Bilateral Femur Lengthening Dairy: May 2021 with Dr Betz and Betzbone

After learning so much from everyone on this forum, I thought I should give back by starting a dairy with Dr Betz. I will give a full analysis of my motivations, why I chose Dr Betz and Betzbone, as well as a cost breakdown. I will also try to post daily/weekly updates and answer any questions curious lurkers may have.

Motivation
1) Dating in the West is difficult when the average adult male is 176cm+. This average can reach 183cm in northern European countries. Women have anecdotally told me that they tend to judge height over appearance and even money.
2) COVID and working from home has given a great excuse to disappear from society for 4 months without suffering economic consequences.

Why Dr Betz
1) Over 3000 surgeries. The most experienced doctor in Europe.
2) Researcher and publisher. Inventor of Betzbone and co-inventor of Fitbone. This adds to his level of expertise.
3) Younger doctors like Giotikas is also a great value alternative. He uses Stryde and is very well educated. I likely would have went with Giotikas had it not been for the Stryde recall.

Why Betzbone
1) Availability. Stryde has been recalled due to corrosion. Precise 2.2 has halted shipping in the EU after losing its CE Mark. The only well-known nails available in Europe are Betzbone and Guichet (same mechanism). There are other less known partial-weight bearing nails available in Turkey and other regions that have stockpiled Precise.
2) Allows for up to 12.3cm in lengthening versus 8cm for Stryde. Although I will likely only lengthen 10cm, this allowance is useful for those who wish to squeeze out every last mm. It is less meaningful to those who do not want to lengthen past 8cm for personal or safety reasons.
3) Full-weightbearing. After Stryde, Betzbone is the only frequently used weight-bearing nail on the market. There seems to be talk of Betzbone snapping in the past. Since then, the nail has been re-designed and it has a much longer track record than Stryde. I've taken the decision to go with Betz given his wealth of surgical and nail design expertise which should result in a lower relative (perhaps not absolute) complication rate, over a less experienced surgeon with lower absolute complication rate.
4) The corrosion issue in Stryde is unlikely going to be fixed as long as it contains a sealed iron compartment. This is not changeable as only ferronous metals respond to the magnetic coil in the external lengthening devise. This is exacerbated in weight-bearing nails as they go through much more and frequent stress, resulting in more influx of bodily fluids into the sealed joints of the nail. Betzbone is cobalt chrome which does not corrode. Personally, I don't see any problems with minor corrosion, but I wasn't going to wait 8 months just to get on a waitlist for Stryde.

Cost
1) Dr Betz costs €54179.69. This includes consultation, X-rays, measurements, nails, the operation, followed by a 14-day hospital stay with physio, food and pain medication. This may be cost-effective compared to Paley in US or Donghoon in Korea.
2) This does not include any post-hospitalization (outpatient) physio, x-rays, medication, and accomodation. This does not matter as much to me as I will be returning to the UK for my rehab, where my private insurance will cover physio and x-rays. NHS will offer discounted medication. And I will be living at my own flat.
3) Please also consider additional costs such as hospital Covid tests, Airbnb, food, train, and flight which added an additional €1500 for a 4-night pre-op stay. The removal procedure in 1.5 years time is €7200.
4) Note that Dr Giotikas from Athens charges €47445 for the whole package and uses Stryde. His package also includes outpatient physiotherapy and medication during lengthening. If you do not have health insurance, and believe in Stryde, definitely consider him. His prices are likely more competitive due to Greece's proximity to Turkey where Dr. Buldu is offering Precise 2 packages for €35000 versus Dr. Giotikas' €42400.

Personal Stats
Pre-op Height: 171cm
Post-op Goal: 181cm
Age: 29
Weight: 67kg
Ethnicity: East Asian
Location: UK
Fitness: Defined arms and waist. Been lifting 3 times a week for the past 5 years
Flexibility: Average, but has been making progress over the past 4 months by incorporating hip flexor, quadriceps, and hamstring stretching into my daily routine. It has also been recommended to stand whenever possible (ie. working on a standing desk) to train the muscles.

Dairy
Day 0: After arriving in Frankfurt, I took a personal tour of the city and sat on a 2.5 hour train ride to Sankt Ingbert. It's a small town, and when I arrived I was unpleasantly surprised by the crudeness of the hospital and consultation office. The fascilities were basic. I had to pay €182 for a PCR test out of pocket. The nurses and even the anesthesiologist were not proficient in English, so I had to use Google Translate on many instances. Dr Betz said it didn't make much of a difference to him whether I used regional or general anesthesia. The anesthesiologist however recommended general anesthesia, as regional may be inadequate and urethra connections may have to be made. Finally, the hospital visit was disorganized. I had to find my own way to the X-ray room (Röntgen). After that my handler Daniela became very helpful in guiding me to the office where my measurements were taken. I enjoyed a 3-hour consultation with Dr Betz. He knew the answer to every single question I had.

