At the end of the day, a 2cm difference is extremely un noticeable and in my personal opinion it’s much better to just stay safe with 6.5cm. Even 5cm makes a world of a difference no need to give your body a hard time for a few cm extra but I dunno that’s my opinion- like you said if someone is willing to put in the effort for 2cm extra and doesn’t mind playing a little bit on the risky side than that’s great. Again amazing video :)
Exactly! I agree. It's a very individual thing but even the top surgeons have mentioned that around the 5cm mark is generally low chance of complications and most patients achieve full satisfaction. Thanks I appreciate it!
I think the mentality behind it is that patients who are 173cm by the end of the procedure aren't comparing themselves to someone who is 175cm, they're comparing themselves to someone who stands at 182cm which is 6 ft in imperial. This flawed mindset is what pushes some patients to push to the extreme, if the limit is 2cm past what's safe and recommended then yeah there's absolutely no use in putting your health at risk for it, you literally could just wear thicker insoles especially if youre doing sports, a lot of patients definitely need to be aware of the law of diminishing returns when doing this surgery.
Great effort !!! As per your knowledge and experience, can you state how long it will take for a bilateral femoral lengthening patient to run and dance after post op ( 6.5 to 7 cm) . Not exactly but approximately as per your knowledge ????? Thankyou
Depending on running speed (not sprinting) and dancing intensity (slow dancing) is about 6-8 months for most people. But if sprinting and something like salsa you are looking at like 1yr maybe a bit longer to be safe
Im guessing a high majority of guys have this done to also improve there dating life. It would be cool if you did a video on how its had a impact on peoples dating lifes at there new hight 🙂
That's true I need to add that topic. I'll have to get some feedback from CLL patients on that one but I know for myself it's been great with the ladies over the years not just because of the extra height but more so because of confidence. Thanks for the suggestion!
@@rmendola759 Yeah I might see if I can bring on a dating specialist which would be cool but if not I'll just touch on basic points. I am only about 5'8.5 to 5'9" but it works for me
@@Cyborg4Life 5'8 is a decent hight and if works for you that great to hear 👍 my aim is to be 5'8 so that will require 3inchs. Not quite sure who to go with just yet but I was looking into Dr.betz and Dr. Guichet! Any recommendations?
@@rmendola759 I originally reached out to them way back when I started the channel for interview but no reply. But I've heard they often don't have restrictions on length patients shoot for which can be risky of course. I don't want to comment too much because it's all hearsay but I just say do some deep diving research into their patients, techniques, devices, and prices etc. I always think there are hidden surgeon gems in every country that have safe experience
hey cyborg i got a question when you do the limb lengthening surgery and you get taller 10cm what about the person heart now the guy needs a bigger heart no ? if not it doesn't reduce life span
im very short like about 5,2 and my dream is to just gain 6 more inches so i can be 5,8 but im worried about 2 things if its possible and if its very risky with my health and i was planning to gain 3 inches on my femur and 3 on my tibia so in total it can be 6 inches i really hope its possible
I know most people don't recommend anything over 2 inches in the tibia. The surgeon can check you and make sure. But 3 inches on femur is usually attainable through hard work and rehab and good surgeon
Hey man, i've been watching a lot of your videos and the content is really top notch. Do you have any idea as to what would be easier to recover from between one half inch femur shortening and lengthening to fix a leg length discrepancy. I would like to know recovery time for both and also which one offers best chance to regain preoperative athleticism. Cheers.
