Pain Height Limb Lengthening Surgery

Limb Lengthening Regrets

Nov 26, 2020

 

Limb lengthening surgery is a very powerful procedure that can not only change you physically but also mentally.

But sometimes, patients are left with regret...why? Well usually because...


they set their expectations really high, which, let me be clear, is perfectly okay! It’s alright to have regret but you can avoid it or reduce it by matching your expectations with reality. 

So let’s get into it, the 4 major regrets I tend to see.

  1. Regret #1: Not being able to hit your lengthening goal


So let’s start with a cosmetic patient first. If you are a 28 year old, 5’3” guy who dreams of being 6’3” tall and you are dead-set on achieving that...well you gotta understand that it’s not possible. I mean talk about a horror movie. But let’s say reality slapped you in the face and you decided to shoot for 5’8” instead. That could be a possibility over two lengthenings, but as you lengthen if your doctor realizes you have trouble with ROM in your joints then, for safety reasons you may have to stop before you hit your goal. A way to avoid this is to lengthen and observe. Have realistic goals set with your surgeon, and go for it, but don’t expect everything to go according to plan because your body could have other plans in mind and things could become challenging. 

And if you’re a discrepancy patient with or without a deformity of some sort, realize you may correct the major issues making things much better and less painful, but things might not be perfect on the other side. So do keep that in mind, it’ll help eliminate regret.

  1. Regret #2: Didn’t recover from the surgery 


This is a huge fear of regret and it’s understandable. I mean I was worried about this. You are trying to go into the surgery to improve your life, the last thing you want to do is go in and make things harder. Okay, sure you won’t be fully recovered until probably 6-10 months post device removal which is close to that 2 year mark after initial surgery, but if you slack on PT or there wasn’t enough surgical precision you might have some lingering issues that could tag along with you for some years to come. So that’s why I really stress rehab and finding qualified lengthening surgeons so you can avoid this regret also

  1. Regret #3: Didn't notice the life-changing benefits 


Now this is one of the worst regrets to have after the procedure. If you went through investing the time, money and pain then you’re probably expecting a huge revamp in areas of your life such as career, romance, social acceptance and more. So say you gain 3 inches, which is a lot, but you realize you don’t get that job promotion, you don’t get that date with the girl you’ve been chasing or you just aren’t receiving the amount of respect you want in life overall. Why is this? What do you do!? Well the first thing you do is before getting the surgery done, is two-fold; First, you should embrace how you feel inside. Like when I got it done and my pain dissipated and got some added height I felt my life was on full throttle and I started to be more outgoing, trying new things, talking to more people and so on which really opened a lot of opportunities. 

And the second thing is you should accept the fact it will take time to notice the benefits and changes that limb lengthening will give you. I mean, 2-3 inches is really noticeable in terms of height to most people.

Basically what I’m saying is, you have to ride the massive wave that limb-lengthening will create in your life and look for the positive and not wait for the negative and I can promise you’ll avoid feeling you made a regretful decision.

  1. Regret #4: Didn’t do it sooner


This has got to be my favorite regret by far and that’s because it’s a positive regret. In fact, I’d say out of all the discrepancy and 90% of the cosmetic patients I’ve spoken to are so upset they didn’t do it sooner and reap the benefits longer. Now the procedure is not for everyone by any means, and I completely understand it’s a very costly procedure, but if you know for a fact this could improve your life, you’re past the financial obstacle, you understand the risks, time and effort that go into it, then waiting longer may keep you in the same place which isn’t the point in life...onwards and upwards.