Femur lengthening with Dr. Betz - 2021

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Thanks, RB. Will keep it in mind. Appreciate it.

I am too following your diary closely. Great progress so far!

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Some really good advice here, I will get in touch with Peter Woll as well

Best of luck for the surgery! 

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I am glad it helps you.

Thanks for luck @DonBones

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chasing_higher_dream
Thanks for asking Dr Betz about the future of Betzbone and his successor.

What's his strategy to prevent fat embolism? Did he mention something during the frst appointment?

I wish you the best for tomorrow! See you on the bright side of life!

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Thanks for the wishes @Limbfan2020

As far as I recall, he did say that bone reaming increases intramedullary pressure and may cause fat embolism. To counteract this Dr. Betz vents holes through the other side of the femur, so when the reaming process starts through the hip area, the excess fat and liquid get taken out automatically from the opposite vented hole due to the pressure.

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Are you nervous?
Hope you have a smooth operation on Monday

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Hope all went well 🤞

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Brief Update: Surgery successfully done
Initial gap: 6 mm

Going to hospital
On Monday I got up early at 5:30 AM in the morning and I packed all my stuff and exited the Airbnb and started walking towards the hospital. It took me 15 minutes to reach the hospital, upon arrival I was taken into a room where I had to wait for 30 minutes before I had once again a Covid test.

Surgery
I was taken into a room and was asked to change into surgery clothes, post that the nurse came and shaved the hairs from my thighs. After this I was asked to lie down on the bed and then I was rolled to the surgical room. I saw Dr. Betz, Dr. Backer, anesthesiologist, Daniela and 2 more hospital staff. On my left arm they put a device to continuously measure my blood pressure and on my right arm they put a syringe and the anesthesiologist said you will soon go to sleep. Within 5 seconds, I started to feel dizzy. They put a mask on my face and I was deep asleep. The next memory I had was, I was outside the surgical room and Dr. Betz came and said the surgery was successful. He said that he had used 11 mm Betzbone nails and the initial gap is 6 mm.

Post surgery
After surgery I was taken to a private room having a bed, a TV and a big window with lots of natural light. Most of the time I was asleep, I woke up at 1p.m. when Dr. Betz and Dr. Backer came to visit me. They helped me to get out of my bed and helped me to walk a few steps. It was tough, but manageable. The pain was not so strong, maybe 3 / 10. After that for the entire day I slept and in the evening I had some light snacks, then I took my medication and again I went back to sleep. I had a good nights sleep, I did not wake up due to any pain.

Next day
I woke up at 7 am in the morning, the pain was still relatively low. I must say the pain is lesser than I anticipated, I hope it remains the same. For pissing, I was given a container to piss in. The breakfast and lunch on the second day was considerably better. Also the nurses are good, within just one click of a button, they come by and help. I also spend some time chitchatting with nurses to get rid of my boredom. Physiotherapist attended me at around 11 am and we did a few exercises and practiced walking on crutches. In the late afternoon, Dr. Betz and Daniela also visited me. Daniela helped me to get out of the bed and we did one more round of walking practice with crutches. The most difficult part is to get out of bed by yourself, it feels like my legs weigh 100 kg. But once out of bed I am able to walk with crutches. There is some pain on the right side of the leg above the knee when I try to put pressure on it while walking. Apart from this, so far everything seems to be going well.

I will not update this diary daily but once I have made some significant progress.

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Quote from: chasing_higher_dream on June 01, 2021, 04:52:28 PMBrief Update: Surgery successfully done
Initial gap: 6 mm

Going to hospital
On Monday I got up early at 5:30 AM in the morning and I packed all my stuff and exited the Airbnb and started walking towards the hospital. It took me 15 minutes to reach the hospital, upon arrival I was taken into a room where I had to wait for 30 minutes before I had once again a Covid test.

Surgery
I was taken into a room and was asked to change into surgery clothes, post that the nurse came and shaved the hairs from my thighs. After this I was asked to lie down on the bed and then I was rolled to the surgical room. I saw Dr. Betz, Dr. Backer, anesthesiologist, Daniela and 2 more hospital staff. On my left arm they put a device to continuously measure my blood pressure and on my right arm they put a syringe and the anesthesiologist said you will soon go to sleep. Within 5 seconds, I started to feel dizzy. They put a mask on my face and I was deep asleep. The next memory I had was, I was outside the surgical room and Dr. Betz came and said the surgery was successful. He said that he had used 11 mm Betzbone nails and the initial gap is 6 mm.

Post surgery
After surgery I was taken to a private room having a bed, a TV and a big window with lots of natural light. Most of the time I was asleep, I woke up at 1p.m. when Dr. Betz and Dr. Backer came to visit me. They helped me to get out of my bed and helped me to walk a few steps. It was tough, but manageable. The pain was not so strong, maybe 3 / 10. After that for the entire day I slept and in the evening I had some light snacks, then I took my medication and again I went back to sleep. I had a good nights sleep, I did not wake up due to any pain.

Next day
I woke up at 7 am in the morning, the pain was still relatively low. I must say the pain is lesser than I anticipated, I hope it remains the same. For pissing, I was given a container to piss in. The breakfast and lunch on the second day was considerably better. Also the nurses are good, within just one click of a button, they come by and help. I also spend some time chitchatting with nurses to get rid of my boredom. Physiotherapist attended me at around 11 am and we did a few exercises and practiced walking on crutches. In the late afternoon, Dr. Betz and Daniela also visited me. Daniela helped me to get out of the bed and we did one more round of walking practice with crutches. The most difficult part is to get out of bed by yourself, it feels like my legs weigh 100 kg. But once out of bed I am able to walk with crutches. There is some pain on the right side of the leg above the knee when I try to put pressure on it while walking. Apart from this, so far everything seems to be going well.

I will not update this diary daily but once I have made some significant progress.

Glad you are doing well! Hope there will be no more severe pain indeed. I am looking forward to reading your next update

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Pain management in Betz's practice seems incredible. Really happy about your relatively pain-free experience. Congratulations, and good luck on the long journey ahead!