Iamprepared - Precise 2.3 Internal Femurs with Dr.Donghoon Lee 2017 (Seoul)

Edit Post

Quote from: Jamee on February 22, 2017, 11:45:45 AMAll the best Bro and may u got healed soon and
surely u will be one of the successful stories

Can u plz upload some pictures of ur scars ?
With thanks in advance

Hey Jamee! Thanks for the good wish bro! I'm pushing myself to do more exercise and stretching everyday, so hopefully this would help the recovery later.

Let me think about uploading any picture of my body (as I care about privacy greatly). In the meantime, let me try to describe the state of my scars:

There are 8 scars on each leg: 3 next to knee, 1 middle of thigh, 3 upper part of thigh, 1 end of thigh.

- 3 next to knee: First one is about 1.5cm length & 0.4 height (for ITB release) and the other two are about 0.6cm length & 0.4 height.
- 1 middle of thigh & 3 upper part of thigh: Look similar to "the other two" above
- 1 end of thigh: 2cm length & 0.5cm height

They are currently dark pink color and they're becoming to look similar to other scars on my legs. Scars are obviously visible when you're nked, but if you wear short and someone sees the 3 scars next to knee, they probably wouldn't pay any special attention.

Edit Post

[Update] 2cm

I’ve reached 2cm. Great news is my fumers are distracting beautifully. From my recent visit to Dr.Lee, he mentioned that there is no need to decrease or increase the frequency of lengthening (some patients get told to lengthen 3 times or 5 times a day, unlike 4 times a day I’m doing now).

<Flexibility / Strength>
At 2cm, I don’t see any difference in my flexibility or muscle strength just yet. As a matter of fact, my flexibility is better than at 1cm as I’ve been doing stretching 4 times a day (30 minutes per session). My PT session is now reduced to 1 per week (recommended by Dr.Lee), because I can do all moves by myself. He suggests that when I reach 4cm, I would need more PT as I would need help executing certain moves. My legs have also developed muscle from an intense strength workout (2 times day), but I have a trouble giving the full strength to quad muscle just above the knee. Dr.Lee says this is normal but I want to find a way to maximize the quad strength. Currently using EMS (electric muscle stimulator) device is the only way to see my quad muscle reach its full hardness. The device seems useful, but I’m not sure if this really helps me sustain the muscle hardness.

Dr.Lee believes it is muscle, not bone that is strongly related to whether you can fully recover and go back to extreme sports later. Generally, bone heals after a while but once muscle loosens it’s hard to regain the strength as muscle gets damaged in the process of loosening. So I’m doing a lot of workout and stretching to see if I can maintain the muscle strength and flexibility without much loosening. 


<Pain / Sleep>
My sleep condition has not changed since my last post. I still wake up 1-2 times (about 3am and 5am) and I wake up in pain (pain level: 4 out of 10). Having the pain killer at 10pm (instead of 6pm) didn’t really help; Not having a nap during the day didn’t really help; Cutting the water consumption didn’t really help. I’m trying to figure out how I can sleep non-stop at night. Any feedback on this, please let me know!


<Precise version>
I was advised by Dr.Lee that we’re actually using v2.3, not v2.1. However, I’ve received a doubt from a member in the community as it is believed that v2.3 doesn’t exist. Let me make sure to check again about the version in my next visit and put this matter to rest.

Edit Post

[Update] 3cm

I've passed 3cm. From my last visit to Dr.Lee, he confirmed that distraction is happening beautifully. X-ray shows light-white area in the region of distraction and Dr.Lee thinks this is a good sign for faster healing once the distraction is done. I'm told to stay lengthening 4 times a day, 0.25mm each. It is very satisfying to find out a good x-ray result.

<Tightness>
The outer side of both legs are getting tighter and this is causing my lower back to be lifted when I lie down. Dr.Lee advises me to massage (press) the outer area as hard as I would cry from the pain. I just got a deep tissue massage device and now I'm massaging the outer side 2-3 times a day, pressing them very hard.

<Flexibility>
My flexibility is still great. I don't see any difference in doing stretching moves between when I was at 0 cm and 3cm. I do a 30 minute stretching session 3 times a day (used to be 4 times but I allocated 1 time to develop more strength). My official PT from the hospital is only once a week as I can execute all stretching moves by myself just fine. The therapist believes I may be able to maintain this flexibility until the end of distraction, which would come as a huge gift to my body once the distraction ends and recovery starts.

<Strength>
My strength is great. Increasing bike session to 5km and adding leg extension with 5-10kg weight helped to develop my strength. I can give full hardness to my quad muscle now. It feels good!

<Pain>
I've left Oxycontin as the pain is getting mild. The chemical compound is way too similar to Heroin and Dr.Lee suggests that there is 100% chance you'll be addicted if you use it for long enough. Now I'm on Ultracet (Tramadol) 2 times a day and this does the job. I now have 0-1 pain level throughout the day. I still have 4/10 pain level when I wake up in my sleep. About 9 out of 10 times I sleep, I wake up in the middle of the night, irritated by pain. Dr.Lee says this is common as muscles respond to the new length each night. He says this would go away a few days after the end of distraction.

<Goal>
My goal 6.5cm has not changed yet. But, after reading other patients diaries, I'm thinking whether to settle at 6cm or even 5.5cm. Patients who did 8cm tend to show a sign of regret due to a slow healing process and complications (like bone getting broken after taking the rod out) and they think 5.5-6cm would have been good enough. I wonder how significant the bone growth and recovery would be at 5.5-6cm compared to 6.5cm. Anyone who has knowledge about this, please let me know.

