Articles like this give me hope for a good recovery. They mentioned this on TV the other night during the USA-Canada game and I was floored.
http://olympic.ca/team-canada/gavin-schmitt/
He's playing in the Olympics with two internal nails in his tibias due to stress fractures. Given, his injuries are different than LL, but he recovered 3 months after surgery with a very intensive PT regimen, and he was in Olympic-level shape, which certainly factors in the fact that he is able to participate in a high-impact Olympic sport with nails in his legs 3 months after insertion.
I anticipate to lose some athletic ability, initially, but I also anticipate to recover all of it if at all possible, and I'll do my absolute best to do so. I'm in tremendous physical shape and very flexible, I've never smoked or taken drugs, and have a casual drink once every 6 months or so if anything. I also don't want anymore than 6 cm at the very top. I could go for more, but I want to keep this procedure within the utmost safe parameters. Proportions are also a big deal for me. I re-measured my wingspan and it's 2 1/8 inches longer than my overall height, so 5-6 CM at most seems right.
Assuming I don't encounter any surprises that cause me to back out of this procedure, I'm going to have the surgery with one of these 2 physicians and am giving it my absolute best to prepare. I've incorporated Pilates and Yoga to my workout regimen, and am hoping to ace all of Dr. Guichet's strength and flexibility tests in a month or so 
.
The pain, frankly, really scares me. This is something that I'm building myself mentally for, and something I'm taking very seriously. But I've decided I want to do this and I'm going to power through it like everything else (with the help of very strong painkillers if necessary).
Email response time from LL doctors, and some other information
Having a nail inserted isn't as huge a deal as having a nail inserted and subsequently having the bone separated 6cm over the nail. Lots of people get nails for broken bones, not so many for LL.
Obviously LL is much more complicated and harder to recover from. Also, Gavin Schmitt is not lengthening anything, thus no issues with overextended muscles, tendons and nerves.
It's still a pretty big deal though, given the fact that most people with nails in their tibias can barely walk. I had a colleague who had to get a nail inserted due to a fracture in his left leg. He was wheelchair bound for 3 months due to obesity before he could even weight bear. Gavin is playing in the Olympics 3 months after his procedure with rods in each leg because of the tremendous physical shape he's in.
Physical fitness and preparation matters a lot, just like in most other medical procedures. I certainly cannot claim to know what LL is like, unlike the folks here who have done it, and reading diaries such as Unicorns' gives me quite a bit of mental reticence over the pain I'll have to endure. All I can do is prepare with the utmost intensity and fervor to give me the best chance to come out of this as quickly and with the best possible set of results.
hi jbc
Do you mind telling us the price of those three doctors? most price are pretty outdated on this website, it will be nice to get some info from you. Thx
Quote from: jbc on August 09, 2016, 03:38:27 AMObviously LL is much more complicated and harder to recover from. Also, Gavin Schmitt is not lengthening anything, thus no issues with overextended muscles, tendons and nerves.
It's still a pretty big deal though, given the fact that most people with nails in their tibias can barely walk. I had a colleague who had to get a nail inserted due to a fracture in his left leg. He was wheelchair bound for 3 months due to obesity before he could even weight bear. Gavin is playing in the Olympics 3 months after his procedure with rods in each leg because of the tremendous physical shape he's in.
Physical fitness and preparation matters a lot, just like in most other medical procedures. I certainly cannot claim to know what LL is like, unlike the folks here who have done it, and reading diaries such as Unicorns' gives me quite a bit of mental reticence over the pain I'll have to endure. All I can do is prepare with the utmost intensity and fervor to give me the best chance to come out of this as quickly and with the best possible set of results.
Everyone is different, but if you are physically prepared and maintain a level of flexibility throughout your lengthening, keep moving in one way or another and really push the envelope every chance you get when it comes to physical therapy, your soft tissues will recover quicker better and stronger. That is of course if you don't go overboard with your lengthening (which you aren't). If you lengthen too much, then recovery with be arduous regardless.. But this is why Guichet patients can distract and and recover faster. They're somewhat prepared physically.
Not at all. From Dr. Guichet:
"The overall budget in London for one level of surgery (both femurs for instance) that you need to face is approx. £50000 (for surgery (hospital, implants, fees, but not removal) including 2 months of training/physiotherapy (11 sessions per week), but not housing, exams, food nor transports. In Italy the budget is a bit less but for people who have housing in London or who prefer an English speaking country, it may not be a better option. You can come for one month of training (count an additional GBP 3000 per month in a gym with supervision of my Team) then the surgery after it.
We offer, in addition to the surgery package, additional packages for housing, exams, and also a very specific preoperative training program for one month under my full control in Milano or London, but not food nor transports. The initial consultation is £300."
Dr. Paley's prices on his website are current, I confirmed this with his new patient consultant. Here is the relevant data:
http://www.paleyinstitute.org/centers-of-excellence/stature-lengthening-center/costs-financial-considerations
I am not considering Korea or Dr. Lee at this point. I have decided that if I will do this, I am going with Dr. Guichet or Dr. Paley only. I'm fortunate to be in a financial position to do this, and even if I weren't, I would save like mad if I wanted this bad enough, and would not compromise on costs vs. the two best physicians on the planet that are qualified to do this procedure.**
I am keeping track of hard costs spent. Thus far, this is money that has left my bank account, so to speak:
$750 - Dr. Paley consultation (prepaid as required)
$904 - Trip to Florida (plane tickets ++ hotel stay)
$3,409 - Trip to London (plane tickets ++ hotel stay)
Anticipated: $390.01 (in today's exchange rates from GBP to USD) for Dr. Guichet's consultation
Anticipated: $300 for Dr. Paley's X-ray fees.
I am not spending any money on training, as I work out 6 days per week and have for years . I've increased my time in the rock climbing gym and added Pilates and Yoga for maximum flexibility, but that's it. The only thing I can't do is a full set of splits yet, and I'm hoping to be able to do that by the time I visit Dr. Guichet in September. I'm 7.5 inches on the dorsiflexion test and incredibly flexible otherwise, so I hope he waives the month of training with him, but prepared to pay the extra cost for this as well if needed.
(**to add: absolutely not judging anyone for going with other physicians due to cost, this is my choice and my opinion only. This is tough surgery filled by difficult choices, and I'm opting in to medical choices that I feel are best for me, everyone else makes similar decisions based on their circumstances).
Quote from: jbc on July 27, 2016, 02:48:21 AM Sent lots of very informative literature about his practice and the Precise 2.2. He also mentions that under full weight-bearing without consolidated bone support any nail will break, no matter what other doctors tell you
If I pm you my email ID will you please please please send me that information Dr. Paley sent you regarding the Precice 2? Because I'm seriously considering internal femurs instead of external tibias.
Quote from: mtall on August 10, 2016, 02:35:22 PMIf I pm you my email ID will you please please please send me that information Dr. Paley sent you regarding the Precice 2? Because I'm seriously considering internal femurs instead of external tibias.
mtall, I'll have to check to see if I can. I don't mind sharing, but if the article is somehow restricted, I'm going to abide by that. I'll also see if it comes up in a Google search by searching for relevant keywords. You should try calling the clinic, they may just email it to you. There are 2 articles regarding the Precise.
TL;DR from the article: The Precise 2.2 has only 1 nail breakage, fewer complications, is 4 times stronger and has some improvements that Dr. Paley designed.
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