Unilateral stature LL means lesser chances of embolism, more mobility (no need for wheelchair) and lesser discomfort. I wanted to crowdsource a list of doctors based on this. @Mods can we please pin this post if you think it will help others? Dozens of patients are waiting endlessly for Stryde and we never know when or if it is coming back. Unilateral is an alternative approach.
Doctors who DO unilateral
- Michael Assyag
- Rozbruch and Reif
- Guichet
- Mahboubian
- Kevin Debiparshad
- Guido Kohne
- Rainer Baumgart
- Alex Monegal
Doctors who DON'T do unilateral
- Dror Paley
- Giotikas
- Marie Gdalevitch
- Mangal Parihar
- Augustin Betz
List of doctors who do unilateral stature LL
I don't understand why is unilateral approach having so less attention on this forum.
First of all, it takes just a little fitness to be fully functional without puting any weight on one leg. Many of us have already "experienced it" when having our legs broken.
You can drive a car, walk around with crutches, tidy up the house - you basically don't need any help from the others to continue your everyday life. It may be not convenient, but it allows you to stay active, both socially and professionally. You remain physically active, you stand up and move regurarily, which must be way healthier. You can get used to it and keep living like this virtually forever.
Meanwhile, bilateral procedure basically stops your entire life for a few months.
I skip the argument of embolism, because it has been discussed enough. I will only add the common sense, that it is easier and faster to heal one broken place at a time.
I beg somebody smart to prove me wrong, because I can't get it why is unilateral not the default approach worldwide (why are there doctors who do only bilateral, but not the opposite - the ones who do only unilateral).
Yes embolism risk is lower with unilateral than bilateral. However, it’s already a very small probability to begin with.
I can imagine many reasons why bilateral is preferred over unilateral:
- What happens if you lengthen 8cm on one leg first, but then, for whatever reason, you are unable to lengthen that many centimeters on the other leg if complications come up?
- What if the patient is suddenly unable to pay for the second unilateral lengthening (eg. Money gets stolen or other medical emergency)?
- Is avoiding 3 months in a wheelchair really worth essentially doubling the total recovery time by doing 2 unilaterals versus 1 bilateral?
The benefits of unilateral are overstated and not worth the double costs and recovery time.
You must be logged in to post a reply.