Quote from: CuteIsNotWhatWeAimFor on September 25, 2023, 09:04:21 PMwhat do you think about for 10cm? Really I just want to hit 5'10, where under zero circumstances in the US would I be considered short.
I would only accept 8cm if there were complications, and I've heard that some people who do femur only cannot hit 8cm due to complications.
If after all of this stuff I couldn't even reach 177cm, I would be absolutely devastated. This is why I was thinking quad, so that in worst case scenario (soft tissue / body acceptance wise), I still hit 8cm min. 8cm is like best case scenario for femur only, no?
8cm is the safest max limit for most doctos(other doctors go above 8cm to even 10cm+ but just go with less). There are various reasons why people stop though at around 5cm to 6cm most of the time, usually it's only down to pain, proportions, and plausible long-term adverse effects. While 8cm is still "relatively safe", it's no secret that the less lengthening, the less possible complications in the future or ill-effects that can happen like early onset arthritis. Which is why 5 to 6 is usually the stopping point, because less than that will feel like the cost to the operation and stress isn't worth it below 5cm, basically it's the "sweet spot". That's not to say there aren't people who do less than 5cm, but usually those people are the ones who couldn't tolerate going past 4cm, fwiw though you still gained height so that's a win even if you didn't meet that goal.
Quad can be a mixed-bag there and usually isn't worth less than 4cm for femurs. I'd say You either go 5cm on femurs and tibia or 6cm on femurs and 4cm on tibia for a total minimum of 10cm. Ignoring costs, 4+4cm isn't worth the effort and pain you'll go through quad lengthening and it's a lot more dangerous even if you are able to lengthen as slow as you can(without early union) for soft tissue to catch up, as well as consolidation will take longer than just bilateral lengthening because you're effectively disabled from the waist down, so it'll be a lot harder to do physical therapy. If you really are set on the 4+4 or even 10cm, just go with two separate bilateral lengthening. Even if you went under two surgeries, it'll still be separate and will be safer. You can do femurs first and after 1 year or more to post-consolidation, tibias next. It's also good to just start with bilateral lengthening to see if you are able to tolerate the pain and do physical therapy without much of a problem, and if you are still not satisfied with your post-op height, atleast after that you'll be able to decide if you still want to do tibial lengthening or not. This is one of my personal plans as well, to do two bilateral lengthenings if I'm not satisfied with femur lengthening alone.
