I currently stand at 5' 9.5" throughout the day, and 5' 9.25" before bed (176.5cm - 176.25cm). I've been debating doing LL surgery for about 3 years now, and am nearly convinced to do it. One thing I'm very wary of, however, is how badly it'll impact my ability to perform in sports. I skateboard, so being able to take impact is a huge deal, as is being able to properly flick your limbs to manipulate the board.
I've always wanted to be 5' 11"(180.34cm), and feel that height would complement my 6' 1.5" wingspan. I've read a decent amount about how 5cm is the max for tibia/fibula lengthening, and that it comes with relatively low side effects, but I've also read contradictory anecdotes about how even a 5cm increase has its downfalls.
Would 3cm be a lot safer of a goal, mixed in with 1cm-2cm spine stretches through hanging and yoga (bringing me to ~180.25cm before bed)? Though 5' 11" would be spectacular to reach, being able to ollie down a 10 stair and landing without breaking my bones is a lot more important.
Quote from: Penguinn on June 14, 2016, 01:44:15 PMImo if you're doing LL at least do 5cms. It'll make it worthwhile and you'll be 5.11.5 which is basically 6'.
Quite honestly 6' doesn't really appeal to me. I still want to be closer to the average height, just on the taller side vs. being actually tall. 6' to me is just too tall, and I could always achieve 6' in heeled shoes if I had to. As a matter of fact, I'm actually going to reduce my desired LL to 2.5cm.
Quote from: Cheez on June 14, 2016, 03:30:36 PMI am also doing skateboarding, and I'd say you shouldn't do it, if you are skating at that level at the moment. Especially for just 3 cm.
Enjoy being at the peak of your skills at the moment, and do the operation a couple of years later, when you won't be doing 10 stair sets anymore and are content with some flatground stuff or riding pools (like I do, I am an 41 years old fart).
Do you really think it would affect my performance that much? Would it affect all stair sets and coming off of, say, a 2 foot ledge/hubba?
Quote from: Alu on June 14, 2016, 06:08:54 PMI mean for the thousands of dollars you're gonna burn, to the huge amount of risk your taking... 3 CM doesn't seem too worth it.
Think this really through..
That's why I came here, to get opinions of people who have gone through it and to see if there were any way I could do this procedure without running the risks that most LLers get by going below the maximum amount of 5cm.
So far I've read 3 people say no way, and 1 person say to consider it later in life. I'm still considering it, but not as much as I were before.
Quote from: Penguinn on June 14, 2016, 06:25:07 PMDude I'm 5'2 and even I wouldn't do LL for 1 inch.
Why not?
Quote from: Penguinn on June 14, 2016, 06:35:18 PMIt's insignificant. And at a good height like yours.. doing this for just 1 inch.. whatever, if you're set on it. Guess everyone has their own perception.
So, it's just because it's not a 4" - 6" increase that you say save my money? That makes sense, and I can see why people would say that, but I just really want to be 5' 11".
Besides that, would there be any negative consequences of a lengthening of ~3cm? I see lots of posts about the consequences of lengthening, but they're typically discussing things like 10cm+.
Quote from: CCMidwest on June 14, 2016, 06:46:33 PMAlso, I'm not being snarky here either (serious), but how do average height guys find this site? How did you?
It helps, thank you for your time.
I found this site because I feel small and because the average height for white people is 5' 10". I wanted to be above average in height, and years ago I was extremely insecure about it so I looked up 'how to get taller'. I recently found this site by looking up how stretching can increase your height by 2cm, and I remembered years ago looking into LL surgery wanting to get to 6' 2", so I just researched it again and voila.
Quote from: CCMidwest on June 14, 2016, 07:23:51 PMThere's actually relatively few that have done that many CM's on this forum. Without actually going through each diary, I believe that most do 5 to 8 cm's.
I'm not sure if there is a single example of anyone doing less than 5cm on this forum. (without doing quads)
Which means, most of the complications these guys have talked about are in the 5 to 8 cm range of LL.
There's lots of reports in the diaries that tightness and complications arose around the 5cm mark, and quite a few have expressed regret that they did more than 5cm.
But, 5cm is a psychological limit of sorts for most, since it is 2"
For the same reason retailers mark prices at $9.99 instead of $10.00, there is a mental change that happens at certain numbers. 5cm seems to be that number. 8cm is the next number, because it is the limit of internal precice rods.
