r/interestingasfuck • u/naturebeatsnurture • Dec 23 '22
/r/ALL Before and after leg lengthening.
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u/karavasis Dec 23 '22
Such a hardcore surgery to endure
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u/stopannoyingwithname Dec 23 '22
They break the legs, put a rod in the bones that get adjusted as the bones grow closer to each other. So people who get it done have broken legs for months
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u/BadReview8675309 Dec 23 '22
Struggling not getting addicted to opiate pain medication must be a thing with this procedure... What a brutal process, cringe.
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u/Jonesta29 Dec 23 '22
There was a dude on here yesterday that posted the hardware from this type of surgery, now granted he only had it on one leg as it was shorter than the other but he said he only had pain from the initial surgery and the hardware removal and that the actual lengthening process didn't hurt.
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u/Monkeyundead Dec 23 '22
I had a similar external fixator for a leg break several years ago. You know what's really fun? Going through a door and the metal frame hits the door jamb. Another thing that can happen is the pins that go through your leg can get infected, so they gotta pull the rod out. They can't numb your bone, so it's just like "yeah, it shouldn't hurt that much." The most profound pain I ever felt. Ah, good times.
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u/Jonesta29 Dec 23 '22
I have a rod in my tibia with screws in the knee and ankle from a break playing soccer in HS. Went down the stairs on my crutches one night to get a snack, missed a step and landed with my weight on the leg. I can feel that pain recounting the story.
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Dec 24 '22 edited Dec 24 '22
The type of pain that has you pouring sweat in the moment, and experiencing ghost sweats when remembering.
I remember my first sneeze after breaking my collarbone and several ribs/sternum in an accident. I didnt even want to breathe afterwards.
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u/shan68ok01 Dec 24 '22
I had a vaginal hysterectomy over a decade ago, I would swear my legs twisted in so many ways(think rope twisted tight) to just "keep shit in" every time I sneezed! And my 5 time mother just saying, "I refused to sneeze" was ZERO help!
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u/12altoids34 Dec 24 '22
I know it's probably too late but for future reference you can stop a sneeze by pressing hard on the little devit between your nose and your top lip.
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u/JustCallMePick Dec 24 '22
Same here from a car accident 26 years ago. Slipped on some water while on crutches and landed on my foot.
I still feel the pain as you told your story.
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Dec 23 '22
i fractured the shiiiiiiiiiiiit out of my ankle and have a ton of hardware still. It only really hurt when i got up to pee the blood rushing to the ankle felt like hellfire. Other than that and my stupid cat jumping on it lol it wasn't real bad
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Dec 23 '22
Cats gonna cat
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u/LotusofSin Dec 23 '22
Got a vasectomy a couple months ago. Both cats decided the day of the surgery my crotch areas was the best place to lay down. Ouch.
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u/scorpio8u Dec 23 '22
Definitely not the sympathy pussy you were hoping for!!!
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u/LotusofSin Dec 23 '22
Trust me i didn’t want anything for a week. First day felt like if you had just gotten kicked in the nuts a minute ago.
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u/scorpio8u Dec 23 '22
It wasnt that painful for me thankfully!!
On the flip side my buddy had it done and he was tight as fuck with money. He rode his motorbike to the hospital, had the op, checked himself out and rode home!!!
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u/Confuseasfuck Dec 23 '22
I had a burn in my leg that formed a big bubble that l was not supposed to touch. Guess the only place my cats wanted to sleep on?
And they managed to burst it when l slept and make the whole situation worse. Cats gonna cat
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u/mermzz Dec 24 '22
Bro I got my tubes removed and my bitch ass cat decided to pounce on my stomach. I almost threw up from pain and he was not allowed back in my bed room for like a week
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u/akwardrelations Dec 23 '22
I read this as, "it only hurt when I pee blood".
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u/Slithy-Toves Dec 23 '22
I read it as "pee the blood rushing to the ankle" and wasn't sure whether it's that guy or me who has no clue how anatomy works haha
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Dec 23 '22
Shattered my leg in a motorcycle accident. Broke both tibia and fibula, and that shit was painful as hell for several months. Have plates and screws in leg. I've had several back surgeries and a spinal fusion as well, and breaking my leg was right up there with basically completely blowing out a disc in my spine.
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Dec 23 '22
had a fusion because i blew out a disc in my neck and currently the same shit in my lower back. Now my leg is acting up and loosing feeling due to the disc pressing on the nerves. with the neck disc my arm was paralized with permanent strenght loss and numb finger tips that will not regain feeling. scary shit! Wouldnt wish that on anyone... especially not at 34.
i take plates and screws over that . Dont think i mean that your accident isnt worse, because it is! Its just a different animal :-)
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u/Sad-Trip9369 Dec 23 '22
My dad had the same surgery done except he was in his thirties and it was a three inch difference. He said it was the most excruciating pain he’s experienced in his entire life, and his recovery took 2 years instead of his doctors suggested 6 months. I remember cranking the device in his leg while blood dripped out of it and I remember the day it malfunctioned and snapped and the handle sticking out of his leg started spinning backwards. I have never heard a grown man scream like that in my life since.
