Quote from: Calic on February 05, 2014, 03:09:41 AMI was hoping LL would make me look older like an adult 
I think I might ask my parents if they think I look older. My face has a young look to it so that probably doesn't help either.
Trust me, looking young is a huge blessing in (not so much imo) disguise. In due time you will be very grateful for looking young. In my observations, people who looked like adults at 14 find themselves aging much faster later in life, while those whose appearance "aged" later tend to have youthful energy and vitality for longer, and age far more gracefully. I've seen such people look 50 at age 85. It's crazy. When you're 40+, 5'10 (or more, maybe), and look 25-35, everyone your age will wish they were you 
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Calic - External Tibias - Dr. Sarin - 2013 - My LL Experience
Quote from: BilateralDamage on February 05, 2014, 03:24:19 AMI think if you put more muscle on your legs, you would lose the stilty look and could squeeze in some cm on your femurs. I think you should do some lifting for your overall physique too. Is lifting anything heavy out of the question for you right now?
I feel like I might be able to start doing light weight squats like 135 pounds or so. I am going to start seriously working out soon.
Quote from: Tall on February 05, 2014, 03:26:22 AMTrust me, looking young is a huge blessing in (not so much imo) disguise. In due time you will be very grateful for looking young. In my observations, people who looked like adults at 14 find themselves aging much faster later in life, while those whose appearance "aged" later tend to have youthful energy and vitality for longer, and age far more gracefully. I've seen such people look 50 at age 85. It's crazy. When you're 40+, 5'10 (or more, maybe), and look 25-35, everyone your age will wish they were you .
Cool so I will probably still look young when I am old.
Coming home
For many weeks after coming home I had a lot of ankle pain since I was not used to walking as much as people do in normal life. I no longer have any ankle pain now. Sometimes my legs are still stiff in the morning, I think I will have to start doing stretches to improve it. I still sometimes have random aches and pains in parts of the legs or ankle but this has been going away.
Current status
Right now the biggest problem for me are the rods and screws in my legs. Walking is okay but jogging is painful and running is not possible. Right now I still feel like a cripple since there is so much pain with jogging or running. I feel I will never fully recover or be able to run until my rods are removed – it’s awful. I regret going with LON.
Regrets
1. I would have gone with external only for these reasons:
- The frames did not bother me much so I would have been okay for keeping them on for another 6 months.
- I was not making much money where I was working so lost income would not have been a big issue and I would have saved several thousand from the initial surgery and rod removal later.
- It is less invasive and I would have no scar on the knee.
- I would have been done with LL all at once and not have rods and screws which bother me on a daily basis.
- The frames would have allowed me to work on my ballerina more since I could continue to wear sandals. They were surprisingly effective at preventing and reducing ballerina.
2. I would have opted to not having middle pins put in. The scars I think are more noticeable in the middle of the leg, there is risk of having the muscle fascia torn, and it caused more pain and discomfort than the other pin sites. After many patients had issues with them Dr. Sarin stopped using middle pins on patients while I was there. There were several patients who had their middle pins removed during lengthening.
3. I would have lengthened .66 mm/day after the first few cm. I was doing well with no pain so I kept doing 1 mm but then I had nerve issues and that might have been caused by me. A lot of people had nerve issues and had to have nerve tests done but I was not aware of this until too late and I do not remember reading about it in any of the diaries. I am not sure if it was because a lot of Dr. Sarin patients lengthened faster than normal or some other reason.
4. I would have obtained a medical visa. To my knowledge my tourist visa was not extendable and it would have been better to have the medical one just in case I had to stay longer.
2nd LL surgery
Right after my first LL I wanted a 2nd LL to add 4 cm my femurs to make me about 6’ but now I feel that my proportions definitely cannot handle it. If I had unlimited time and money I would lengthen my femurs just enough to be in proportion with my tibias and maybe have my tibias shortened.
Rod removal
I have a consultation scheduled with an ortho tomorrow about removing my rods. I am worried there might be more going on with my legs that I am not aware of.
These are the things I will have addressed:
- Length of tibias and femurs
- Straightness of legs
- Fibula migration
- Outer hip pain on both sides randomly - Trochanteric Bursitis maybe?
- I see tissue sticking out of my middle pin scar areas and when I move my foot I see movement in the area. It might be muscle fascia damage?
- Something vein like sticking out on my right leg near the middle pin site. This might be muscle fascia damage as well?
- Range of motion I am lacking in my ankle still
- Gait
Hey Calic,
Sorry to hear about your complications. It seems that they all occur after your frame removal. You had a smooth ride throughout your stay in India (I heard).
How do you know if removal of the rod would help? Keep us updated and thanks for sharing.
Good-luck with your consultation tomorrow.
Sorry to hear this but there is a good chance you'll heal up with time.
I was first able to run this week and I'm still improving.
ROM in ankles are also still improving and the aches are less and less. X-legs look a little better but not good.
I will start PT again, haven't been there this year at all.
Keep fighting. Remember that rod removal puts another trauma on your knees and you will be set back a couple of months if not more.
I hope that everything will be alright. Fibular mitigation, permanent x-legs, and muscle fascia damage would be the most serious, as they would require more surgical intervention and lots of time to correct. Please keep us updated with what your ortho discovers. Even if things take a turn for the worse, your story can at least serve as a cautionary tale for others, which would is very kind of you.
I really hope that all you need is a little more time to recover and that everything will be fine as soon as the rods come out. Best of luck buddy.
Quote from: Smallguy on July 31, 2014, 05:09:36 AMHow do you know if removal of the rod would help? Keep us updated and thanks for sharing. The location of the pain feels like it is exactly where the hardware is.
Update from after the consultation
Bad News
I explained I feel sharp shooting pain like the hardware is going to shoot through my legs when I jog or try to run and it has not gotten better since last year and I want the hardware removed.
He thinks the hardware should stay in another year because the bones are not fully healed and remodeled and the soft tissues are not fully recovered. He wants me to do physical therapy and thinks that will reduce the pain for me.
I personally do not think the pain is going to lessen until the hardware is removed. I am going to find another ortho and get a second opinion on removal of the hardware.
Good News
There is nothing physically wrong with my legs.
Length of tibias and femurs – I asked the technician taking the x-rays if the length of the bones would be measured and they said yes but it ended up not happening.
Straightness of legs – My legs are straight.
Fibula migration – Slightly out of place but nothing serious.
Outer hip pain on both sides randomly – He thinks physical therapy will eliminate this.
The tissue I see sticking out – Just scar tissue from pin cutting and nothing to be worried about.
Range of motion – I am only lacking a little bit.
Gait – He thought it looked okay.
Calic,
Your leg tibias look long. How much did you say you lengthen? Previously you mentioned something about lengthening at 0.66mm/day instead of 1mm/day. Up to how many cms can you do 1mm to prevent premature consolidation? Thank you and please keep us updated.
Quote from: Leonardo2013 on August 09, 2014, 06:50:54 PMCalic,
Your leg tibias look long. How much did you say you lengthen? Previously you mentioned something about lengthening at 0.66mm/day instead of 1mm/day. Up to how many cms can you do 1mm to prevent premature consolidation? Thank you and please keep us updated.
I lengthened about 6.5 cm. Lengthening 1mm/day up to 2 or 3 cm is probably okay.
X legs & foot pronation
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