Thanks I appreciate the support! So the quick answer is that shortening would be a faster recovery as you would not have to distract slowly and wait for the bone to heal and could go straight to healing. Shortening would take about 6-8 weeks whereas lengthening 1/2" or 1cm would take about 15 days (5 days of latency period + 10 days lengthening at a 1mm distraction rate) so 2 weeks of distraction plus 6-8 weeks of bone healing consolidation phase = about 2 to 2.5 months total only 2 weeks longer. Regaining athleticism for a lengthening of that length of 1cm would be near perfect, don't get me wrong you'd have to still work hard at PT etc. but shortening has been said to affect the muscle tension (think of losing stretch after decreasing the bone) so that may make muscle contractions less efficient. But only being 1cm it might not be too bad. For lengthening comes the fact you'd have to get the nail removed but since it's a femur, it should be through soft-muscle tissue and not knee tendon like the tibia. Now not super sure insurance would cover all of it but may cover a good portion of the cost so it's a win-win and you might notice a slight boost in height. But yeah I would say
I really like the recovery examples you provided with structure and routines through PT/rehab. I also worried about advanced athletes losing their athletic performance. At least athletes are likely to have more discipline to go through a recovery program. However, how would it affect the mental and emotional health of an athlete who is so addicted to performing? Do you know doctors that work in collaboration with mental health service providers, PT's and nutritionists, or are the patients all on their own to figure this out? -Superwoman
Ah yes the mental aspect is super important. I know for me it was hard to worry if I'd ever get back to my sport of natural bodybuilding post-surgery but I was able to through hard work and structured rehab programming. Thanks for your support! - Cyborg
I think your videos are great and they're very much appreciated but I have some thoughts. Correct me if I'm wrong but you only lengthened your left leg, which had stopped growing properly after a fracture you incurred when you were 11. And you increased the length by 2". So you essentially increased the length of your left leg 2" to the height it was intended to be. Your recovery may not be an accurate model of someone undergoing 3" of cosmetic lengthening bilaterally.
I understand what you mean however cosmetic patients really are only dealing with tight muscles and possibly nerve issues. Discrepancy patients, if they had a large enough difference (usually over 2cm) for long enough can have severe structural problems due to the angular effects such as permanent varus of the shorter leg and valgus of the longer side that could lead to displacement of the structures of the joints thus expediting potential long term articular degeneration. In a nutshell cosmetic patients need to be more dedicated to their rehab and not become complacent (which is typical from what patients I talk to) if they want to recover. Many patients just wait for time to take its course and don’t optimize nutrition or supplementation. So yes the recovery is different hence why cosmetic stature patients should stick to conservative amounts if they want to recover easier as there are a sheer few who can make a recovery that’s considered above average. I still have to train unilaterally for life due to my discrepancy effects which is not the case for the other camp so we all have our own tribulations. Plus in this video I mentioned I spoke to other cosmetic patients that went for 8cm and was relaying their feedback...not my own. I appreciate your support!
You mean a full foot of height right? Or you mean foot lengthening? I won't do a video on 12 inches in height as that would be too much to do without risk. I also am not a fan of lengthening the hands or feet for cosmetic reasons but it may come up in a future discussion
Could you make a video with detailed information about if someone can or can't perform parkour moves after lengthening 7 cm(both femur and tibia)? I'm sorry if I'm asking for too much, i just really would like to know
Hey I want to take limb lengthening on the femur only, i would like to do it in russia as it's alot cheaper there and was invented there, but is it safe to do it in russia? I really want to know and great video as always.
I figured you would want to have this process done in your home country. After surgery you’d want to be somewhat near and stay and contact with the faculty in case anything goes wrong, updates, etc. Tough if something gets uncomfortable or something goes wrong while you’re on the other side of the world from the ppl who did the surgery
@@jbaru648 well my home country is 7 times the price then russia and I wouldn't be able to do afford that in a million years no tryna be rude but its just not possible for me but I also understand what your saying so I might stay that there for a while
Thoughts on conservatively lengthening both femur and tibia conservatively over extreme lengthening of just the femur? I want to go for ~8cm on the femur but would it be safer to go for ~4cm femur and ~4cm tibia simultaneously? Was also thinking 6cm femur and 4cm tibia for 10cm.
@@losfantula4584 Yes you will have to pay twice and you can't go back immediately no. You would need to make sure you can go back after your bone is healed enough. It depends on what you do for work
Cyborg 4 Life I’m a senior high school student and I am dreaming to become a doctor and all the doctors I seen are just sitting so is it fine when I grow up to get both surgery while being a doctor?Also how long will it take to walk if you get a 5 inches surgery?
