery may lead to nerve damage in the leg that can cause temporary or even permanent loss of sensation. There is also the chance that the bones won’t unite as intended leading to instability that may reduce the range of movement in the knee or lead to arthritis in other joints such as the ankle.
And it can take months for the new bone to achieve the strength of the old bone, meaning there may be a raised risk of fractures.
But fanned by success stories on social media, it’s recently been gaining in popularity for cosmetic purposes.
‘The bone that will be lengthened is cut at a location that offers the best chance for proper healing,’ explains Yunus Oc, an orthopaedic surgeon at the Wanna Be Taller clinic in Istanbul.
The lengthening itself is done in one of two ways.
With an internal fixation device, a telescopic metal ‘nail’ or rod (containing a tiny magnetic motor) is attached inside the two sections of bone, then tiny adjustments are made using a remote control.
This also contains a magnet that, when held against the skin, magnetically activates the motor inside the rod to slowly lengthen. This separates the bone sections a small amount, stimulating new bone to grow between the gap.
An alternative is an external device, such as the LON (lengthening over nail) method, where a frame with pins going into the bone through the skin is attached outside the limb to control and gradually lengthen the limb. The patient to turns a special screw several times a day to achieve the lengthening.
It’s important not to rush the lengthening process, as this could risk damaging muscles, tendons, veins and nerves, warns Mr Oc.
‘A sudden increase in height would risk damaging the tissues, making it difficult for the patient to walk or return to normal function. By stretching slowly each day, the body is able to adapt to the new height safely, the muscles adjust naturally and the patient avoids complications.’
One big difference between the two methods is pain levels – and the length potentially achieved, says Mr Oc, adding that while the LON method ‘is stronger and more supportive’, the internal rod method ‘is significantly less painful’. That’s because the external fittings that are part of the LON may cause extra soft tissue damage and inflammation.
While the LON method allows for up to 10cm, with the other technique patients can achieve up to 8.5cm, he says.
Weight is another factor, explains Mr Oc. ‘As the internal nail alone carries the load it is recommended for patients under 70kg [around 11st] whereas the external fixators in the LON method can bear more weight and provide stronger support.’
The operation typically takes between two and four hours, with the patient staying in hospital afterwards for around four days for monitoring while they adapt to the device, he says.
Keen to obtain the best results, Sami opted for the external LON method – and came to after his operation feeling ‘woozy but OK’, he recalls.
He was given strong painkillers and returned to the hotel several days later.
‘I met other men who’d had the same surgery,’ he says. ‘We were all getting around with walkers like elderly people use. I made friends and we helped each other.’ However the costs of a three-month stay in the hotel were too much, so after a week Sami rented a private apartment in Istanbul. Some clinics offer aftercare packages at hotels that can add thousands of pounds to the overall cost.
He says: ‘I lived alone for three months with no family or friends and couldn’t go out. It was a very lonely time. I was worried about infection so didn’t want to risk leaving the flat. Although it cost me several hundred pounds, it was still cheaper than staying in the hotel.’
He was advised to turn his screws four times a day, which he found ‘uncomfortable but not painful’. He also went for bi-monthly X-rays to monitor progress.
Mr Oc says that serious complications such as nerve damage or infection are rare, occurring in 3-5 per cent of cases.
So long as the bone heals well after surgery there should be no problem with bone strength or walking, he told the Daily Mail, however to be sure surgeons require their patients to stay nearby for monitoring for three months.
Finally, in August, Sami had the device removed in a brief operation followed by scans to check his bone had fused and healed. When his height was measured, he was ‘overjoyed’.
‘All my trousers were too short and I was the height I’d always wanted to be.’
Now weeks after the device was removed, he is staying with family in Algeria where he lives, walking unassisted without a walker and having physiotherapy.
NHS surgeon Mr Qureshi believes that while the operation can be ‘life-changing’ for people who were born with shortened bones or who have lost bone due to an injury, ‘that is very different from using the same techniques simply to be taller’.
And although complications are rare, he adds: ‘They are exactly why most of us would advise strongly against doing this for cosmetic reasons’.
But Sami argues: ‘It may have been a risk but it was worth it. I am finally feeling confident about myself.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .