Femurs with Dr. Assayag in MD

Hi everyone,

For past 10 years I have only observed these forums and read about leg lengthening. Main reason was money and career. I was working on both and hence the surgery was out of my affordability range. Anyway, now I am ready and have taken the first step of contacting Dr. Assayag. We did our tele-health meeting and he answered all of my concerns/questions. Now to the next step of looking at the potential dates for surgery. We believe it will be in December.

A little bit about me:

- I am 5.4" and will be doing Femur lengthening
- I believe I am probably the oldest guy on this forum to do the LL? (I am in my late 30s)
- I have told my wife, co-workers etc.
- I will be staying in Maryland for the first three weeks

Fingers crossed. Lets see        

Check PM!

Nice to read about a diary of a US doctor other than Paley, Mahboubian, or Debiparshad.

Quote from: RazalDazal on October 22, 2020, 03:09:31 AMHi everyone,

For past 10 years I have only observed these forums and read about leg lengthening. Main reason was money and career. I was working on both and hence the surgery was out of my affordability range. Anyway, now I am ready and have taken the first step of contacting Dr. Assayag. We did our tele-health meeting and he answered all of my concerns/questions. Now to the next step of looking at the potential dates for surgery. We believe it will be in December.

A little bit about me:

- I am 5.4" and will be doing Femur lengthening
- I believe I am probably the oldest guy on this forum to do the LL? (I am in my late 30s)
- I have told my wife, co-workers etc.
- I will be staying in Maryland for the first three weeks

Fingers crossed. Lets see      

1. What was the total price?

2. What are your thoughts on doing this option and living with a family member in northern Virginia during the process? Too far from Baltimore?

Quote from: RazalDazal on October 22, 2020, 03:09:31 AMHi everyone,

For past 10 years I have only observed these forums and read about leg lengthening. Main reason was money and career. I was working on both and hence the surgery was out of my affordability range. Anyway, now I am ready and have taken the first step of contacting Dr. Assayag. We did our tele-health meeting and he answered all of my concerns/questions. Now to the next step of looking at the potential dates for surgery. We believe it will be in December.

A little bit about me:

- I am 5.4" and will be doing Femur lengthening
- I believe I am probably the oldest guy on this forum to do the LL? (I am in my late 30s)
- I have told my wife, co-workers etc.
- I will be staying in Maryland for the first three weeks

Fingers crossed. Lets see      

Did he have lengthening limits? Ex: only willing to do 5cm or 6cm?

Hi SpeedDialer,

Dr. Assayag is preparing a quote for me (so I don’t know the final price yet). Btw I myself am in a healthcare industry

COST

Couple of points on the cost:

-   On average the cost of Femur lengthening in the US is between $80k- $110k
-   The high cost medical system in the US is designed for insurance companies and not for the out-of-pocket/cash payors.
-   The high cost of LL is not always because of the surgeon but also depends on the hospital where the surgery is being performed. Hospital prices are inflated based on the rates at which insurance companies will reimburse the hospital on a patient's behalf. That's why a single aspirin can cost $30 per pill in the E.R., which is more than six times the price for a bottle of them at the drug store.
-   The Stryde Nail itself is extremely expensive which inflates the cost of surgery in US
-   You can lower you final cost by staying less at the hospital. For example: Dr. Assayag's price may quote you for a 3 day hospital stay. But if you leave the facility after 2 days, you can save money on that extra 1 day (make sense?)


My purpose of highlighting the crazy hospital cost system in the US was to point out that surgeons like Assayag, Janet or Paley are not making bank from each surgery. Of course, they are still getting paid handsomely but what they get paid vs. what we pay for the procedure are two different things.

Also FYI - The interest rates in US are the lowest that I have seen. This is a good time to research if you can get home equity loan, Home Equity line of credit or a Personal Loan to fund your surgery. I don't like the so called medical financing companies like care credit because their intertest rates are crazy high. Meanwhile the banks may give you loans for a very low apr.  (you guys may disagree but I am just posting my thoughts)
   


LIVING

I think for the first couple of weeks at least you would want to be close to Baltimore. You can stay on the campus of Sinai Hospital at the Hackerman-Patz House for $15/day.
I have family and pets that will be staying with me which is why I will simply rent an AirBNB for first 3 weeks. After three weeks, I will visit Dr. Assayag every 2 weeks. I live close to Pittsburg, so I have a 5 hour drive each way. One thing I am really uncomfortable doing while lengthening is flying. 

LIMITS

He does not have a pre-defined limit nor can he guarantee how much length I will be able to gain. It all depends on complications and nerve pain issues that could arise once you go beyond 5cm. From what I know 5cm is almost always achievable… its “after” 5cm that lots of patients suffer from numbness, pain or other issues…

For myself, to get maximum gain I am doing stretches right now. We'll see

Quote from: RazalDazal on October 22, 2020, 03:09:31 AMHi everyone,

For past 10 years I have only observed these forums and read about leg lengthening. Main reason was money and career. I was working on both and hence the surgery was out of my affordability range. Anyway, now I am ready and have taken the first step of contacting Dr. Assayag. We did our tele-health meeting and he answered all of my concerns/questions. Now to the next step of looking at the potential dates for surgery. We believe it will be in December.

A little bit about me:

- I am 5.4" and will be doing Femur lengthening
- I believe I am probably the oldest guy on this forum to do the LL? (I am in my late 30s)
- I have told my wife, co-workers etc.
- I will be staying in Maryland for the first three weeks

Fingers crossed. Lets see      

when are you looking to do the procedure?
i have been in talks with dr A and once i finish my exam next week, i am lookign to get my procedure done in nov! maybe ill see you there

i belive SNC is probably older than you by a good 10 years and he just finished his distraction!

Awesome! I will send you my date as soon as mine is scheduled

Looks like the three of us are going to be lengthening around the same time!