@@losfantula4584 Most doctors sit to have bedside manner with patients but you would want to either do telehealth while undergoing LL if you're a doctor or get it done prior to working or take time off but not recommended during this type of procedure
Great video! Just out of curiosity, do you know if any limb lengthening Doctors do cosmetic unilateral lengthening, like one leg at a time in order to reduce the risk of developing dvt or embolisms. Thanks and hope everything is good!
I don't think most surgeons prefer to do that anymore as the process has been pretty standardized more or less. Unless you mean separated by a few weeks? I would think there are more risks by going under the knife more than once than developing an embolus but they might comply with your request if you ask. Just know that it will be more expensive since you have to pay for the hospital surgery fees, doctor time etc.
Yeah that makes sense that it would be more expensive. I wouldn’t wait a year for the other leg to be lengthened, more like 3 weeks like you said above. Would any specialist do that? Thanks again for the response! It’s hard to find info on this subject.
@@jamestheri6372 Ok gotcha yeah I'm sure there was one surgeon I've heard of that did that can't remember the name at the moment. I think some of the others might comply if you scheduled in advance and made them aware of your worry.
I’ve noticed you told a lot of martial artists that they’ll have to adapt their fighting style around the surgery. What about people like me are the reverse of that Mike Tyson quote? (I strategize better in the middle of my opponent’s combo)
Wouldn't people lose that "edge" of explosiveness and quickness/agility permanently from an operation like this? no matter how much you lengthen and how much you rehab yourself? seems very unlikely that someone could regain that. Maybe I'm wrong : )
Most likely yes which is why this LL isn’t recommended for elite running or agility athletes. For 95% of people who don’t compete in actual professional sports that require speed and top end agility (NFL, soccer etc) you can regain enough you wouldn’t even really notice or car after conservative lengthening. Extreme lengthening on the other hand yeah sure it’s likely it could put a damper on your basic running times. I am a lifter and still sprint really fast and most often that’s okay for what people care about. But if you get paid to play sports don’t do this surgery until after it’s over
I think I’ve heard of him. I’m pretty traditional with my training and I can say that using the weights I use I could never do knees over toes lol. But yeah you can do anything pre surgery it will help better than nothing
Surgeons are getting better about going around the crucial areas of the knee. But if you go for femur lengthening you should have no big problems with knee stability
@@Cyborg4Life , that helped me a lot... I was freaking out like a mad dog. I somehow convinced myself that this strenuous line up of surgeries will make me weak and prevent me from doin squats and deadlifts... Jeez, mad thanks!!! Hope you have a great day!
@@rajdeepmahajan8943 aap ye surgery karvaaogey??? Sir meri height 5.3 hai aur meri left knee ki ligament tear ki surgery Hui thi 5 saal pehle kya mein ye surgery krwaa skta hoo??
I saw that there is a ridiculous amount of painkillers, antibiotics, and other medications that I will have to take. Wouldn't this be really bad for my health, like causing organ problems later on in life
No, your body will detoxify after your distraction but I try to get off all that asap. Although I had a high pain tolerance from previous surgeries however so I may not be the perfect example
Hi there Victor I just wanted to find out by you ,I’m wanting to have the sugery done , I’m in South Africa and I’m looking to have my surgery done in Turkey, as prices there are more affordable, do you know of any patients that have gone and have their surgery there?
You're correct - nerve irritation is often likely especially if distraction rate exceeds 1mm per day. Even still there are some deformities or extreme lengthening cases that cause a decrease in conduction velocity of motor and sensory nerves. Another risk of this procedure but literature suggests nerve regeneration can also occur at a specific rate.
Im a MMA coach and Im really thinking about getting this surgery done. But will this affect my performance? Because I compete too and I don't want to lose any of my athletic ability
Hey man would you say 6.5-7cm for internal stryde femurs is conservative enough? I already decided against 8cm and want ideally 7cm. I am 175cm and want to go to 181-182cm. 182cm ideally. I have slightly long legs so % wise I should be better off as I have grown a smaller % of femur length relative to to my current length? Also wouldn't conservative use of PEDS and SARMS speed up the healing process as professional athletes and fighters use them all the time to heal from gruesome injuries?
