Bilateral Tibia Lengthening and Varus correction with TSF

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March 19th Update: Frames are finally taken off

I had my frames taken off on Sunday March 19th!!!! The feeling is priceless and I have no words to express my ecstasy!!!
I have a very bad head ache since yesterday due to anesthesia, so I'm resting most of the time. I'll post more information in a few days.

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Congrats man! Enjoy new height!

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This is awesome news!
I'm only one inch taller and it already feels great, 2 inches must feel like day and night. But I imagine you're probably used to it already after all this time.
I'll have to wear one of my monorail fixators for another 2-3 month (4,5 month in total). I think I could never live one year in frames.
So you have my respect.

Enjoy your new height and hopefully new life, you have earned it!

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Quote from: Chris on March 21, 2017, 10:02:29 PMThis is awesome news!
I'm only one inch taller and it already feels great, 2 inches must feel like day and night. But I imagine you're probably used to it already after all this time.
I'll have to wear one of my monorail fixators for another 2-3 month (4,5 month in total). I think I could never live one year in frames.
So you have my respect.

Enjoy your new height and hopefully new life, you have earned it!
Hey Chris, Thanks man. Hang in there buddy. I've read your diary and I can assure you that you have the right mind set to take this journey. I'm sure you'll pull it off and that day is not for long.
As per 2 inch gain, I don't notice it because I haven't been around anyone who were part of my past life. I've been living in a cave (isolation) since I started this journey. I'll have to wait until I meet them to truly notice some difference.

Quote from: doomsday on March 21, 2017, 05:29:00 PMCongrats man! Enjoy new height!
Hey, Thanks Buddy.

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Wow.. I was reading your posts and great that you are finally normal without any fixaters. How do you feel about your new height, doe's 5cm make you feel better now? I m also an indian with 160cm height, planning to have my surgery soon with DR suhas shah in Mumbai. Can you give me any suggestions about the doctor if you know please? Wish you all the best and success in your life!

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Expectations for those who're considering India for this surgery::

Here are some suggestions for those who cannot afford the top tier orthopedic surgeons and decide to come to India for this surgery.

Disclaimer:
All the information that I shared below are based on my personal experiences and I don't intend to speak ill of anyone. My only intent in writing this post is to enlighten prospective LL'ers  to have the right expectation when they come here.