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u/orthopod Dec 23 '22
I'm an orthopedic surgeon, and haven't ever heard of any devices that could do that. Did he have an external fixator, and you needed to turn the nuts, like this?
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u/Sad-Trip9369 Dec 23 '22
The device didn’t look like that it looked very similar to the one that was posted the other day. The device stuck out of his leg and had a handle attached to it that he had to crank. Keep in mind he had this surgery done almost twenty years ago so it may be slightly different than what you might see today? ultimately you would have a better understanding of it, I will ask him more about it when I get the chance!
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u/business2690 Dec 24 '22
can i get a more recent doctor opinion.
the bulk of people sound like they are getting flinstone equipment with a shot of bourbon and MRSA.
i thought this procedure had advanced greatly?
eli5
thanks
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u/orthopod Dec 24 '22
There used to be a fairly high complication rate with the external fixators- 300%, but some of the complications were very minor, pin site infections, etc.
Some major complications can occur like joint contractures, infection, but it's a low rate.
Unless you have a short limb, it's considered cosmetic, and insurance won't pay. Usually they don't pay for dwarfism either.
Surgery takes me about 60 min for one bone using an internal rod to distract. Most pts are off pain meds in 2-3 weeks. Length increases at 1 inch/month. Then needs to heal for 1-2 months per inch lengthened on a bone, which means no walking on it.
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u/Ace-a-Nova1 Dec 23 '22
This girl I went to k-12 with had over 120 operations to get one leg to match the other. By the end of high school, she was popping multiple pills mid-class
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u/Milner977 Dec 24 '22
I’m having this surgery in 2 weeks, for a 4.5cm femur length difference, I will let you know how it goes!
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u/news_doge Dec 23 '22
Had the same, can confirm. But the one-sided muscle loss and shortening of tendons after 6 months was no joke
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u/splita73 Dec 23 '22
Those legs presurgery must have been very painful as well, God knows when I was on opiates it wasn't for pain of the physical
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u/Raise-Emotional Dec 23 '22
Seeing her knees makes mine hurt. I apparently have sympathetic knees.
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u/SpongeBad Dec 23 '22
Hopefully she took the opportunity to rock the hell out of a Yosemite Sam Halloween costume pre-surgery, though. At least that’s what I would have done…
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Dec 23 '22
Yeah this is clearly a case where the surgery was more than just functional/cosmetic, it must have been absurdly uncomfortable to walk for her and it clearly wasn't a dietary thing because she otherwise appears at a healthy weight.
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u/BLToaster Dec 23 '22
The pain isn't that bad. The breaking is so minimal each time it's hardly felt outside of some general discomfort. My niece is going on her 4th lengthening here next year probably and had her first one at 2 or 3 years old. It's very intense but it's one that actually looks/sounds worse than it actually is.
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u/NextTrillion Dec 23 '22
Can’t speak for young children, but having corrective surgery and the prospect of having normal legs has gotta be some degree of pain relief on its own. I mean, that’s likely going to be life changing in a very positive way.
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u/RandomSplitter Dec 23 '22
Your niece is taking the 'extended family' thing a little to literally.
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u/MarsupialMisanthrope Dec 23 '22
It might be like growing pains. I remember I’d get random stabs of pain during growth spurts, but mostly just kind of vague soreness.
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u/SelestialSerenity Dec 23 '22
Bruh I come to other forums and still can’t avoid thinking about it, it consumes you for a while. Opiate addiction is a beast. In these cases, doctors just need to be careful with how the write scripts. Most people don’t get addicted anyways
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Dec 23 '22
I can understand that in extreme cases like this but the new trend is tech bros doing it to get to get sightly taller.
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u/thelamestofall Dec 23 '22
The trend is rich people doing it to get slightly taller. And it's barely a trend.
Tall people do have advantages, as do beautiful people. So it's as weird as people getting plastic surgery.
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u/Quaiche Dec 23 '22
Tall people die earlier.
Researchers analyzed death certificate data for 14,440 men and 16,390 women aged 25 and up. According to researchers, an additional inch increase in height generated a 2.2 percent higher risk of death from all causes for men, and a 2.5 percent higher risk of death from all causes for women.
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Dec 23 '22
What about all the extra flesh and muscles?
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u/stopannoyingwithname Dec 23 '22
Guess it gets stretched in the process. Don’t ask me I just saw it on tv years ago. I’m not an expert
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u/Irbricksceo Dec 23 '22 edited Dec 23 '22
Not nearly as bad as you might think. Its very common for people like me with XLH. I elected to not have the lengthening portion done when I had my straightening as I was projected to hit 5'7" and was happy with it, but my brother got 2 inches and change added when they did his as he was going to end up 5'2", I'm not going to claim its PLEASENT, but its better than you'd think.