6-7cm seems fine. It'll still be a challenge but doable. Your proportions should look fine after it considering where you're starting. I mean those things could help from injuries but this is an induced and controlled injury. If you master your nutrition you'll heal far sooner. And the training plan to get back is key. I developed one for myself to get back gradually. Healing isn't the worry, ensuring no adhesions and scar tissue should be your focus
Would the tibia your recommended option because if you sat down next to someone on a chair, they're gonna notice that you have abnormally short legs for your height ,as usually when sitting down, your tibias make your legs appear longer / shorter.
Yeah I mean it depends on your current leg length proportions but sitting-wise, yeah tibias would be ideal. But standing (assuming wearing shorts or pants), femurs would be better hidden and less noticeable not to mention easier to manage. After getting tibia lengthening done myself I'd probably go for femur. My doctor suggested it, but I wasn't well-educated enough back then like I am now and the tibia was harder in terms of recovery as I had a broken femur also which heals solid
I want to gain height, but fortunately, I'm not even truly short to begin with. I only want to add like 3-4 cm, 5 at the absolute most, but I'd be happy with even 3 cm. How much easier would a very conservative increase be?
@@Cyborg4Life if I only want to gain 4 cm, would it be best to just do it in my femur or both the femur and tibia. With a very conservative increase, how much time would I need to make sure my legs return to normal completely?
Are you doing 2 separate surgeries? If so, each one will take about 6 months to walk normally and about 8-10 months to run normally and about 1.5 years to sprint all out based on my experience. Others may say different but expect that at least
@@Cyborg4Life I’m doing only one surgery from Betz Institute with their internal drive. So far, I heard that it’s the best one in term of healing time and sucess rate. Do you know anyone who has did a surgery at Betz?
@@laamercheibany7460 I am not familiar with anyone who has used Dr. Betz but how much length are you going for? Just be logical with your decisions and make sure surgeon holds you to safety parameters and doesn't give too much freedom
Hi i would like to ask something on the post op. Is it alright to take supplements like calcium pills/spirulina ? Does it affect the growth when we take these kinds of supplements?
Yeah that's super conservative...almost to the extent like would it be worth it lol. I personally say if you decide to go for lengthening, see if you can get 5cm out of femurs and regain your full abilities then you can consider tibias after
Hi, first, thanks for the video :-) Quick question, say, 7cm lengthening would be considered extreme. Then, how about 3.5cm + 3.5cm (tibia + femur at the same time)? Would that be considered conservative and safer?
Good question - yes and no. Yes because it would be less length on both limbs individually however no because you mentioned at same time so the muscles being interconnected via kinetic chain would still amplify tightness almost as much as 7cm femurs by itself not to mention it would be twice as expensive with a possibility for slightly longer recovery time. Now if you broke it up by even a few months to preferably a year you would be in the ideal scenario where proportions would be maintained, safety would be maximized and recovery would be expedited.
Usually if you do 1 surgery you can get up to 8cm then some time later (at least 1 month preferably 1 year) you can do round 2). So within 3 years you should be good to go. But if just walking it takes 5-6 months to walk normally without too much waddle or being noticeable
Hi Victor! First of all, I want to thank you for what you are doing, you rock! Then I want to apologize, if you answer this question in some video that I missed but here it is (excuse my poor English XD): I¨m very active sportsman (running, swimming, volleyball, long trips,etc..). So I¨m used to stretch like hell, exercise,....1) Have you regained your full athletic capabilities? 2) Can I (in theory), with great mindset, working hard - simply ideal conditions, get myself back into "professional" sports?(same endurance, running times, num of pools,etc.) Thanks for your response humbly!
Good question and the answer is it depends. Certain activities will be far easier than others. For example lifting weights and swimming will be much easier than sprinting and agility sports at least in the beginning. I'd like to say you would make a full recovery but that can vary from patient to patient and a new standard of full recovery must be met once you're fully recovered. But being flexible and a good work ethic there is a high likelihood you will recover
I’m 167 and would like to shoot for 174, maybe 5-6cm femur and 3-4cm tibia, is it reasonable or am i pushing it? Will my arms still be proportional given that my wingspan is also 167cm?
