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

Edit Post

unfortunately the image does not work

Edit Post

Quote from: Mdream on March 30, 2017, 12:12:12 PMCongratulations! Which were the worst moments in your opinion? Is there a relief after the surgery itself despite the pain? And what are you going to tell your friends?

Thanks Mdream,

The worst moment I think is dealing with poo on your bed right after surgery. Within 3 days after the surgery, it is very difficult and more importantly not safe to get out of your bed. The hospital didn't have a good solution for me, so I had to find own ways to get it done and clean myself after. For the pain after surgery, you just need to constantly take strong pain killers to get the relief on the pain. This really helps.

Edit Post

Quote from: cobalt on March 30, 2017, 07:19:29 PMCongrats on a smooth journey so far. I have a few questions if you don't mind answering.

How close were you able to schedule an actual surgery date after the consultation? Do you feel renting your own place is a good arrangement based on your cab experience and difficulties getting around?

Did Dr. Lee require a ITB release for you(pass 5 cm ) or was it not necessary?

Thanks Cobalt,

My surgery date was very close to the consultation date since I was already in the country and I was looking for the earliest option. I was lucky to do this way because Dr.Lee has a lot of surgeries booked in advance and usually 4-6 months after the consultation seem to be what's available. Renting own place comes with a lot of research as a foreigner and you gotta be prepared for a lot of isolation. I've resolved cab problem here by finding an app that's similar to Uber and I don't get around much at all. It has been a lonely journey for me but this suits me fine for now. I don't think patients should expect a social and bright time during the distraction phase. I can tell you that it is dark, lonely and painful. Dr.Lee seems to prefer doing ITB release on all patients as this makes stretching a lot easier when you start distracting.

-iamprepared

Edit Post

[Update] Complete at 6cm

Hey guys, I've finally finished the distraction at 6cm. One of debates I have had for myself for the entire distraction period was whether to finish at 6cm or do 5 more days to reach 6.5cm. Over the weekend, I finally concluded it would be BETTER to finish this at 6cm. Firstly, I'm overly satisfied with the current length of my femurs. I drew a red line of 6cm on my legs and I was amazed at how long that was. The part of my legs that didn't exist before appeared right there. They are mine. I can feel them and they look so natural. Essentially they come from my own bones, skins, blood, muscle and hard work. Secondly, the conventional wisdom in LL is the less you do, the better for your body, given that you are satisfied with the length. Thirdly, stretching has become a lot harder than at 4-5cm and I think I just reached the safe limit zone. I can still do all stretching moves at 6cm but I cannot foresee what will change at 6.5cm. Fourthly, my ratio looks beautiful right now. I had a through examination of my ratios and they look great. Adding extra length to my femurs could make my body look unnatural. Lastly, I'm ready to move on. According to Dr.Lee, 1cm extra after 6cm would take 1 month extra recovery time. Doing the math, 0.5cm is about 15 days more in wheelchair. I went out on the weekend and there was a bright sunshine for the first time since I came to this country. It was now Spring here. Colorful flowers were everywhere on the street and the warmth made me smile. I felt like I've just finished this long Winter odyssey and I was ready to live my life again, with more authenticity and confidence. This has been quite a journey. For over 2 months, I had to deal with pain, loss of sleep, loneliness. However, only a few days after the distraction phase, the pains are gone (except for the pain from stretching, which I plan to do regularly) and my sleep is great. Instead of loneliness, I now have this feeling of excitement of meeting people again very soon. So if you ask me if I would do the whole process again to achieve the same goal? My answer is, Definitely.

Below, I'd like to list 5 most important things in LL, for anyone who want to pursue their goal.

1.Safety: This is the most important thing. Do not try to weight bear with the technology that doesn't support yet. Listen to your doctor and stay in the wheelchair if you have to. I've seen other patients (not Dr.Lee's) having their nails bent, screw broken by using walker and crutches too early. Any accident will add a lot more extra time in your recovery.

2.Stretching: Do 3 times a day. Start this a few months before the surgery and make it a strong habit of yours. What I found is that during the distraction phase, if you reduce the number to 1-2 a day, it gets twice as harder tomorrow when you do another stretching. You'll eventually become scared to do any more stretching and you'll end up doing one stretching by force during PT session. The pain from stretching is a good pain, really good for your legs and body later, remember.

3.Exercise: From lifting legs to doing bike, make the muscle exercise your daily routine. Muscle damage from distraction is what's causing you to underperform in sports 1-2 year after the surgery. Keep your muscle strong during the distraction phase. This will help you walk faster as well.

4.Doctor: Choose the right doctor to perform the surgery. One must be skilled and precise in performing the surgery, and attentive and responsible to the patient. I made this No.4. I think the surgery is about 5% of this journey and the rest comes from your own efforts during the distraction and the recovery phase. For me, I made the right choice with Dr.Lee.

5.Food: Organize all the food deliveries. I have had almost all meals, fruits, snacks delivered to my place directly. I was never out of quality food that help heal my muscle and bone.

Edit Post

Congrats. Be sure to keep us updated on your recovery. You did right to stop at 6cm. With your starting height, being 178.5, its not worth the risk.

Good luck and I wish you  a swift recovery

Edit Post

Quote from: TIBIKE200 on April 10, 2017, 10:53:36 AMCongrats. Be sure to keep us updated on your recovery. You did right to stop at 6cm. With your starting height, being 178.5, its not worth the risk.

Good luck and I wish you  a swift recovery

Think you may be mistaken here TIBIKE. His starting height was 166cm

About
Age: 20s
Gender: Male
Ethnicity & Nationality: N/A
Starting Height: 5'5'' 1/2 (166cm)
Goal Height: 5'8'' (172.5cm)
Weight: 145 Ibs (65kg)

Surgery
Doctor: Donghoon Lee
Operation: Femurs
Type: Precise 2.1
Planned Distraction: 6.5cm
Diameter: 10.7mm (This supports 50 Ibs per leg unlike 12.5mm that supports 75 Ibs. I'm guessing this would make it harder for me to use a walker)
Surgery Date: January 20, 2017

Edit Post

you are right. I was reading fast and thought his starting height was his goal height.

Edit Post

Quote from: assistdong on April 06, 2017, 02:21:07 AMI’m an assistant of Dr. Lee. I agree with all you said. As far as we know, the company’s policy is to use every new device in USA first and distribute abroad after they confirm it is safe. As you said Dr. Paley is the first surgeon in the world who uses every most updated PRECICE nail. So it is not possible to use it in Korea beforehand. The information about version we know is double checked by the company and we think it is the most updated version of PRECICE nail which is same as used in USA. But it seems that whether the nail is 2.1 or 2.3 is not that important matter at the moment, so we don’t think it is not necessary to confirm it again to the company. For your reference, we attach the email from the company about the version. Personal information is blotted out.

Here is the image. Sorry, I just found out that previeous image doesn't work.


free image hosting

 

Edit Post

Hi Dr Donghoon asistant. If a patient is 180 lbs or heavier, would he need help for moving him from the bed to chair or he could do It alone?

Edit Post

Thanks again for your advice. It's hard being short, seeing people treat you differently, and having the feeling that you were meant for more in this world than to be short. If possible do you mind writing about your experiences from time to time such as how people treat you differently, do family members or friends look at you different and your own personal thoughts now that you are taller? Thanks again for writing these posts as they really do help. Good luck in the future an congrats!