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.
Internal Femurs with Dr Baumgart / Fitbone
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...
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...
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).
Just a quick update: had my last pre surgery consultation with Prof Baumgart. Nothing too spectacular, basically the general warning of what can go wrong with the surgery and afterwards. Cant ignore the fact that there are risks but obviously I already made up my mind anyways.
Got my tailor made splint done which I will need to wear during the night so I don't start bending my leg which is important to avoid muscle contraction and reduced length.
Baumgart told me that it will take probably 6 months for the first leg before I can have my second surgery done. Its really a long timeframe but I really hope I can work and do something, not just wait for the 12 months to pass by.
I will not see Mr Baumgart anymore before the surgery.
Booked my physio therapies starting in July, two times per week is the minimum but I will do 5 per week. At least I have something to do...
So thats it for the moment, next update will probably be after the surgery in a couple of weeks. Quite nervous already...
ps. yes, it was my mistake with the height percentiles. 183,184 is probably rather a 75-80% percentile.
so I finally made it to the hospital. Surgery will be tomorrow morning.
so far so good, only setback was that my single bedroom was not available. I tried but didn't work so I have another Baumgart patient with me starting tomorrow.
Had a visit by Baumgarts assistant in the afternoon, everybody is very nice and I try to be as calm as possible.
We discussed all the details and I was able to ask all my questions, probably some stupid ones as well.
Given the fact that I want to gain around 5-6CM and the standard lengthening of around .6 to .8 per day, it will be a very long journey.
Motivation is key I guess so trying to start and stay as positive as possible.
I will be in the hospital until Saturday or Sunday most likely. Will update you with news if something happens. Lengthening itself will only start in 5 days.
Nobody knows what I am doing here in Munich which is quite annoying as I had to lie to basically everyone for the last couple of weeks.
Wish it would be different but couldn't do it.
I decided to make a video diary when I am at home and will write updates here in the forum too.
need to take my sedative tablets now;)
good night
Hey Guys, I am very exhausted so tough for me to Write.
But wanted to let you know that everything went well. Will Post a more detailed version tomorrow.
Thanks for your kind wishes!
And all the best to everybody around here!
Hi guys, it took me quite a while but I was simply too exhausted the last couple of days.
let me give you a quick update on what happened:
Surgery was on Tuesday: everything went well according to the doc. couple of additional nails needed but else just fine.
Felt really good waking up afterwards knowing that there is no way back and that I finally did it! my leg was really swollen but that was expected....Didn't have too much pain the first day but obviously due to the intense medication
The nights were kind of horrible, but I was glad that the medication always helped. still not more than 2-3 hours sleep in total at night and I was waking up every thirty minutes or so...
It felt good to know that everything was ok but the level of pain plus exhaustion were still kind of hard to bear. I looked at my leg thinking about when its going to explode...
Wednesday was the first day I be carried to the bathroom in a wheelchair, after Thursday I was able to do that on my own with crutches. felt like an 8 hour hiking tour every time.
I think the problem was that I had no appetite at all and the food was not really good too. So I ate very little every day which obviously didn't help...
Apart from that I would recommend that you are physically fit before doing the surgery. I am not fit because I had done almost not sports for months because of my problems with my ankles...not good...
Medication was reduced every day until Sunday...that was ok during the day, but the nights were really bad. Needed some extra meds to sleep at least couple of hours...best time was between 6am and 1pm, almost no pain and motivation very high...decreased over the day though 
Pain in general was lower a little bit every day and was quite easily berable after Friday or so.
Tried to move or bend my knee but could hardly do an inch. I think its different for everybody. Some told me they could significantly bend their knee after a week and fully after two...I am far away from that and can hardly bend it all at the moment.
Back at home since Monday, nights are getting better slowly. Taking 3-4 pain killers a day. Couldn't do it without at the moment...
Its 38degrees outside so exhausting for everybody especially for me walking on crutches.
Watching Netflix all day long and getting kind of bored. Unfortunately I am too tired to do something reasonable but that might improve I hope.
Very good news for me was the reaction from my parents and couple of close friends. They didn't know anything but reacted very cool even if they are concerned of course. My father is visiting me tomorrow and friends will drop by in a week or so...that is really a great relief because that was one of my big concerns before.
I stand completely to what I am doing now and I think that form of honesty just convinces everyone. It certainly makes my life easier...
Last word on Prof Baumgart, as discussed before he is a very very good surgeon but also very helpful. I had issues with my device and he wrote me back an email on Sunday right away. that gives you a good level of comfort. everything works fine now.
next monday I have my first consultation. Will do my first xray, very curious...
Lengthening is about .6 or .8 a day now, maybe it will already show on the xray next week...
will keep you updated.
last thought of the day: someone wrote in a similar forum couple of years ago that for him the whole process was 30 percent physical and 70 percent mentally. I am not done by far but I can already strongly agree to that statement....
so trying to stay positive even without sleep;)
good night
Rough day today. Last Night was awful, lengthening during the day is ok but at Night the pain increases significantly.
couple of low moments already thinking, what have I done to myself...try to Hang in though
Biggest concerns are the swelling which seems to just stay the same.
And the uncertainty how the next couple of weeks will work out.
I definitely cant survive a day without medication. I so much hope they let me use it as long as needed...
the two stage procedure is probably easier but having to go through the same again is frightening
I have no idea about tomorrow but I keep dreaming that everything will ne easier when I wake up next time
Thanks guys! feels really good to have your moral support!
Took one of the stronger pills yesterday night and slept for almost 5 hours! felt surreal. that was the best feeling for a long time...try to reduce the daytime medication to almost zero now and only take one before going to sleep.
Having slept a couple of hours makes such a big difference, motivation wise and physically...
Had a lymphatic drainage today at home which was also nice. Apart from that its really boring. I think thats one of the advantages of Dr. Betz and others... you are constantly surrounded by people sharing the same experience. I don't really have anyone to talk about LL who can give you some advice etc.
still hanging in...
Glenn, your plans still unchanged for August?
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