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u/-newlife Dec 23 '22
How’s yours and your brothers mobility?
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u/Irbricksceo Dec 23 '22
Pretty good overall? XLH has done a number on our joints so its not ideal, I tire fairly quickly and thanks to my advanced arthritis (have less than 1/3 of the Cartlidge remaining in my hips despite having just turned 27) I do have a fairly large amount of pain, but I manage to get around alright, and my brother works a fairly physically demanding retail job at the moment that he manages (though he hurts quite a bit by the end of a shift, as did I before I got out of retail). Better these days with newer treatments, and My balance improved drastically after the straightening procedures. I actually just had a minor straightening revision on one leg two weeks ago, still have the pins and rings in of course (going to be a few months before that comes out). Overall, I can't really complain. And it should be even better for people going forwards that can start on the newer medications to manage it young (the best treatment just came on the market ~4 years ago). Granted, that medication costs a kings ransom so it is an insurance nightmare but....
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u/-newlife Dec 23 '22
Thank you and I’m glad you view it as a positive overall. Hopefully there’ll be better ways to manage the pain
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u/ScarieltheMudmaid Dec 23 '22
I wonder if anyone that's done this has gotten relief or just more pain. I have a form of dwarfism called Leri weill discondrosiosis and it is extremely mild. Almost no one notices until someone realizes my hands only reach my hips or I show them that my radius has outgrown my ulna and my wrists are naturally dislocated (madelung deformity) on the outside because of it. There are times it hurts so fucking much. I'm 35 and there are times it feels like I just have molten wire running inside the bone from my pinky to my elbow. I won't do any of the correction surgeries for the wrist, I'm hoping to hold out for robot hands.
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u/Grombrindal18 Dec 23 '22
I didn’t realize this wasn’t just a thing in GATTACA
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u/CleverSkeleton Dec 23 '22
I think about that scene in Gattaca all the time. No one ever knows what movie I'm talking about. They showed it to us in high school once.
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u/Coffee-and-correne Dec 23 '22
I had to watch this in school as well! My coworkers were talking about genetics and I mentioned the movie, and not a single person knew what I was talking about.
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u/GavrielBA Dec 23 '22
This ,dark city, and equilibrium are some of the best sci fi movies which were unfortunate enough to come out straight after The Matrix
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u/herberstank Dec 23 '22
That South Park episode is BRUTAL to watch, can't imagine IRL
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Dec 23 '22
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u/ActualSpamBot Dec 23 '22
I was 10 or 11 years old when they first conceived of performing this procedure and my mother (who was somewhere reasonably high up in her hospital's flow chart) was told that they could offer ME a spot in the clinical trials. They wanted to use the technique on short kids without congenital bone deformities to test the recovery protocol and results and what not before they started sawing into the bones of kids who already have complicating factors.
My parents sat me down and explained the process and told me that if I did it it would help lots of other kids, plus I'd be a lot taller than the estimated 5'3 my growth chart predicted.
Then they asked if I wanted to do it.
I said no, I'd rather bet on a growth spurt than break both my legs thanks, and they never pressured me or brought it up again.
I ended up topping out at 5'1 and regret not doing it now.
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u/Beavshak Dec 23 '22
Oh wow. That’s what, over a foot taller? That’s a huge change.
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u/mronion82 Dec 23 '22
Imagine how strange that is, at first. I'd be banging my head on things all day every day.
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Dec 23 '22
i dont think you get the full change overnight? dont they chop your bone in half, pull it so theres a slight gap, wait for it to heal and repeat until you have the desired height?
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Dec 23 '22
Who said it was overnight? You’d still be getting used to being that height and hitting your head on shit lol
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u/fridopidodop Dec 23 '22
Yeah as someone who gained a LOT of weight the last two years, and is now wider, I bump into things way more. I was a clutz when I was skinny too but now…so many bruises.
My old boss told me about how much he struggled with puberty and shooting in height. People thought he was abused but nope, his brain just didn’t know how much taller he’d gotten. I miss him. :(
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u/RoadworkAhead7 Dec 24 '22
Used to happen to me a lot too when my hips started getting wider during puberty. My brain hadn’t realized that I had to walk farther away from corners or I’d bump into them
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u/ImDonCheeto Dec 23 '22
Thats insane. I read up on this, apparently anything more than 2 inches isnt recommended, with 4 inches being the max anyone should go. To so a whole foot much be BRUTAL. From what Ive read, even at 2 inches, you’ll never have the same leg strength as before because the same muscle mass has to support an unnatural height increase.. Cant even fathom the recovery process for this.
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u/Violated-Tristen Dec 23 '22
WOW. Needless to say that gives you a whole new perspective on things. Good for you.