My surgery is tomorrow. I'll try to write an update if I'm conscious. Wish me luck!

Congratulations on setting everything up LL Forum and best of luck. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
I know you have put a lot of work and time into planning this, as anyone who goes into LL does, but I would personally advise you to keep an open mind regarding the 10 cm goal on femur. It is a lot to do on one segment. Remember that all the nerves, muscle etc. are stretched about that one point where Betz makes the distraction in your bone. As other diaries have told us in the past, it becomes really hard to walk normally again past the 6-7 cm range. It is a lot of permanent pressure the soft tissue experiences at that point so a lot of stiffness.

Anyway, I hope you are comfortable and I am sure you will do well. It will be interesting to read about the physio and lengthening in the UK.

Hello LimbLengtheningForum.

Nice to see one more Betz diary.
In my opinion, a 10 cm lengthening goal is a bit too much. I would recommend staying under 8 cm. Max 9 cm. The reason being proportions and safety.
Since you were active before surgery this would definitely help.

Btw, I have few questions:
1. What is your wingspan?
2. Did you book the date with Dr. Betz for surgery beforehand? If yes, when? Or was it on the spot after the consultation?
3. Which size of Betzbone nail (10/11/12/13 mm?) is Dr. Betz going to use for you?
4. Is covid test mandatory before going to do surgery in the hospital?
5. Till which date are you staying in Germany?

Maybe if our dates collide there is a possibility that we could meet
All the best with your surgery mate. I am rooting for you.

All the best mate, hoping everything goes smoothly for you. I had my surgery with Dr. Betz in March and am currently lengthening. Reach out if you have any questions!

Hi LimbLengtheningForum, I had the exact same feeling with the hospital and the anesthesist woman was pretty rude. Had to pay for an extra PCR test because the one I did was too old.. did it 48 hours before as requested. Anyway I cancelled my surgery 2 days before and lost 3k.. but I didn't feel comfortable staying in this hospital plus wasn't as ready as I tought mentaly. Surgery was scheduled for the end of March.
Anyway Dr Betz was very kind and totally understood my feeling, so if I plan to do it one day, will totaly go for Betz and get more information about the confort clinic which seems way better option.
wish you the best and looking forward to your diary.

Hi! I think very similarly to you about the nail dilemma. I think it is a reasonable choice. Good luck

@chasing_higher_dream
1) Wingspan: 177cm
2) I booked with Dr. Betz for July, but someone cancelled their nail removal due to COVID. I originally requested for ASAP, so when they asked if I wanted to take the canceller's place, I jumped on it.
3) Good question. Dr Betz mentioned it in passing. I'll confirm tomorrow.
4) Covid test is mandatory everytime you enter the hospital. I had to wait an hour for my test since it was Monday morning.
5) I'll stay until May 16.

Hope we can run into each other too!

@TheDream
Thanks for your concern. I'll definitely see how my flexibility is past 6-7cm.

@RB
Nice to see another Betz patient! How many cm have you lengthened and any pain/stifness so far?

@Johnp86
Sorry to hear! I'll try to add more details to my diary. I think things get better after the initial consultation. They should have sent the handler out right away, to smooth the process, though Daniela had 3-5 patients to deal with so it might be hard.

@RealLostSoul
Thanks!

@Medium Drink of Water
Ok I'll give it a try.

Day 1
As it was Monday morning, I had to wait an hour to get my PCR test. This delayed the surgery by an hour. I put on the surgery clothes and was rolled to the surgery room on a bed. The last thing I remember was the anesthesia coming through my right hand causing some pain/cramp. The next thing I knew, I was in my personal hospital room. Dr Betz and Daniela helped me stand up to walk a few steps. I was also able to stand up myself to urinate in a bottle.

The pain was a lot lesser than I expected. Dr Betz used local anesthesia on the wounds. I only felt some pain when turning. I havent used any of the painkillers they've given me (yet). The key problem was that I was nauseous every time I sit up/stand up. This is likely due to the anesthesia causing diziness. I was told it will get better tomorrow as the anesthesia leaves my system. Walk training also starts tomorrow. The long journey begins!

Great to hear it‘s been quite smooth as of now. So you were knocked out via IV drip and not a mask (gas)? This part is the most scary one for me (psychological) haha since I‘ve never had a surgery.

Glad to see the surgery went well! These next few days will be tough but you will get through it.

I am currently at 4.6cm and I don’t have much pain anymore as the major pains stopped after 4-5 weeks. I have some tightness and slight stiffness but it’s manageable for now.

Let me know if you have other questions and wishing you luck for the rest of your journey. Looking forward to future updates.

Hi All!

First time contributing publicly. Great to see so many contemporary Betz diaries! 

I’ve got my session with Dr Betz booked for next month. It will be interesting to follow everyone’s progress and pick up tips along the way.

SirStretchAlot: Did you have any issues with travel to/in/around Germany and in getting to the clinic?

Good luck on your journey! You’ll do great.