Dr Augustin Betz (Neunkirchen, Germany) The Betz Institute 2015 Update

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Quote from: Meh on April 29, 2021, 08:40:18 PMBetzbone is weight bearing as was stryde. What differentiates the two? Does betzbone rust also?

1. Betzbone is mechanical, you extend it by rotating your leg. For some people this is very painful, others do it effortlessly, see video at 8:30:



Stryde is extended via a magnet, which many people will find less daunting.
 
2. Stryde rusts and it can cause lesions (irregularities / cavities in your bone), which is claimed to result in pain many months post surgery. Betzbone has no such problems.

3. Stryde can be retracted, which it claims can help with non-union. Betzbone extends in only one direction.

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You commented the consultation was terrible yet you said you were impressed??
Sorry I was confused

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how much was the consult

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Quote from: curlyfella on May 29, 2021, 10:13:54 AMhow much was the consult

€350 - That's because it was over the phone. The other €150 you pay when you're there before the surgery.

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Hey nice to see you here DonBones

1) I had the opporunity to talk to 4 other patients during my 2 week hospital stay. Only 1 had no problems clicking. 2 had severe pain clicking (had to come back for anesthasia). 2 (including myself had moderate pain clicking). Out of a sample size of 5, I would say 80% of patients have had some problems clicking in at least one leg. Luckily for me, the pain becomes more manageable after 2.2cm.

2) Dr Betz loves to advertise the point that his nail has no iron in it, thus can't rust. It seems the rust causes pain for 5% of patients according to Dr Giotikas. Failures for Betzbone is at least double that. Still, it is severe enough of a % for Nuasive to voluntarily recall Stryde. That's usually what you get with American medical device suppliers. Extremely expensive, but reliable.

3) I posed that to Dr Betz too, and he claimed that non-union is extremely rare. I have received PMs from former patients who got non-union from Dr Betz. It seems this happens much more frequently in tibias and there is always some level of patient non-cooporation. For femurs, the retraction mechanism isn't a deal breaker, though for tibias, I would not consider Betzbone.

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Quote from: SirStretchAlot on May 31, 2021, 04:01:44 PMHey nice to see you here DonBones

1) I had the opporunity to talk to 4 other patients during my 2 week hospital stay. Only 1 had no problems clicking. 2 had severe pain clicking (had to come back for anesthasia). 2 (including myself had moderate pain clicking). Out of a sample size of 5, I would say 80% of patients have had some problems clicking in at least one leg. Luckily for me, the pain becomes more manageable after 2.2cm.

2) Dr Betz loves to advertise the point that his nail has no iron in it, thus can't rust. It seems the rust causes pain for 5% of patients according to Dr Giotikas. Failures for Betzbone is at least double that. Still, it is severe enough of a % for Nuasive to voluntarily recall Stryde. That's usually what you get with American medical device suppliers. Extremely expensive, but reliable.

3) I posed that to Dr Betz too, and he claimed that non-union is extremely rare. I have received PMs from former patients who got non-union from Dr Betz. It seems this happens much more frequently in tibias and there is always some level of patient non-cooporation. For femurs, the retraction mechanism isn't a deal breaker, though for tibias, I would not consider Betzbone.

Oh cheers for that, some interesting insights.

Do you have any sources for "Failures for Betzbone is at least double that."? I would like to read more about it.

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If you read earlier posts on this thread, they've compiled a list of complications and came to rates of near 30%. Giotikas told me he has seen estimates of 10%, which I think is likely closer to the truth. If it means anything, one of the patients I met who had his nail removed, had a broken screw. Luckily for him it happened during consolidation so it didn't lead to complications. But had it happened a few weeks earlier, things would be very different. I personally don't doubt Betz' surgical skills given that he has over 2000 surgeries under his belt. You will find that few if any complications are surgically related. He's a career surgeon and medical professor. However his nails don't have nearly the same reputation. No other doctors use his nails, even though they are cheaper than Stryde, for a reason. When asked about nail or screw breakages, Betz' doesn't even deny it. He just says it's the patients fault for weight bearing too early or not using crutches.

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Thank for letting us know about it. So regarding the nail breakages, Betz just blames all on the patients' faults, but why did he advertise the nail to be "full weight bearing" in the first place? I am carefully considering Betzbone nail since it is the only option for loading full weight at the moment

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So the thing is both Stryde and Betzbone are full weight bearing in lab testing. I've seen xrays of both nails or their screws bending resulting in losing height gains or other complications. They are both a huge step up from Precise 2, but not perfect. Stryde has much more objective data from third party surgeons but only Betz' uses Betzbone, so we have to be skeptical about his claims. Stryde surgeons will ask that you walk with crutches during lengthening also. At the end of the day, it's just safer to use crutches and not test the limit of "full weight bearing" feature of any nail.

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Quote from: SirStretchAlot on June 01, 2021, 11:58:50 AMSo the thing is both Stryde and Betzbone are full weight bearing in lab testing. I've seen xrays of both nails or their screws bending resulting in losing height gains or other complications. They are both a huge step up from Precise 2, but not perfect. Stryde has much more objective data from third party surgeons but only Betz' uses Betzbone, so we have to be skeptical about his claims. Stryde surgeons will ask that you walk with crutches during lengthening also. At the end of the day, it's just safer to use crutches and not test the limit of "full weight bearing" feature of any nail.

The main problem is that Betzbone doesn't have any regulatory approval from the FDA or EMA and Dr Betz is the only doctor who uses it. He doesn't have to report any complications (non-union, loose screws, corrosion etc.) to a regulatory authority. That means, he can say anything he wants and there will be no serious consequences when it's a lie.

Stryde is very different. It's an FDA approved device. Any complication has to be reported to the FDA! And if there is a slightest doubt about safety the device will be banned until further notice.