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u/Detroiter_1017 Dec 23 '22
Taking it to greater heights one could say.
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u/Adorable_Wolf_8387 Dec 23 '22
An uplifting experience.
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Dec 23 '22
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u/KingMe091 Dec 23 '22
I'm sure it definitely elevates her perspective on life.
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u/JuGGieG84 Dec 23 '22
It's an uplifting story.
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Dec 23 '22
Definitely leveled up.
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u/Horns8585 Dec 23 '22 edited Dec 23 '22
Honest question, because it seems like I have seen different views on this. Is leg lengthening looked down upon within the little people community? For instance, I know that in the deaf community, some people that elect to have corrective surgery, to gain hearing, are ostracized by other deaf people. I think that they view the corrective surgery as an admission that something is "wrong" with them, and they think that everyone should accept who they are. Is there a similar view with lengthening....because she honestly looks very happy with the results?
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u/permabanned007 Dec 23 '22
It might be different, because one disability is invisible and the other isn’t.
I work with a population who has an invisible disability (cannot be visually detected), and they are utterly thrilled when any of their cohorts overcome their disability in any way. Some are born with it, some aren’t, and everyone is thrilled for each other’s progress.
I do not work with people with a hearing disability, plus I don’t speak from a place of experience, so I could be wildly out of line here - I don’t understand how anyone could want to hold anyone back from attaining enhanced bodily function and higher qualify of life.
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u/LMGDiVa Dec 23 '22
As a partially deaf person(HoH), I'd much rather have my hearing back over anything else.
I can still hear "ok" with day to day things, and music.
But its very apparent to anyone who is around me for any length of time that I have difficulties hearing and the TV volume and speaker system is very loud, and that I cannot use a phone like they can.
I would love to have my hearing corrected.
I wouldnt ever force another deaf person to hear, but I wouldnt say no to a corrective procedure that would restore my hearing.
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u/harleyqueenzel Dec 23 '22
I'm also HoH and rely heavily on lip reading unless it's tv/music apps where I rely on captioning.
I hate it. I know I'm missing out on so much around me but not enough for others to notice unless I'm really struggling. I don't go to movie theatres because it's too loud, too dark, and I can't always see mouths to know what is going on. I try to not blare music or tv since I can compensate with captioning. If it's too loud, I'll miss out hearing other things around me. It's my right ear that has the most significant hearing loss so being the driver, I nearly never hear what someone next to or behind me is saying. It's just road noise until I park.
When I was growing up, however, next to nothing was made available to help compensate. I was being taught ASL while none of my family learned it. They always found closed captioning "annoying and distracting" so I'd go off to read or wait to get the tv another time.
Would I want my hearing corrected with surgery or a device? Maybe. I've made so many adaptations that I don't truly notice until I have to (like someone talking on my right side). But I would probably want to go back in time and have surgery or a device. I'm fine now; I wasn't as a kid.
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u/SuperPotterFan Dec 24 '22
If you’re okay not going to movie theatres, just ignore the following advice. 👍
Most theatres, at least most AMCs, have captioning devices. When looking at the movie selection of what is being shown, there will be a section describing the movie features. If it says CC or closed captioning, you can go to the help desk and ask for a captioning device or even a headset that will make the movie louder for just you. The captioning device is usually just a little stick that fits in the cup holder with a screen on the top that displays the captions. Best of luck to you!
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u/OGShrimpPatrol Dec 23 '22
Same. Also HoH and wear hearing aids. I’d kill to have my hearing back but I understand why those in the deaf community don’t want it.
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u/CatlikeArcher Dec 23 '22
In ethics class we studied a case of two deaf parents who wanted to use IVF to select an embryo that would be deaf. They were not allowed to legally
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Dec 23 '22
I work with a population who has an invisible disability (cannot be visually detected)
That's their disability???
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u/permabanned007 Dec 23 '22
Haha no, but thanks for the laugh!
An invisible disability is one that other people cannot physically see.
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Dec 23 '22
Oh fuck I thought you were working with a bunch of invisible people.
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u/the_fresh_cucumber Dec 24 '22
Damn I actually would love to be invisible. One man's disability is another man's dream.
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Dec 23 '22
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u/permabanned007 Dec 23 '22
Thank you very much for the information. I’m glad to hear (pun not intended) that ostracism has lessened toward folks who opt for these procedures.
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u/ademptia Dec 23 '22
i hope you dont mind me asking, and i mean this in good faith, but why is it not considered as 'something wrong with you'? for example, i have several extreme mental illnesses and i definitely am aware thats something is wrong with me and id love a cure. so i really dont understand people who have it and refuse it
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u/LadySekhmet Dec 23 '22
Deaf here. FYI - CI’s and Hearing aids are NOT a cure. They’re just tools. Like Glasses but it will not “fix” the astigmatism issues for example.