<Dr.Lee>
After reading more patients diaries, I'm always reminded how important "safety" is when doing LL compared to anything else such as good flexibility, fast recovery or even doctor's skill. I can't make a comment for other doctors but Dr.Lee is definitely a safe doctor. He always seems to put patients' safety as his top priority over other things. He doesn't like to allow a number of activities that are allowed by other doctors, such as using a walker or crutches during distraction, as he believes the potential danger is far greater than the benefit. He does, however, emphasizes on important stretch and strength exercises you can do at home, safely. My respect for him grows at every visit I make to the doctor's office.

<Precise 2.3>
Dr.Lee confirmed that we're using Precise 2.3 and not Precise 2.1. He double checked the email sent by NuVasive (which acquired Ellipse Technologies) claiming the nail is Precise 2.3. So, for those who think v2.3 doesn't exist, I'd recommend to contact NuVasive directly.

Edit Post

Hi I'm glad that the entire procedure and everything in general is going well. I truly do want to know though how old are you? I am just starting out college, and truly dislike my height. When looking at this post I noticed that you are my height and we're able to pay for it. I just want to know how old you are in order to know how long it may take until I can one day do this surgery. I am 19 and soon will be 20 and am similar height and weight (I weight 10 lbs more than you though). What questions did you ask the dr when you first did the consultation and did you finish college or work your way for to save that money, and from when did you start saving? I really hope you can answer these questions since as you should know it's kinda hard at times being of short stature, and I truly appreciate the advice you give since I want to find a way to save enough money and do that surgery. P.S. did you lift weights or prepare yourself some way to get in good enough shape before the surgery?

Edit Post

Quote from: iamprepared on March 10, 2017, 07:13:02 AM<Precise 2.3>
Dr.Lee confirmed that we're using Precise 2.3 and not Precise 2.1. He double checked the email sent by NuVasive (which acquired Ellipse Technologies) claiming the nail is Precise 2.3. So, for those who think v2.3 doesn't exist, I'd recommend to contact NuVasive directly.

Edit Post

Quote from: Stadiometer on March 19, 2017, 10:24:48 PM




Hey Stadiometer, note that Dr.Paley doesn't make Precise devices. Please try asking NuVasive instead.

Edit Post

Quote from: Blake56 on March 10, 2017, 08:24:41 PMHi I'm glad that the entire procedure and everything in general is going well. I truly do want to know though how old are you? I am just starting out college, and truly dislike my height. When looking at this post I noticed that you are my height and we're able to pay for it. I just want to know how old you are in order to know how long it may take until I can one day do this surgery. I am 19 and soon will be 20 and am similar height and weight (I weight 10 lbs more than you though). What questions did you ask the dr when you first did the consultation and did you finish college or work your way for to save that money, and from when did you start saving? I really hope you can answer these questions since as you should know it's kinda hard at times being of short stature, and I truly appreciate the advice you give since I want to find a way to save enough money and do that surgery. P.S. did you lift weights or prepare yourself some way to get in good enough shape before the surgery?

Hey Blake,

If you're alone in paying for the surgery, you could save as much as $10-15K a year for the next five years to pursue this. With help from people close to you, you could do it earlier and pay them back as you earn money later. I'm in 20s as I mentioned in the previous post and I don't think my exact age will matter much when it comes to helping you materialize your dream here. Don't feel bad about 3-5 years horizon, because by then it's very likely Precise III will come out that would allow weight-bearing during the distraction. As far as preparation goes, I'd recommend you make stretching and jogging as part of you daily habit. Doing this regularly for the next years, you'll find the surgery much easier.

Edit Post

[Update] 4cm

I've just passed 4cm. Overall, I feel great with my new femur length. They look good as I sit down too. I'm excited about finishing the distraction phase in about 3 weeks!

Massage
I've been going to sports massage lately to soften muscle around my thighs. This actually helped reduce the muscle pain in my sleep and finally I sleep rather restfully. I strongly recommend you to put massage into your LL regimen. I think 3 times a week seems great.

Flexibility
Dr.Lee previously told me that from 4cm onwards, people lose flexibility significantly and I can now understand this. I'm stretching a few times a day so 4cm doesn't affect me much but I can confirm that stretching has become a little harder than it was at 3cm. Let's see what will happen at 5cm!

Strength
I've been doing a lot of intense workout and my thigh muscles at 4cm are even stronger than at 3cm. I want to keep my muscles strong so that the damage from muscle loosening is not significant by the time the distraction is complete. I'm doing massage and stretching regularly so the developed muscle around my legs are not too tight or bulky.

Edit Post

are you wheelchair bound?

Edit Post

Quote from: iamprepared on March 20, 2017, 10:17:37 AM[Update] 4cm

Massage
I've been going to sports massage lately to soften muscle around my thighs. This actually helped reduce the muscle pain in my sleep and finally I sleep rather restfully. I strongly recommend you to put massage into your LL regimen. I think 3 times a week seems great.


I completely agree. I've been reading some studies on the importance of flexibility and how stiff, tight muscle are detrimental to lengthening and can cause damage. Massage seems an excellent way of increasing blood flow, stretching the deeper muscular structures and relaxing stiff muscles - it's a great addition and I think it will make the world of difference.