I guess my LL journey begins here... 
My current height is 168 cm / approx. 5'6''. I would like to lengthen my tibias by 9-10 cm, thus increasing my height to 177-178 cm.
For now, I am considering a private clinic in Poland, Warsaw called Trigon Orthopedia where I am planning to have this surgery performed sometime next year (2020). I presume that it makes more sense for me to have it done locally as opposed to traveling to another country as this would facilitate continuous supervision and medical check-ups, especially in the case of emergency. Furthermore, Poland is a developed country and its overall standards / quality are probably higher than those in Turkey, India or China. Also, the cost of this surgery is even more affordable here.
Limb lengthening with an external fixator:
Surgery on both femurs or tibias: 25,000 PLN / $6,297.75
Two external fixators: 32,000 PLN / $8,061.12
The total cost of the surgery on both tibias amounts to 57,000 PLN / $14,358.87.
I will schedule an appointment with Dr. Daniel Kozyra tomorrow to find out more about the clinic, his experience with LL surgeries and opinion regarding my case. I will keep you posted.
http://trigonorthopedia.pl/wydluzanie-konczyn
Dr Daniel Kozyra in Poland, Warsaw (Trigon Orthopedia)
Just returned from the medical appointment / examination with Dr. Kozyra.
He permits to lengthen a single segment (usually tibias) by 7 cm max. I have got an impression that more is possible if one's bones regenerate exceptionally well and tissues allow for further stretch. However, he definitely does not recommend going beyond 5 cm per segment and should anything go wrong that would be a patient's fault/responsibility.
The surgery itself lasts approximately 1.5 h per limb. Following the surgery, the doctor meets with a patient once a week during the lengthening stage and once a month during the consolidation stage. Both stages tend to take approx. 7-8 months but it may require up to 1 year for complete recovery.
According to the doctor, he has carried out roughly 30 limb lengthening surgeries due to cosmetic reasons and many more due to limb length discrepancies.
Perhaps, but hey the cosmetic limb lengthening surgery is not recommended by any doctor either.
Limb lengthening is a very slow and gradual process involving continuous medical supervision by a doctor. I presume that a patient should be able to sense based on his body's feedback whether there is room for further extension when reaching 5-7 cm.
Also, this doctor uses external fixators by Orthofix (manufactured in the U.S).
Currently he uses Orthofix LRS Advanced (monorail).
http://web.orthofix.com/Products/Pages/LRS-ADVanced.aspx?catid=21
He also offers intramedullary nails by Precice but those come with a different price tag and increase the surgery's cost quite dramatically. According to him, he is currently working with some scientists on the development of a Polish intramedullary nail which could bring the cost down for the local market in the coming years.
I also inquired about the complications experienced by his previous limb lengthening patients (if any).
Some developed a pin site infection due to poor hygiene habits and some of them required an intramedullary implant in its wake. In the case of such complications, the intramedullary implant's cost ranges from 7,500 PLN (~$1,900) for a single limb to 10,000 PLN (~$2,500) for both limbs.
Yes, these fixators are not full weight bearing. He warned me that I would have to use crutches. I have not asked him why he uses monorails.
Food for thought...
He uses internal rods along with monorails and they cost +10,000 PLN or roughly $2,500 for both limbs.
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