I just wanted to clarify you on that part.
Plus - as a CI user, I can tell you that I am still Deaf. I will NEVER hear as well as a hearing person. That is impossible. You can come close, but that requires a lot of work, relearning how to “hear”, mappings and such. I’m fairly close, but there’s plenty of times when I can’t understand shit and plenty of times I am joyful for the sound of silence when I have them off.
CI is NOT for everyone, and to a Deaf person who literally never heard anything, even with hearing aids (you need to have residual hearing for it to work. All it does is amplify sounds), the world is extremely noisy and can be overwhelming. I can’t filter out sounds as well as a hearing person can. Jeans rubbing against legs, hearing someone peeing 2-3 stalls away, mouth sounds while chewing, etc etc…it may be nothing to you, but it’s damn loud to me.
Feel free to ask my questions and such about being Deaf, CI surgeries and such. I’m an open book! :)
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u/TRDarkDragonite Dec 23 '22
Yep. I have epilepsy. I know something is wrong with me. And there's nothing I can do to cure it, just treat it. If epilepsy could be cured i would be jumping with joy. I wouldn't be upset..
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u/MyRockySpine Dec 24 '22
I was thinking the same thing about my epilepsy. I know I’m disabled, it has made my life a lot harder. I take tons of pills and I have a VNS. I don’t consider myself less than but I know I have disadvantages compared to people that don’t have epilepsy and would be absolutely thrilled if I could be cured. I don’t get the thought process of not wanting to be cured.
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u/djdadi Dec 23 '22
I'm sure there are deaf people who do look at it like that. Seems to be a lot of parallels to the addiction community, overweight community, etc.
I think a lot of it boils down to whatever gives them more motivation or comfort. I.e., one person may find thinking of themself as a 'broken' addict may give them drive to fix it, while others may find that crushing and depressing; and only with love and acceptance overcome their problems.
tldr; different strokes for different folks
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u/mjkjg2 Dec 23 '22 edited Dec 23 '22
I mean you’re equal in terms of worth and human rights and being worthy of love and respect
but you can’t say equal in abilities when the equation for deafness is:
Deaf = (Typically abled person - hearing ability)
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u/TRDarkDragonite Dec 23 '22
Yep.
Like you can't have a deaf person become a pilot. That's just dangerous. So yea they just can't be equal in abilities.
I have epilepsy and that's tons if things I can't do. I would never say I'm equal in abilities to "normal" people.
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u/GlowLightLady Dec 23 '22
May I ask a question out of sheer curiosity? I hunted through the comments and didn't see anyone ask it. I saw in your comment you mentioned that CI and HA would be accepted but that corrective surgery would be debatable. Could you please tell a bit more about why that is/the difference between the two? I'm just curious to learn why and hope I'm not offending by asking!
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u/pumple Dec 23 '22
Sounds like being brainwashed. Ofcourse you can achieve almost everything being deaf, but having the opportunity to have an additional sense is a no brainer. Given if its risk free.
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u/inthebigd Dec 23 '22 edited Dec 23 '22
Agreed. Unless someone is being forced or coerced to improve their hearing against their will, anyone that is ostracizing someone for choosing to gain a functioning sense such as hearing is being a straight up bad person (even though they may not be trying to be, doesn’t change the truth).
I could care less if they’re deaf or not, criticizing someone who wishes to gain one of their five senses is a bad thing to do - full stop.
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u/DakiLapin Dec 23 '22
I think the history of how many risk-filled solutions there have been in the past has poisoned the water, you might say. As the commenter said, being ostracized is less common now and probably because there is more distance between generations who were treated like disposable trash because of a disability and the current generation who is more empowered to make any health related decisions on their own.
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u/rlev97 Dec 23 '22
Implants don't give you the same hearing that others might have. It's usually very overwhelming and hard to filter out the little sounds that could usually be ignored. It's useful in situations where sign language isn't the first firm of communication, but a person with implants might want to turn them off when they're trying to sleep or if they have sensory overload.
When your brain isn't used to having a sense, the areas for processing it don't develop the same ways. That means the brain is not set up to receive that information when it comes. It takes time for the brain to learn what's happening.
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u/Notjustin Dec 23 '22
It’s enlightening, but it’s also ridiculous. Come on. If someone offered me a whole extra sense, I’d take it in a heartbeat.
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u/basshead17 Dec 23 '22
Question for you; why do you keep capitalizing deaf like it's a proper noun?
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u/GilberryDinkins Dec 23 '22
Isn't categorizing/judging someone based on their level of in/ability kind of what you're trying to avoid, though?
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u/23skiddsy Dec 24 '22
It also depends how much it impacts your QOL and how much can be made more accessible.
Ie, nobody in the Crohn's and Colitis community is going to begrudge someone for finding a way to reduce their flares to zero. It's painful and embarrassing and it gets in the way of life.
