Internal Femurs with Dr Baumgart / Fitbone

Hi everyone,
I just signed up for this forum as I am going to have my LL in about 6 weeks in Munich with Dr Baumgart. I planned to post my experiences here if that is of interest for the community. And of course I am looking for tips from people who have already gone through the process themselves...

I start with right femur with a target of 5-6 CM, left leg will probably only follow after healing process is completed.
My starting height is about 175CM, target 180CM. LL with Fitbone.

I have been thinking of having LL done for almost 7 years now and its now or never for me at the moment. Not an easy decision and I am pretty nervous, not so much about the surgery itself as for the time thereafter. I haven't told anybody, especially not my parents so that will be quite a discussion.

I´m keen to hear about your experiences, especially what to do for preparation besides stretching obviously.
Tough weeks coming up...will keep you updated.

All the best to all of you!
M.M.

I wish you all the best Aturro! Please keep us updated. Your initial height is pretty nice IMO so 5-6 gain only should be an easy task

btw, I don't see anyone doing bilateral Fitbone (one stage). I'm considering Fitbone also but I simply cannot do a two stage procedure

How much will you pay for the surgery? I've heard that he is the most expensive Dr. off all who offer CLL.

It will definitely be quite expensive. Costs for surgery, hospital, consultations, etc. will be approx EUR 90k plus any unexpected costs.
On top I expect around 3-4k for physio and I need to pay for apartment in Munich which is insanely expensive too.

So all in I guess around 110k...

Why didn't you go with someone like Guichet or Paley then?

Yeah. Why did you choose baungart over other doctors?

couple of reasons: I met with Dr. Betz couple of years ago. He made a good impression and its nice to have a full weight bearing device from day 1. however the clicking and the potential pain made me shy away.
I am by far not an expert on surgical techniques etc. myself but from my feeling and what I heard from others the fitbone and the technique Prof Baumgart is using, is a very delicate one with hopefully the least physically demanding postsurgical effects. (Fitbone is not inserted via hip area etc.) As I am aiming from 5-6CM I don't really need the Albizia which can go a lot further I guess...If I find out more from my pre surgery meeting I will let you know.

Apart from that I prefer staying in Munich which is not that far from my home town and trying to have a "normal" life, maybe working a little bit and be physically but also socially active as much as I can.
12 month is a long time, it would be hard to be abroad or on my own for the whole time.

Prof Baumgart btw made a very good impression on me at the first meeting. Doesn't mean too much but the office and the whole setup seems very professional and state of the art.

If I couldn't afford it I would have probably gone with Dr Betz or just don't do it. I don't know anything about the other doctors as I ruled out that possibility already couple of years ago....so thats just a personal thing. (On femur however I would never have gone for an external device, as I said, having the least painful solution and a somehow normal life during consolidation is key to me)

Its a bit disappointing that I need to do it in two steps but I agree with Baumgart, being able to walk and live on your own is probably much easier than sitting in a wheelchair for 5 months.

lets see how it works out...

ps. a diagnostic study has been done on the fit bone results couple of years ago. I think the link is also somewhere here in the forum. Cant remember the details but the general feedback sounded very promising to me...

Was it difficult to convince Dr. Baumgart to perform CLL on you at your relatively tall starting height of 175CM? I am 178CM, and your answer is of great personal interest to me. I would love to be 184-188CM, spending on how much my proportions and soft tissues can handle.

No it was not, it wasnt really a topic at all. don't think he would do any starting height though, 178 seems quite tall. he is a very reasonable guy, so if you make a good and mentally stable appearance he would probably still do it but I would assume not for more than 5-8CM. I personally would never do 10CM with a IMO of 175+ given increased risks, very long consolidation and odd proportions. So you might aim for 183-84 which would still be very tall (90% percentile).

I'm in the same situation as Taller, I think an increase of 6 or 7CM is the most I would do since proportions and function are very important to me. I would rather be 185CM and proportionate than 188CM and strange looking, would you agree Taller?

Also is 183-184CM really in the 90th percentile in Germany? I find that a bit hard to believe.