Glad you are doing well. I'm actually based in the UK, one of the reasons that the US is such an expensive option. If money was no option then Dr Rozbruch would be my choice but I can only imagine the cost of staying in New York for 3 plus months.
Quote from: Col92 on January 20, 2017, 12:19:26 AMGlad you are doing well. I'm actually based in the UK, one of the reasons that the US is such an expensive option. If money was no option then Dr Rozbruch would be my choice but I can only imagine the cost of staying in New York for 3 plus months.
To be frank I don't know much about Rozbruch but we finally have a diary of one of his patients in the making, maybe you can take advantage of that. Being away for 3 plus months while handicapped doesn't sound like a good idea but some people want this surgery badly enough to do it. Some patients here do unilateral and get back to their jobs 1 month after each surgery and one of the reasons that made me choose Monegal is that he does unilateral.
The only advice I can give you is that you make your list of possible doctors you would like to go to and pay them a visit.
Quote from: Auron on January 20, 2017, 12:32:32 AMTo be frank I don't know much about Rozbruch but we finally have a diary of one of his patients in the making, maybe you can take advantage of that. Being away for 3 plus months while handicapped doesn't sound like a good idea but some people want this surgery badly enough to do it. Some patients here do unilateral and get back to their jobs 1 month after each surgery and one of the reasons that made me choose Monegal is that he does unilateral.
The only advice I can give you is that you make your list of possible doctors you would like to go to and pay them a visit.
I don't understand this. If he does one leg at a time and you go back to work after one month, wouldn't you eventually have one foot longer than the other?
Quote from: yyes on January 20, 2017, 01:12:51 AMI don't understand this. If he does one leg at a time and you go back to work after one month, wouldn't you eventually have one foot longer than the other?
The foot size should be the same, but the leg length would indeed be different!
Here is my take on the issue:
Bilateral vs unilateral lengthening
My surgeon, Dr. Monegal, prefers unilateral lengthening and I am sure there a good reasons for that. However, after having gone through bilateral procedures and having shared experience with many unilateral patients, I very glad I did bilateral and wanna tell you why:
Mobility
A unilateral patient is supposed to be more mobile as he as one “normal” leg. However, I have not seen a big difference between me and unilateral patients:
Neither of us can walk normally.
I am faster in a wheelchair than they are on crutches.
I have been able to stand up early on, which is actually easier for me as my legs are equal length.
I am able to swim, to bike, to walk with arm support.
Many exercises seem to be easier for me as I have both legs in the same conditions.
Pain
A bilateral patient is supposed to have twice the pain. I think the opposite is true. Comparing pain levels it seems that mine are the same or lower to unilateral patients. My explanation is that pain is a signal of the body that something is wrong. Having 2 legs broken instead of 1 does not make that signal stronger. In fact, I believe it is easier for your brain to accept the condition as normal and thus stop the pain, as your brain does not have a “normal” leg to compare to, while a bilateral patient always knows what a normal leg should feel like and that this is different from the broken leg.
Mindset
You need a lot of determination to do everything you can as a patient to speed up recovery as well as to endure pain and bad sleep.
For that it is important to see the light at the end of the tunel! For me I will be done with the lengthening in about 2 weeks and then just consolidate. For the unilateral patients they are going through the same bad time as me only to know that after one is finally done they still have to do another!
Speed
As far as I have understood, the total time of lengthening + recovery is decreased by increasing the lengthening speed. So if you extract at 2 mm a day you will have tight muscles and a big gap in your bone that takes a long time to recover. If you do 0.7 mm a day your muscles at the end of lengthening will already have adjusted and your bone gap will almost be consolidated so the total recovery time is not longer but maybe shorter!
And of course lengthening at 0.7 mm means you have much less pain!
On the other hand, I understand people that want to just get over with this process asap, which is possible if you both legs at the same time, but at a slow rate.
Work
Unilateral patients are supposed to be able to work while lengthening.
Personally, I think that this will be difficult unless you are able to sleep well during night which most patients are not.
On the other hand I am working from home office with a similar productivity as before, just not able to work from the office. Actually, I guess by now I even could work from the office, but as I need an afternoon nap, I work from home.
For all those reasons, from a patient experience I would advise bilateral lengthening.
Quote from: yyes on January 20, 2017, 01:12:51 AMI don't understand this. If he does one leg at a time and you go back to work after one month, wouldn't you eventually have one foot longer than the other?
Yes, you would have a longer leg, just lke I do now. However, everytime I go out with pants on (and I do go out with my pants on everytime) I wear an insole in one of my shoes so I can walk evenly and no one notices that I've one longer leg. I'll have a longer leg until I finish the lengthning phase of my 2nd leg, but tbh, it hasnt been an issue.
I've asked Dr. Monegal about the new fitbone version and it seems it won't be out for another 3~4 years. They will be testing prototypes meanwhile. If you are wondering what changes will bring the new fitbone I've got some news for you.
-The biggest change is that they will remove the antenna and its cable;
-They will also install a software in the control unit in order to receive feedback from the implant;
-Right now fitbone can go backwards but the patient cannot do it. With the new version the patient will be able to control the implant with the control unit so it can go backwards at any given time.
2 months and 10 days post op (x rays day)
Me and a few patients had x rays today and I'm very pleased with mines. I've such a good bone cloud and I'm sure that if I stopped lengthening today I'd be walking unaided in no time.
X Rays:
As you can see I am at 4,1cm. I'm actually thinking of stopping at 5cm so I am 9mm away from my goal. The doctor advised me to pick up my lengthen pace so my bone doesn't consolidate before I reach my goal.
I know alot of us here see this surgery as a risk and it is risky. But it is freaking amazing how far technology has come and what we are able to do in the 21st century. I can only imagine the technology that will come out 50 years from today
Seems good callus. You're young. Hope your second leg is OK too.
Looking good. What's the worst pain you've had in your journey so far? And what do you do during the day? It must be pretty boring lol Hopefully Monegal doesn't raise his prices by the time I can get my surgery done.
You must be logged in to post a reply.