Posted on May 7, 2020, 7:00 pm
#1
Hi everyone,
I underwent my operation last year, mid March. I’m quite a private person and I initially didn’t want to do a diary here, but I do want people to know about my experience to help inform their own decisions. As other people have said too, once you have the operation and recover you sort of just want to get back to your normal life, and that’s how it’s been for me.
About me:
I’m male, in my early 20’s, and I started at 169cm (5”6.5) and now am 176cm (5”9.3). I officially lengthened 6.3cm but I think the extra 0.7 came from the initial gap and straightening of the femur. I was stretching for quite a few months prior and could get my legs to 120-130 degrees while lying on my back and comfortably could place palms on the floor with straight legs. I also am hyper mobile which I think helped to some degree.
I have had a really good experience with Mr. Bacarese-Hamilton. If you do decide to go through with this operation, it really has to be done right. The process was definitely not as bad as I was anticipating - I think massively helped by the development of the Stryde nail, allowing me to weight bear early on, and Ian who was always there for any reassurance or questions I had, and who carefully monitored me. He’s a highly skilled surgeon but also so friendly and caring.
I don’t want to downplay how serious an operation it is though, and it’s important you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into, months of rehabilitation, pain, mental and physical, boredom, loneliness etc. The list goes on, but what really helped me was the incredible support I had from my family and also my friends.
Ian was always there for me, reassuring me about any concerns I had (e.g. a few times I got a sort of electric shock during the lengthening, another time there was a sort of clicking sound I wasn’t sure about.) The physios and Terry, Ian’s assistant were also all great and I have to thank them for all their support.
I’d say I’m virtually at 100% now, walking is normal, I can run (albeit not as fast as I used to be able to but it takes some getting used to and I have been a bit lazy in that regards), I ran 5km the other day. I very rarely get a small amount of pain which can easily be dealt with paracetamol (which I almost never take because it goes away very quickly and it’s hardly noticeable.) My hips can still be a bit ‘clicky’ but thats progressively gone down with time.
I’m happy to post some X-rays, pictures of scars or walking videos (if I can figure out how to blur my face) and will try to answer any questions you have.
I underwent my operation last year, mid March. I’m quite a private person and I initially didn’t want to do a diary here, but I do want people to know about my experience to help inform their own decisions. As other people have said too, once you have the operation and recover you sort of just want to get back to your normal life, and that’s how it’s been for me.
About me:
I’m male, in my early 20’s, and I started at 169cm (5”6.5) and now am 176cm (5”9.3). I officially lengthened 6.3cm but I think the extra 0.7 came from the initial gap and straightening of the femur. I was stretching for quite a few months prior and could get my legs to 120-130 degrees while lying on my back and comfortably could place palms on the floor with straight legs. I also am hyper mobile which I think helped to some degree.
I have had a really good experience with Mr. Bacarese-Hamilton. If you do decide to go through with this operation, it really has to be done right. The process was definitely not as bad as I was anticipating - I think massively helped by the development of the Stryde nail, allowing me to weight bear early on, and Ian who was always there for any reassurance or questions I had, and who carefully monitored me. He’s a highly skilled surgeon but also so friendly and caring.
I don’t want to downplay how serious an operation it is though, and it’s important you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into, months of rehabilitation, pain, mental and physical, boredom, loneliness etc. The list goes on, but what really helped me was the incredible support I had from my family and also my friends.
Ian was always there for me, reassuring me about any concerns I had (e.g. a few times I got a sort of electric shock during the lengthening, another time there was a sort of clicking sound I wasn’t sure about.) The physios and Terry, Ian’s assistant were also all great and I have to thank them for all their support.
I’d say I’m virtually at 100% now, walking is normal, I can run (albeit not as fast as I used to be able to but it takes some getting used to and I have been a bit lazy in that regards), I ran 5km the other day. I very rarely get a small amount of pain which can easily be dealt with paracetamol (which I almost never take because it goes away very quickly and it’s hardly noticeable.) My hips can still be a bit ‘clicky’ but thats progressively gone down with time.
I’m happy to post some X-rays, pictures of scars or walking videos (if I can figure out how to blur my face) and will try to answer any questions you have.
