How pain full is leg lengthening surgery?
Im currently 16 years old and today at the hospital, i was told that i need leg lengthening surgery on one of my legs because it is between 2 and 3 centimeters shorter than the other.
There are two factors which are really putting me off of the surgery, the first being the amount of recovery time. I play a lot of sport and was told i would be out of action for an average of six months.
The thing i really want to know, is how pain full it is, when the left is actually being lengthened, i have heard that a dial on the brace is turned possibly each day, to stretch the leg by a millimeter maybe?
I realldon’tnt do very well with pain, small things really feel like agony to me! Perhaps you can say im a wimp lol but its true!
I would just like someone to be honest and tell me how pain full actually turning of the dial is each time
Thank you
Tagged with: agony • centimeters • leg lengthening surgery • legs • lol • millimeter • recovery time • six months • tnt • wimp
Filed under: Leg Lengthening
Susan Yarrawonga (279)
I have heard that it is very painful……oprah did a show on it for small people once……i am also wondering why you want this with such a small difference when a shoe lift would work fine…….
I also wonder if you should get a second opinion with out telling the second one what the first one said………
Do they like your insurance? or do you really need this? surgery should always be a last resort…..
That doesn’t sound like enough difference to call for such a drastic step. I would get a second opinion.
mine was about like that when i was at chiropractor — he laid me flat on table and pulled on leg to put it back in place and its been fine since
Ok first, let me educate you on your body that someone is neglecting to tell you. Your pelvis can majorly impact your leg length. You will feel a bony prominence on your back just above your buttocks. This is part of you SI ( sacro-iliac) joint. If the pelvis rotates backwards and gets stuck in that position, you will shorten that leg. If it rotates forward and gets stuck in that position, it will be longer. So if one side of the pelvis rotates backwards and one rotates forward (which is usually what happens) You will have a large leg length discrepancy, but it is NOT caused by an anatomical short leg. It is caused by a misalignment of the pelvis. Usually it will be anywhere from 1-4 cm( the largest I have correcterd was almost 5 cm). I see this range almost every single day in my practice(especially among people who play a lot of sports!). I will also tell you that 2-3 cm is not very much and should not have surgery to correct it.
So, prior to even thinking about surgery, see a chiropractor. They should be able to correct this misalignment. I will tell you the majority of my patients have equal leg lengths after the chiropractic adjustment(even ones 2-3 cm). I will tell you it is VERY rare that a person truly has a leg length discrepancy. However, there are some. Also, unless it is greater than 2 inches ( not cm) it is best managed by a shoe insert and not by surgery. If you truly do have an anatomical short leg ( which can ONLY be diagnosed with a full pelvis/ thigh, leg and foot x-ray (which I bet they didn’t do), then you would be able to manage perfectly well with a shoe insert and have very little problems or pain.
As for people who truly have an anatomical short leg of >2 inches, this surgery will work ( if you are young, but it is extremely painful. Definitely see a chiropractor to correct your pelvis prior to even truly considering this surgery.
I hope this inforamtion helps you. If you would like more information, please feel free to e-mail me at dare2care@dishmail.net and I will be more than happy to provide you with more information.
I relly wish you the best.
I don’t know if I would go running in for surgery on that either for some dr.’s it’s their way of life to make a buck and not really knowing what they are doing the surgery for. I think a tilted pelvis is going to give you some trouble and is going to make one leg seem longer. Do some more checking into this before you commit to anything. If you pass along what kinds of pains you are having it may be possible ot help you out right now and just forget about the surgery.