Weight training heavy isn't the problem even based on what Dr. Lee has said. The real problem arises for those who wish to go all out in a 100m dash or do agility - cutting moves on the soccer or field. They can still most likely get to it once they achieve full active ROM. I noticed once I did this I was able to get back to lifting very heavy. The other CLL patients I've talked to recently all believe once they get full ROM and flexibility back, strength will not be an issue which is great news. That's why I stress the first year of PT being the most important. Regain ROM and flexibility and the rest is easy pickings
@@Cyborg4Life if a semi-professional soccer player were to do this surgery, would he be able to get back to full ROM and get back to the speed and agility pre-surgery? How much time would it take to recover to those levels?
Would you say its possible to regain 100% athletic performance for around 4cm femoral lengthening? I have a hard time imagining someone can regain 100% for sports like martial arts, just seems like your whole rhythm would be off. Thanks
I think it would be hard to say. 4cm isn't too much for the femurs and I think if the person can regain full ROM and strength I don't see why not. I mean the biomechanics just take adaptation but besides that it should be able to come back but I suppose it does depend on the person.
@@danimalaho4204 ideally yes, but technically no. You could get it done sooner but all surgeons recommend that and they're the experts so I'd abide by that rule
This Thursday we'll have a patient who did LL femurs and says it is but more case studies needed to confirm. I have seen exceptions who did very amazing things and got back to where they were before but not every patient
Brother I would like to ask something. After the surgery is done and all the tibia and femur is all healed, is the rod taken out. magnetic lengthening rod . Sorry for my bad English.
Hmm simultaneously...possibly but not as much as if you did it at separate times. 5cm femurs then year break then 3cm tibias super conservative. But your way is still relatively conservative yeah
Sir.... Can i gain 10 cm in femur and another 6 or 7 cm in tibia after 1 year or so?? And can i return to my job if is go for the full weight bearing internal nail??
You can return to your job after the doctor says bone is healed enough even with weight bearing nail. Always listen to the surgeon. But I can tell you that length you mentioned is excessive and not feasible
Worse but possibly achieve similar performance depending on patient and rehab effort. But not better unless training stimulus is more efficient than pre-LL
Hi What if the femur lengthens 3.5 cm and the tibia lengthens 3.5 cm? The biomechanics would be the same as the original? In the case of a 7 cm lengthening, if I want a greater chance of complete recovery, is it better to lengthen the femur by 7 cm or is it better to lengthen 7 cm between the femur and the tibia? for example 3 cm in tibia and 4 cm in femur
How much would you say is the ideal amount to lengthen by? Like in your opinion, would you consider lengthening by say 4cm (1.5in) worthwhile. In my opinion 4cm is barely noticeable and not worth the money and hassle
I would say the ideal amount would depend on a person's life. Like if you want to be more certain to regain your physical abilities for more athletic sport then I think 6cm on the femurs and up to 4cm on the tibias is a very safe bet but if you wish to walk the line and care for height more than potentially having a harder time regaining your physical abilities (aggressive PT for over a year) then you could consider more with your surgeon if safe
@@niubi3923 Yeah I mean that's a big push on the tibia to the extreme. But if you are constantly stretching the calf muscles as you lengthen to keep on top of it you will realize you can get your active ROM back or retain it. I know most people get lazy on PT (I almost did too not gonna lie) but I kicked it into high gear and I think those that do are able to retain their athleticism. It's always easier said than done but it's very possible with right work ethic
Can I reach my goal (186 - 187 cm) more easily and comfortable when being 180 cm? I read that the taller you are, the easier procedure it is for you in terms of flexibility, healing and so on.
@@jake9854 if you lived in Slovakia, where the average height is 179,5 cm, you would change your mind. Trust me, whenever I pass around people in the capital, I feel average, although I had thought long time before that it was a great height. It depend on the environment, where you live, walk and so on.