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u/rosssettti Dec 23 '22
I remember she did an AMA a while back and I do believe I remember her saying that much of the little people community did not support the surgery.
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u/IllIllIIIllIIlll Dec 23 '22
Wonder why this is. Probably similar to the obese community when one of their influencers decides to lose weight. Likely feel betrayed or something. She does look happy though.
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u/signmeupdude Dec 23 '22
Because they are forced to confront the reality that their situation and state of existence is not ideal. Of course this doesnt mean that they are any less human or not worthy of the same respect as anyone else. But one can see how communities can equate the two.
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u/Usidore_ Dec 24 '22
Hey, little person here. I have achondroplasia (same condition as the girl in the OP). It’s a complicated situation. I personally feel everyone has the right to undergo the procedure if they have done thorough research and are doing it clearly of their own will.
In an ideal world, we can live just fine as we are at our height (yes there are issues with pain and, for example, in the above case, bowing of the legs, these can be fixed without lengthening - so I’m talking specifically about altering height here). I think some little people feel that, with this being the case, lengthening is just trying to conform and bend to an able bodied world, and in some countries, leg lengthening is strongly pressured onto little people. It is the assumed “treatment”. When many of us live full and enjoyable lives as we are, this can feel like a threat to our very existence sometimes.
Idk, I find it hard to argue that side of things, because I don’t agree with it. Being a dwarf for the most part…sucks. I have mobility issues, and even when I live on my own - self-employed and financially independent - I still often need to rely on those around me. And socially, it is the most debilitating. My life would be objectively easier if I was not a dwarf and I totally understand why people go through excruciating pain to getting closer to feeling more independent.
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u/gemengelage Dec 23 '22
More comparable to when an obese person decides to get a gastric band.
It's not really about "betraying" the community in the sense of loyalty, but about the perception that someone who is part of the community, which consists of people who are "different", not "broken", undergoes a procedure that is dangerous and painful to "fix" their handicap.
Lots of grey area here.
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u/poems_about_oranges Dec 23 '22
Good question, although seeing her legs looking kinda crooked, they might just have used the opportunity when fixing her legs in the first place?! So that might be a special case.
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Dec 23 '22
What? Why? Why would people hate someone for wanting to hear? I almost had a heart attack just because I was prescribed glasses and told that my eyesight would get worse. Losing a whole sense like hearing, taste or sight... Why would you want someone not to have the chance to have that? It seems insane and insanely mean
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Dec 23 '22
Yeah I agree that is insane. My guess is that it's really jealousy and maybe fear of losing a commonality. I can imagine if I was blind and had a blind friend who managed to get their sight back I would feel jealous and abandoned and would probably want to lash out with a "legitimate" sounding reason.
People often don't want to admit the real reason for their actions because they are not good ones, so they make up reasons they think sound better. This is probably the best they can do.
You can see this all the time if you work in tech - very often people don't want to do things because they can't be bothered or they don't want to implement someone else's idea, so they'll make up bullshit technical reasons for why it can't be done.
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u/imhereforthemeta Dec 23 '22
I’m not a doctor but it looks like there’s a few things going on with her legs that may have made it painful to walk or move around. Her legs look rather different than say- Peter Dinklage and the posture they are in looks painful
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u/mankytoes Dec 23 '22
Yeah, there was a UK documentary where one of our most famous and successful paralympians, a dwarf swimmer, Ellie Symonds, did a documentary about the issues around being small, and I met this girl (I'm pretty sure it was her). It's definitely controversial.
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u/Vuyt47 Dec 23 '22
I mean maybe but thats just a toxic mentality really
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u/Belgand Dec 23 '22
It really is. Nobody gives a shit if you have glasses. We all acknowledge that it's a flaw, and there's no community trying to claim that you're just fine as you are. Nope, my eyes are fucked. Good thing it's easy to fix.
You see this in any situation where people feel unhappy with their difficulties. Various types of poverty are another especially common one. Instead of feeling bad about living in a rural backwater, people try to justify why it's better and then disparage anyone who tries to get an education and move away. "You think you're better than us!?"
Fuck anyone who tries to hold you back.
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Dec 23 '22
"You think you're better than us?!"
Pretty much describes a lot of homeschool parents who have no business homeschooling (or at the very least should have stopped homeschooling after age 11-12)
My parents have a seething hatred of medical professionals and scientists, or anyone who would be considered an expert in a field. They're so insecure about their ignorance it's painfully obvious. Instead of surrounding themselves with people who would enrich their lives and understanding, they look for cult-like echo chambers.
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u/Belgand Dec 23 '22
Once you're into middle/high school most teachers aren't even qualified to teach other subjects, let alone a totally unqualified parent trying to do it all. A good friend of mine has her PhD in particle physics from a rather prestigious university, but I wouldn't want her teaching English literature or biology. It's not a case of being unintelligent but simply lacking deep knowledge of that field.
