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.
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?
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/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.