In other words, there is little evidence that 3cm is less risky than 5cm.
Not even theoretical evidence? I've read on old forums that 5cm is the maximum that anybody should do, and that it's the amount that carries the least complications and the least risk, so I figured less would decrease those chances by more. I guess I'll have to do more looking around.
Going off other's experiences, and just hypothetically, how do you personally feel about 3cm of increase? Or do you personally feel that any amount of increase in height is too risky for cosmetic purposes?
Quote from: TIBIKE200 on June 14, 2016, 07:44:06 PMNo one here has a right to tell you if 3cm is not worth it. If it's worth to you, than go with it that's all.
Well, it's worth it to me until it isn't worth it to me, you know? I'm more than willing to take criticism from people on here so long as it's based around risks and not based around my goals.
If there's sound evidence supporting the idea that 3cm LL would result in 100% (or near 100%) recovery in athletic performance with a nearly negligible percent chance of running into complications, then I'm all for going through with getting the operation. I could just do spine hangs and stretches to make up for the other 1cm-2cm (well, 2cm if I'm lucky) for a true 5' 11" height.
However, if I won't be able to sprint, swim, jump, take impact, lift heavy weights, or anything of the like after 2 years/forever, then it'll definitely not be worth it, and I might just stick with the yoga, hanging, and other alternative methods of spine stretching to just peak above 5' 10" naturally.
Quote from: TIBIKE200 on June 15, 2016, 12:47:12 AMI will tell you this based one what I heard from people who underwent or are still going through the procedure right now.
The procedure is not risk free. One complication which is not so much rare for ex-tibs is misallignment (check sweden's diary). The question is; is your doc capabale of resolving such complication? Lumier had this complication during LL but it was resolved thanks to a capable doc. Sweden's complication on the other hand wasn't because Sarin is incompetent.
You need to choose a doc based on two main criteria: (1) operative skills which means that any surgical complications are lowered to minimum (2) post operative skills which means that in case of some common complications, the doc will be able to resolve them without any sequelas (or atleast any sequelas that will have an impact on your daily life and activities).
Budget should not be a consideration at all when it comes to safety. There are some low cost capable docs (in my opinion) but since I wasnt operated by them I wont post about them.
From the ex patients I have spoken to, ALL have regained their previous athletisicm (after 1-2 years since frame removal) and the all did more than 3cm (even 6cm)
Cheers for the info! Now, when you say they regained their previous athleticism, is that relative to the person? Meaning, they regained their previous athleticism but they weren't very athletic to begin with?
Quote from: CCMidwest on June 14, 2016, 07:57:41 PMETA: Feeling small at 1/2" under average? Really? If I was 5'9.5 I'd take all that LL money and buy one-on-one training with the best personal trainer in town and put on some serious muscle. Or buy a BMW. Or a Mercedes SL400 (girls love those, trust me)
I know, I still feel small though. All of my friends are within the 5' 11" - 6' 3" range, with maybe 2 of them being smaller than me (5' 7" and 5' 2").
Quote from: aspirant185 on June 15, 2016, 11:25:09 AMYour friends will notice and will tease you forever and will accuse you that you have uncertainties and psychological issues 
I've already thought of a lie about my height increase. They know I do extreme sports, so telling them that I broke my legs would cover why my legs have scars on them, and stating that I did yoga and gained an inch wouldn't be hard to sell to people.
Quote from: aspirant185 on June 15, 2016, 11:25:09 AMYour friends will notice and will tease you forever and will accuse you that you have uncertainties and psychological issues
I've already thought of a lie about my height increase. They know I do extreme sports, so telling them that I broke my legs would cover why my legs have scars on them, and stating that I did yoga and gained an inch wouldn't be hard to sell to people.
I just looked in the mirror at myself and realized that my tibia/fibula are almost the same size as my femur anyway, I'd say nearly 51:49. I guess I already have a decently long tibia/fibula, so maybe I should get an internal femur instead (if I were to do it)?
I'll check the link above, thank you for providing me a path! Would a femur be more risky than a tibia, the same, or less risky? I've realized that I definitely did have some stunting in my growth, since I remeasured my reach and it's about 6' 2". I hardly feel like I was meant to have a 5 inch difference in my reach to height ratio (imagine how monkeyish I look walking around with my big arms swinging at 5' 9.5").
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