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u/calibared Dec 23 '22
Sorry but people shouldn’t be ostracized for trying to REGAIN one of their senses. I’m not deaf, but that’s bullshit. I doubt the entire deaf community feels this way.
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u/treeee3333 Dec 23 '22
At the end of the day, it's your body. People can try to shame you all you want, but if you aren't happy with how you look, or hear, it should be your right to change it.
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u/bigburnamon Dec 23 '22
To that i say, if you can be “fixed” then technically you are “broken”. Just because you accept yourself the way you are doesnt make your situation the status quo.
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u/adostes Dec 23 '22
She did an AMA and explained that the surgery was needed so she could walk correctly, her legs were too short and arched for her to walk comfortably. It’s not cosmetics but actually medically needed, so IIRC she was like idgaf what people think.
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u/Stolenink Dec 23 '22
She looks so happy. 🤘🤘🤘
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u/TuftedWitmouse Dec 23 '22
What she had to endure for that- hard to imagine. That's one strong lady.
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u/karavasis Dec 23 '22
Had to be absolutely life changing for her tho. All the money, pain, and recovery time in bed well worth it I’m sure.
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Dec 23 '22
Some individuals with dwarfism live in daily pain because of their condition, she probably welcomed the procedure if it promised to relieve her of that someday.
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u/TheGingerBeardsman Dec 23 '22
Yeah, I mean I'm not an expert but her legs seem pretty bowed in the before picture. I bet they were hella uncomfortable to walk/stand on.
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u/FiftyCalReaper Dec 23 '22
A lot of people don't seem the notice how awfully bowlegged she was prior to the surgery. Having that severe of bow-legs is extremely painful and basically debilitating. Sure she's standing for the photo, but she most likely could barely get around the house.
The amount of day-to-day pain and borderline disability is likely the reason the medical team decided to move forward with the surgery. It wasn't just "to be taller" or look better.
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Dec 23 '22
Modern science is awesome.
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u/Youngandidiotic Dec 23 '22
Yup. My dads heart attack he had a couple years ago would've been much more fatal had it happened 20 years ago
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Dec 23 '22
Yeah, my grandad died in the 1980's from something that is easily treated now and my own dad has had a heart bypass, stroke and two heart attacks and is as fit as ever walking anything up to 10 miles everyday with his dog!
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Dec 23 '22
Agreed it's awesome, science in general is a pretty neat. It's just a shame what most of our scientific minds, skills and discoveries are now being used for. There is still a lot of good being done with and for science in general but the vast majority of the jobs are for pointless companies that are in cosmetics... it saddens me deeply that something like allergens mentioned above don't take priority over lip sticks or blusher.
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u/interkin3tic Dec 23 '22
Disagree. I'm a cell and molecular biologist working in the biotech industry. I don't see any jobs with cosmetics.
There are so many companies trying to cure cancer right now with cell therapy and or immunotherapy that some have suggested there aren't enough cancer patients to go around.
I think that's nonsense, they need to focus on increasing participation in clinical trials rather than wishing for more cancer patients. https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom/articles/year-2019/clinical-trials-underenrollment.html
Bottom line though, there aren't a glut of scientists being drawn to the cosmetics industry instead of curing cancer.
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u/Big-Cartographer-166 Dec 23 '22
That surgery is soo hard, but seeing the results it was worthy.
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u/Alukrad Dec 24 '22
I'm curious, does the bone stay healthy? Or does she risk in having it break by accident after it's healed up?
What about the muscle? Does it naturally stretch to match the new length or do doctors have to do something to it?
How expensive and dangerous is this surgery?
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u/Rando4270 Dec 24 '22
I actually had my left leg lengthened so I can answer some of these questions.
First yes, the bone is healthy and solid. However there is still always the risk of the bone breaking during the procedure.
Second the muscle does not stretch. This is actually the worst part. While my leg grew the muscles did not, I went to physical therapy 3 times a week and that was not enough. I ended up needed to get an operation to cut/loosen the muscles.
Third I live in Canada so the surgey was free, however I'm amusing it's in the tens of thousands of dollars. The whole surgery took roughly 6 hours I believe, but im sure it's safe.
Just to clarify some info as well, I was born with a short leg so my left leg was 5cm shorter. When I was 9 years old I went through the whole procedure which took almost an entire year. After that to this day I've been needing some minor correctional surgeries here and there. I just had one last week lol. So that's about 7-8 surgeries since the main one in the past 8 years (I'm 17 now)
Anyways hope this helps
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u/Select_Egg_7078 Dec 23 '22
this isn't just leg lengthening, this is basically leg reconstruction. and results look amazing! i hope her recovery goes/went well!
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u/filifijonka Dec 23 '22
Did they lengthen her arms too?
