There are currently two internal lengthening nails in development and/or awaiting FDA & CE approval that are made from Cobalt Chrome/Cobalt Chromium. The first is from an American company NuVasive, they acquired Ellipse Technologies the manufacturer of PRECICE, and the second is SYNOSTE, a combined Finnish & German company.

The most anticipated benefit of an internal limb lengthening nail made from Cobalt Chrome/Cobalt Chromium is the immense strength of the material, which would allow nearly all limb lengthening patients to be fully weight bearing during their lengthening and recovery.

This is an interesting topic for discussion as nothing is perfect in life, and while there are many benefits, there are some drawbacks to using Cobalt Chrome/Cobalt Chromium.

This development does make for a good discussion on the topic of price speculation as well. There are now two companies that are going to potentially compete with each other using a similar product. Typically competition drives down prices and increases quality for the consumer. The lengthening nails are almost always the most expensive portion of the procedure.

For those of us who have been following limb lengthening since the days of the old forum, it's quite amazing to see the progress in terms of technology, quality of the nail and surgeons offering cosmetic limb lengthening, as well as the reduction in pricing. Dr. Birkholtz & Dr. Parihar are prime examples of these positive developments.


NuVasive: http://www.nuvasive.com/

Ellipse Technoliges: http://ellipse-tech.com/

SYNOSTE: http://synoste.com/