• Don’t rely on your doctor completely. It's fair to expect him/her to perform the surgery well, but after that you’re mostly on your own.
• Be prepared to face people (hospital staff, patients etc.) who would come to know that you broke your legs for height increase. Doctors here don’t understand what privacy means. They take your pictures and share your personal details without your consent. I told my doctor multiple times to not tell anyone about my height increase thing and to refrain from taking pictures, but he just doesn’t care. To make things worse, sometimes he just used to talk openly in the reception in front of all the patients, and boast proudly that he increased my height by 2 inches. He doesn’t see how embarrassing it is, so be prepared to deal with it. When his patients knew this, some of them used to frown on me and few others used to give me moral lectures. Man, this was the toughest.
                          It happened with couple of other doctors too, they were trying to take pictures during my consultation. I had to politely yet assertively reject such attempts. Discuss this with your doctor beforehand so that you don’t have to deal with such nonsense.
• Be well informed on how to handle issues and complications that can arise during this journey, particularly about physiotherapy and lifestyle. Speaking to fellow LL’ers on the forum will definitely help a lot in this aspect. If possible, stay in touch with someone because you never know what issue would arise. I owe much of my success to the kind folks who shared their experience on this forum.
• Improve your arm strength. You should be able to carry your entire body weight on your arms - you can check this on your bed, rest your palm on the bed and lift your body in the air. If you can do this, you have enough strength for this surgery.
• Be prepared to have verbal confrontation if needed. You may have to fight for basic things which are otherwise your right. This is needed when you don’t get a logical response from your doctor or anyone in his/her team. For E.g. when they say things like “Don’t worry”, “Everything will be alright”, “Let us do our job”.
        Make sure they tell you everything before they do something to you. Also, some of the folks who work under doctors are so unprofessional and have bad bed side manners. They might irritate you by giving moral advices, or not treating you properly when you really need them, or when they yell/shout at you for asking questions, they might me speaking on the phone while inserting needle inside your body, or laugh out loudly and crack jokes during the operation. These things might look exaggerated but unfortunately these are unofficially accepted norms and a way of life in India.
• Be prepared to wait for hours during consultations. Usually, when I used to go for check-ups, I had to wait for 2 hours. Some doctors were kind enough to give you special consideration, based on your situation.
• Be prepared to wait for hours for medical reports like X-Rays, blood tests etc.
• The doctors that I met were used to dealing with local folks who’re not that tech savvy. So when you meet them, tell them about the forum and that you’ll be posting everything on the forum. This will most likely improve the quality of your consultation and treatment. It’s like telling them “Don’t screw me. If not, I’ll write a bad review about you on a popular forum”. It also means “Treat me well, and I’ll make sure everyone knows about you”. In India, you’ll find a doctor across every street. So online reviews are considered very precious to distill out the quality ones. So you can use it as a tool to get quality service.
• Stay active, not passive. E.g. Don’t expect the doctor to call you and ask how you’re doing, or do anything extra that benefits you. You have to take the initiative about your condition and discuss any anomalies with your doctor. Doctors here are used to the phrase “everything is alright” just to avoid additional work. Sometimes they say “It’s not necessary”, which means they’re too lazy to do it even though it benefits you. E.g. I had a shattered piece of bone in my right leg. I begged multiple times to fix it with a screw. He never did it, because of which I had to spend 45 days more on these bulky frames. So be prepared to fight with your doctor when they neglect you.
• Be wary of the air pollution in India. If you intend to stay long, I would advise to get an air purifier.
• Crowd roads and hospitals.
• People staring at foreigners and guys who have metal rings around their legs
• If possible, avoid being the nice guy or kind guy. Kindness is generally perceived as weakness here. Be clear of your agenda before having discussion with doctors, and don't let them manipulate you. Be assertive, loud and clear in your conversations
• Last but not the least, if you want to know how you would feel after the surgery try these things. Wear 10-15 kgs ankle weights on each leg and try to stand up and walk. This gives you a physical perspective of your legs after LL, when you just start to walk (which was 9 months post op for me). To get a psychological perspective, spend an entire day in a wheelchair without putting any weight on your legs. This includes brushing your teeth, going to toilet, taking shower, getting into a cab, going to hospital (you can go to your friend’s house to simulate the feel) etc. I’m sure the experience would be surreal and might make you think twice before you do this surgery.

All the best!

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Quote from: Asdfgh on March 27, 2017, 02:36:54 PMWow.. I was reading your posts and great that you are finally normal without any fixaters. How do you feel about your new height, doe's 5cm make you feel better now? I m also an indian with 160cm height, planning to have my surgery soon with DR suhas shah in Mumbai. Can you give me any suggestions about the doctor if you know please? Wish you all the best and success in your life!

Hey, Thanks buddy. I don't know much about Suhas Shah. But if you can afford him and cost of living in mumbai, I would go to Parihar. All the best.

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fujitora's had it tough, but made it through!

I just hope his experiences with doctors aren't representative of all doctors in India. Accepting a cosmetic patient and then disagreeing with the motive behind the surgery is pure nonsense.

What everyone wants to know if it was all worth it for you, though

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Fujitora, thank you for sharing your experience with great detail, it truly is appreciated.

Your advice on what to expect for those considering the procedure in India is honest and ought to be read by any prospective patient considering going there, personally, if I were to consider undergoing the procedure, your information on what to expect would be enough to make me rule out India entirely as an option whereas others may not. I appreciate that you have provided clear cut and in depth answers of what to expect to inform prospective patients and then leave it to those who have read it to do what they wish with that information, to make an informed decision rather than personal recommendation or condemnation with no elaboration as to why.

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So in a few words, avoid India at all costs.
It is obviously the worst country for anyone to do LL. After all we are doing this to become taller, not cripples due to irresponsible and incapable doctors.
And the strong majority of LL'ers who had terrible results came from India.

Fujitora you had a tough LL journey but you did it.
Keep strong!