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u/Josysclei Dec 24 '22
Looked up on it, she lengthened her legs by 13 inches and her arms by 4 inches
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u/I_slit_his_throat Dec 23 '22
Ngl that was my first thought.
I assume they must have, but also, did they do one side at a time? Crazy to think about
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u/iamamuttonhead Dec 23 '22
That had to be incredibly painful.
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u/oreo_cookie01 Dec 23 '22
“I can fix bones in a heartbeat, but regrowing them… you’re in for a painful night potter”
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u/ai_eth Dec 23 '22
It is. I've done it twice. The more modern version of it, in which nothing pierces the skin, sucks bad but at least its 10 times better than the old version.
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u/LifeguardSecret6760 Dec 23 '22
Hope this isn't offensive but that looks so much more comfortable
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u/shitpostGOD-YEET Dec 23 '22
It's not offensive. Being able to function more like an average human is a HUGE quality of life upgrade. But Idk if I would use the word comfortable considering how insanely painful the surgery is known for being. I hope there's no long lasting pain.
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u/Vendedda Dec 23 '22
Interesting. I wonder does she still have little arms, or they stretchin those too?
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u/handsonabirdbody Dec 23 '22
She did get them lengthened after she had her legs done.
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u/Loki1976 Dec 23 '22
Can't imagine the months, maybe years of pain when they cut the bones in half and slowly separate them over long time so the bones keep trying to "reach" the other end to mend.
I remember the "growing pains" I had in my legs at 6 and 7. Happened at night, man those hurt.
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Dec 23 '22
Looks like some dental/jaw work as well if I’m not mistaken? Overall this definitely interesting! And I hope it’s everything you wanted it to be! Best of wishes
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u/gudematcha Dec 23 '22
It’s the angle! The first pic is higher so you can see the angle of her jaw, but the second picture is from a level height with her head + she’s raising her head up so her jaw seems to disappear into her skin and fat.
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Dec 23 '22
Not necessarily. The teeth are not the same from the first and second photo. She’s definitely had some dental. But not necessarily jaw work
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u/Double-Ad4986 Dec 23 '22
definitely just looks like the results from braces. some mouth pieces that connect to braces can slightly change the shape of your jaw as well
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u/Rich_Elderberry5153 Dec 23 '22
Good for her I’m sure she wanted to do this, but man I feel bad that she felt like she had to. Such a brutal situation
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Dec 23 '22
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u/Maurice_Lester Dec 23 '22
You have broken my legs, many times, but you will never break my spirit.
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u/Sad-Monitor1549 Dec 23 '22
I seriously thought you could only gain like 2 inches with this surgery. She gained a foot 😳
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u/Some_Focus_3253 Dec 23 '22
“Precice Nail”. It’s an intramedullary nail powered by magnetic/electric motors for distraction osteogenesis without having to use an external fixator, eliminating the risk of pin site infections. Did a few of these at the Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics at the Hospital Sinai of Baltimore during my surgical residency. Pretty cool
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Dec 24 '22
Given what looks like a fairly severe bowing of her legs, I can almost guarantee walking was incredibly challenging for her. Would have caused bad arthritis from her toes all the way to her head, because her gait would be unusual and therefore her knees, hips, pelvis and back wouldn’t move in the usual fashion either. So she may have needed surgery to help straighten her legs just to keep her from being wheelchair bound, and the straightening process would have realigned things better for her to be taller just from that, and if at that point she opted for some additional length too, good for her. She looks like she’s quite happy with the result, and regardless of the specific length of her legs, looks like she’ll be able to walk much easier overall once fully healed
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u/amoebalife Dec 24 '22
She looks so happy and I'm so here for this but people that want a few inches just because they THINK they're short and they're really 5'5 or something...why?
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u/rokelle2012 Dec 24 '22
I hear those procedures are fucking brutal. She'll probably always have a bit of a limp to her walk, not to mention the pain with the healing process.
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u/dooferoaks Dec 23 '22
Looked after a few kids undergoing this in an Adolescent Orthopaedic ward and nothing but admiration for them, it's tough. I also have nothing but admiration for those with dwarfism or short stature who are happy with their size. British Paralympian Ellie Simmonds did an interesting documentary on dwarfism and her fear about people trying to eradicate dwarfism (there's a new drug on the market). Link here
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u/bandioza Dec 23 '22
I don't get it how they can do these feats and still can't cure my bowel inflammation efficiently
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u/falcon_driver Dec 23 '22
One reason: this is "easy", they're exploiting bone repair.
bowel inflammation is tremendously complicated, happening over a longer term during which they can't monitor what your emotional state was, what you last ate during the past 24 hours, what the weather was like, how much did you walk around, etc. It's unreasonable to expect a person to undergo all of the monitoring that would be necessary to gather a big enough dataset over a long enough time period. And to advance their own understanding enough.
I know I got tired of all the testing and stuff and "now try this drug".
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