For a guy who is not even close to afford precice and stryde, i feel like in the near future my only chance is LON surgery at best. For my case it will be two surgeries in a year between. First one will be femur. Hopefully 8 cm. Second one will be 6 cm, after about a year after fully healed. -if fully healing is possible-
Background : martial arts and bodybuilding for a long time.
So stretching exercises wont be an issue for me.
I know the infection risk, dont care all about the scars (correctable through cosmetic scar surgery if needed)
I need some general info from patients who had LON surgery.
Does it really take 3 months more healing time compared to internals? How well you are after removing the externals and locking your bones with nail. Were you able to return to normal like before surgery?
and they say lon is the most preferred method around the world right now. any truth to that?
hElP is neEded
Quote from: MirinHeight on March 10, 2020, 09:12:51 PMLON tibias is safer than internal femurs in regards to problems such as pulmonary embolism and fat embolism.
--> Dr. Paley has yet to see an internal tibias case that led to fat embolism. This is also proven in literature that internal femurs have a much higher risk for fat embolism than internal tibias.
--> A DVT in a calf vein has a much lower risk of advancing to a pulmonary embolism than a DVT in a femoral vein which is very dangerous and leads to pulmonary embolism a lot of the time
holy sh"t i didnt know any of that. thank you.
i cant go for internal femurs anyway, so what about lon on femurs also?
and what is DVT exactly?
Quote from: MirinHeight on March 10, 2020, 11:25:34 PMDVT : deep vein thrombosis which is basically a blood clot in the leg. If the clot breaks off and goes into pulmonary circulation this is now called pulmonary embolism. It is more likely for a clot in a femoral vein to break off and go into pulmonary circulation than a clot in a calf vein.
Nobody should do LON on femurs. Imagine having to wear an external fixator for femurs. And LON on femurs is the same risk as internal femurs when it comes to fat embolism because the surgeon is still reaming the bone canal (femurs have higher amount of fat in bone canal than tibia--> this fat can get dislodged and travel in blood stream to cause fat embolism). Also as I stated earlier, when doing hip or femur surgery, the rate of DVT and pulmonary embolism is also higher.
also the doctors I recommend for LON tibias:
1. Dr Donghoon Lee. Dr Paley and Dr. Rozbruch speak highly of him and he is very very experienced in LON surgery.
2. Dr Giotikas: not as experienced as Dr. Lee but has very very high credentials (MD/PHD) from top universities and is very ethical and honest surgeon. Will reject patients, and is upfront with patients about the risks involved. You can read recent diaries with Dr. Giotikas and all patients have made good recoveries so far.
both of these doctors will cost ~$36,000 for LON excluding living costs.
i can't go for internal femurs man, and you're saying it has the same risks as the external femurs so might as well go for lon..
Still might need some patients opinion on that external risks for femur
Quote from: California2 on March 12, 2020, 03:22:41 PM
External lengthening can be safely accomplished in both India and Russia for about $20K; however, I encourage you to carefully research your choices to identify reputable surgical teams and quality facilities.
thank you for your response sir.
of course i will do my research deeply and try to find the most qualified surgeon and the facility
im alright with the slow healing time compared to internals, as long as i have the same successful outcome as the internal methods, if done correctly and if i follow the procedures carefully eg. stretches, nutrition etc.
So under an experienced and well qualified surgeon, LON might be a good choice for us who cant afford internals?
Quote from: California2 on March 13, 2020, 09:25:18 PM"LON" is a subset of external lengthening.
So, it is more correct to say that "external lengthening" is an option for folks (like me) who do not want to pay the cost for internal lengthening.
If you choose external lengthening; then, you also choose whether you will do: a) purely external lengthening; or b) lengthening over nails (LON); or, c) lengthening and then nailing (LATN).
Purely external lengthening remains the safest way to lengthen; however, it leaves you in frames for the longest time.
The frames serve two purposes: first the frames are the tool that pull apart the bones; second, the frames support your distracted bones until your bones heal enough to bear your weight.
LON and LATN significantly reduce the time in frames. In addition to frames, nails are inserted inside your bones. Once distraction is competed, the frames are removed. The nails hold your bones apart and can bear some weight until your bones heal enough to bear full weight.
If you want to do LON or LATN in connection with external lengthening; then, you will discuss with your surgical team which process is best for you. Via LON, the nail is inserted at the initial surgery. Via LATN, the nail is inserted when the frames are removed.
Internal lengthening does not use frames so you can look and be more 'normal' during the process; and, you can bear more weight earlier so recovery is generally faster but it can costs four times as much as external (depending on where you get external done).
thank you for the information sir.
and yes i do know the differences between lon/latn and purely internal methods like precice and stryde.
the thing about lon that is appealing to me is, the external device stays on your leg only during the lengthening period. this is so good for me because, lets say i'm going to lengthen my femur by 8 cm, it will stay on my leg only for 80 days which i can bear.
and when the lengthening is finished, they remove the device and leave the nail inside so that your bones can consolidate. if i am not mistaken.
from my point of view i really really dont think it wouldnt be as successful as the pure internal methods, since i'm more interested in the outcome, rather than the process being comfortable.
just the infection risk that i'm aware of, around the pin sites. but that risk can be avoided if treated carefully.
these are my thoughts
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