Not likely. Some patients have gotten it done for discrepancies or if they were diagnosed with dwarfism but not cosmetically too often as it can be very difficult to recover from such length
depends on the person but really not at risk of safety. Usually about 5-7 or 8cm on femur and 3-5cm on tibia is what most CLL patients shoot for but it's a personal decision more than anything
Hey man thanks for your informative video! Let's say i only want to have 5 cm lengthening surgery on my femur, would i still be able to play basketball/soccer like before surgery? Getting taller but still having (nearly) 100% of my athletic abilty pre-LL is a dream come true for me 😊
@@Cyborg4Life what if i do 6 cm or even 7 cm? I heard many doctors recommend that if you want to do LL surgery on femur, go for 6 cm. Plus, i want at least to be 1 cm taller more if i can (although i know people wont notice a difference of 1 cm 😂, it's personally for my own self esteem). Sorry if i ask too much (also for my grammar errors..). Thanks for your help! Im really grateful i can find your channel, stay awesome dude! 💪
I had a growth defect during puberty that stunted my growth by about 6-8 inches (I’m 5’7-5’8 and was expected to be 6’1-6’4). Is five inches of lengthening (to meet the lower bound of my expected height) too much to be able to recover my powerlifting abilities? I can’t be happy without reaching my height and being tremendously strong in powerlifting.
Great question but increasing height 5inches is really the extreme and it could be a bit of a stretch to increase any physical abilities as the fight would be to at least regain what you currently have. But conservative lengthening is probably more likely
Hey dude love your videos. By any chance, could you please explain the total time required for 5-6cm lengthening on the tibia? From what I've read from different doctors i.e Dr Lee, it is around 3 months distraction phase, and then another 2-3 months rehab? And then afterwards I can walk fine and can go back home to Australia (pretty far away). After like 1 year I need to go back to get nails removed?
Yup you got most of those timeframes on point! So by 5-6 months you should be walking very normally without anyone noticing. You can usually go home after 3 months (post-distraction) and heal and do more PT at home and then come back 1 year later to get nails removed as that's what most people do so you're not away for full 5-6 months and only 3ish. Thanks for the support of the channel!
@@Cyborg4Life Only problem with me is that I have university to go to :(, and only have 3-4 months of rest in between end of this year's semester, and the semester that starts next year. So I'm out for 3 months distraction, but can I attend university and study in the 2-3 months rehab?
@@kwusherstylezzz9583 Yeah you can go back to school after 3.5 - 4 months of downtime assuming you get the internal stryde nail to walk without assistance by that time
@@Cyborg4Life What about LON? I saw the prices for Dr Lee and don't think spending like $100k on it is worth... Do you think LON is fine? What method did you use for lengthening?
In terms of walking and Appearance i would what bone would be more beneficial to have longer than the other? Femur or tibia. For example if you had femurs longer and you put some ankle high boots on I imagine it would appear that you had very short tibias. Bit of a random question but would be nice to know people's opinions on this 🤔
Yeah if you're wearing shorts, then appearance wise tibia lengthening seems to be relatively the more favorable option as they can only get 2 inches in length vs the 3inches on the already-longer femur and thus the tibias more or less would match with femurs. However most people wear longer shorts and it will not really be noticeable for femur lengthening and should be the better option based on what CLL patients have told me but I think it's a personal proportion thing. Proportion wise it would depend on how the person's legs look before then it would be an easier answer. Hard to say without more confusing lol
@@Cyborg4Life I saw a squat video, seems ok, a parallel squat, have you surpassed your previous max? 8 years on is there any aspect of your athletic ability you never completely regained?
LOL it's the camera angle I always go below parallel. Anyways as mentioned I do things most people wouldn't and shouldn't do. So no, I left no stone unturned in my goal to win the world title in 2025.
8cm is a safe limit before you really enter a dangerous territory for most people - also max of stryde nail. 6cm is based on those who want a big boost to their height with very little chance to impact their athleticism
@@cyaxares-median Possibly yes. I think it's better to lean towards a bit more conservative for a high intensity and agility sport like soccer. But again, I cannot say you can't go for 8cm or 9cm if you split it among two limbs although price would hike significantly
