Notes from my consultation- October 2016:
So my consultation is done. After months of reading about him, it was a good thing to finally be sitting across the table and talking to Dr. Parihar.
Points I noticed about Dr. Parihar:1. Straightforward and no-nonsense type, he won't bs about anything to you
2. May come across as aloof in the start, but warms up once the conversation progresses
3. He doesn't try to "sell" the surgery to you. In fact, he continuously questioned my beliefs about how life will be after I become taller, asked me what if my expectations are wrong, etc etc.
4. He really knows his stuff, he came across as pretty confident and knowledgeable.
I landed up at the clinic at around 5 PM, and was taken to Dr. Divya's room first. I had to introduce to him what I was there for, and he asked me how I came to know about the surgery, what research I've done, and basically wanted to see whether I know what I'm getting myself into. We talked about how height affects success with women (Dr. Divya pointed out some celebrities who were my height, and asked me if I'm sure height was really causing a problem or it was just my imagination).
Dr. Parihar and I also had an extensive debate on whether I'm right in worrying about my height affecting my success in women. But I told him my other concerns as well (moving to the West, career aspects, etc). In the end, I think we did finally reach a middle ground on the impact my height is or could have in the future.
I was clear to both Dr. Divya and Dr. Parihar that I only wanted 5-6 cms.
I also assured them that my parents will be in on this, because they both said that it is required for them to know.
Both Dr. Divya and Dr. Parihar did not have any specific comments on the forum, but cautioned me against taking medical advice from anyone here, saying people either overstate problems or understate them.
I asked a whole lot of questions, which are listed below with the answers I got from Dr. Parihar. I think he was slightly amused that I was asking so many questions, because he asked whether I'm really a college student, or a PhD researcher. Lol
I don't blame him, because I just went on and on, from one question to another.
Here's the Q&A:1. Since I have a slight case of bowlegs, I asked if femural lengthening would worsen the condition. He said it won't, especially considering I'm doing only 5-6 cms, and even if it did, it can be simulated on a computer and preventions can be done. Nothing to worry about.
2. I asked about lingering and permanent pains like screw pains and rod pains, and he said I shouldn't worry about it if I'm doing only 5-6 cms. These problems usually come with insane amounts of lengthening.
3. Permanent pains should not happen, if you keep to safe lengthening limits.
Once the lengthening phase is over, the pains & aches reduce drastically; they may come & go here and there, but after full recovery you shouldn't feel anything. You could expect come-and-go aches & pains for upto a year post-op.
4. Dr. Parihar inserts the nail from the hip. He said he could do it from the knee also, but prefers not to.
5. The main painkillers they prescribe immediately after the surgery are Ibuprofen and Nimesulide.
After that, Paracetamol or Ultracet is prescribed. He hasn't come across a patient till now that has needed stronger than this.
About pain, he said that there's a line to draw between "no-pain" and "tolerable pain", but anyway, he said not to worry so much about the pain, and not to try and micro-manage it. We'll take it as it goes, he said.
None of his patients have ever gotten so bad with pain that they said "I wish I never did this".
6. I asked him about how to determine whether your bones are strong enough for LL, and he said that through the blood tests, they will know how your general health is; and if your general health is good, your bones should be good too.
7. With the Precice nail, he doesn't see a chance of losing height already gained.
8. My worst fears were confirmed when he said that the catheter, in most cases, is required and non negotiable
He said that this a serious surgery and they need to monitor you so they need the catheter in.
9. IT Band Release: He said that he will make an on the spot decision towards the end of the surgery as to whether to release the IT band or not, but will most likely do it.
He said that if he has a doubt on whether to do it or not, he would go ahead and do it, so he would err on the side of release.
10. Rate of lengthening: 1 mm per day, could come down to 0.75 mm depending on how my body reacts.
The lengthening from start to finish is more or less continuous, but some lengthening holidays could be granted here and there, if there was excessive pain.
11. If the lengthening had to stop on any one leg, for any reason, they would rebreak my femur at a slightly different location and restart the lengthening.
12. Costs: 9,00,000 INR from the hospital's end plus the cost of the Precice 2 nails (which is subject to the exchange rate)
13. I also asked him what I could do to make it easier for me, and since I have at least 6 months to go, he said I should start stretching and working on my flexibility.
Flexibility is always a good thing for LL, he said.
I hope this contributes to the knowledge of this forum. When I start my LL journey, I will definitely write a diary too.
Special thanks to KiloKahn and Penguinn for introducing this doctor to us.
I feel this consultation was a watershed moment; now I know that I'm 100% doing it, and I'm already on the way. Some lose ends in life need to be fixed first, but I'm reasonably sure about doing this sometime next year. Exactly when, I can't say, but this is a given now: MTall needs those 5 cms. Period.