Dr Franz Birkholtz (Pretoria, South Africa)

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Hello doctor Franz,

I would like lengthening 5cm my tibias, i think that for my small goal is better only external device, to avoid problems with my kness.

if i would make this surgery with you? Which method would you use with me?.

I am 36 years old, my heigh is 1,63 with 63kg. I'm not a child, and i like you are very conservative, i don't knew anything about you

until know this fórum. My option is doctor salameh but i am reading  about one patient here and i have a lot doubt about him

Thank you very much to cooperate in this fórum.

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Quote from: paco on February 20, 2014, 08:03:53 PMHello doctor Franz,

I would like lengthening 5cm my tibias, i think that for my small goal is better only external device, to avoid problems with my kness.

if i would make this surgery with you? Which method would you use with me?.

I am 36 years old, my heigh is 1,63 with 63kg. I'm not a child, and i like you are very conservative, i don't knew anything about you

until know this fórum. My option is doctor salameh but i am reading  about one patient here and i have a lot doubt about him

Thank you very much to cooperate in this fórum.

I tend to use TSF or Truelok rings in an Ilizarov type construct.

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I am uncertain but read that Bilteral Damage is 5'6 or higher without LL.

What would need to happen for you to accept a 5'7 patient for cosmetic LL?

Excluding surgery to fix a botched attempt by another doctor?

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And do you see yourself ever doing cosmetic precise 2 tibias for 5cm?

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@kneehowguys:

Thanks for your comments.
Firstly, I stand by our rough selection criteria of 165cm in males as the upper limit. There are cases where, after thorough evaluation, it may be appropriate to perform CLL. This should not be seen as the norm and is definitely not a topic for open discussion. Patient confidentiality also prevents me from commenting on another patient's treatment or surgery indications. Hope you understand. I would suggest that you follow the outline elsewhere in this thread on how to go about CLL in our unit.

With regards to precice 2 for tibias. It certainly is feasible, but again this will be up to an individual patient's preference and decision.

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hello doctor franz,

In my case i would like lengthening my tibias 5 cm but i would like only external to avoid problems with my kness. i am 36 years old,

how much time do i need with external fixator?, I like doctor salameh device, and doctor mitkovic. they offer smaller external devices,

but i like your ethics and conservative doctor. how much do you charge for one appoinment?

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Hello again Dr. B my question is why did you become interested in cosmetic
limb lengthening? It seems that many doctors shy away from it due to ethics
and that it's deemed unnecessary and too risky.

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Quote from: paco on February 24, 2014, 09:47:34 PMhello doctor franz,

In my case i would like lengthening my tibias 5 cm but i would like only external to avoid problems with my kness. i am 36 years old,

how much time do i need with external fixator?, I like doctor salameh device, and doctor mitkovic. they offer smaller external devices,

but i like your ethics and conservative doctor. how much do you charge for one appoinment?

5cm in an adult means between 7 and 10 months in an exfix.

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Quote from: theuprising on February 25, 2014, 03:31:10 AMHello again Dr. B my question is why did you become interested in cosmetic
limb lengthening? It seems that many doctors shy away from it due to ethics
and that it's deemed unnecessary and too risky.

This is a very good question. Firstly, lengthening and limb reconstruction is a long-time interest. I just love the magic that happens when you create new tissue from nothing - like magic.

The ethical question is more complex. I guess I have a sort of reverse ethical opinion about this. My take is not whether it is ethical to perform the surgery, but whether it is ethical not to. You see, I know I can lengthen patients safely with relatively low complication risks and I do that almost daily. I also know that there are individuals who will get CLL no matter what the risk. They often end up with the wrong doctors and end up losing function etc. If I have the tools, skills and capabilities, am I not unethical by not preventing these disasters?

Anyway, this is controversial, but there's my 5 cents worth...

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very good answer.