Hello Everyone.
Just had surgery with Dr. Becker last week, he’s taking over Dr. Betz practice.
First impression of Becker was a surprise….He’s tall, good looking, great hair, and has great style with his clothes. Definitely the “ideal” look for a man.
Anyway, flew from LA (Los Angeles, CA) to get the surgery. I had consults with almost all of the doctors in the US and with so many limiting factors (mobility, comfort, height in CM) I figured the best of the best is in Germany.
My goal is to do both tibias and femurs, and decided to go with tibias first.
Current height: 160cm (5 ft 3 inches)
First Goal: 170cm (5 ft 7 inches)
Since I have a lot of time on my hands and will be spending the next 30 days here in Germany, I created a new IG account that documents all the progress.
You can follow the IG here:
https://www.instagram.com/maxheight35/
Feel free to ask any questions here and I’ll keep this post updated throughout the journey.
Thanks!
LL with Dr. Becker (successor of Betz) - Instagram Documentary
Thank you man. It took me 3 years to make a decision.
- Both did the surgery, however my main point of contract since day 1 was Becker
- Not sure how many he’s done, but I know he’s been working with Betz doing surgery’s for the last 3-4 years. My X-rays came out really nice. Pics are on the IG
- Surgery was about 4.5 hours
- Yes, I am 35 years old.
- Pain level isn’t that bad… it’s more of a tension / annoying feeling. Pain meds are helping
- No knee pain. But there’s some stiffness. It feels good to bend the legs every now and then.
- The only “drugs” I’m taking are the pain meds. It’s mostly supplements like vitamin D, magnesium, calcium, iron, anti-blood clot, and there’s an optional sleeping pill for the evening. i just posted a story / highlight of the exact supplements I’m taking everyday
Thank you! The tibias always looked very small and bothered me, so I figure go with these first and see how it looks. It will take me approx 6 months to hit 10cm. Lots of work ahead lol.
Quote from: Taller90 on October 16, 2022, 03:02:41 PMCongrats to this decision!
Why did you chose tibias first?
I don’t know the name. It’s the little pink one in the story post. First steps were yesterday, no video of that… it was very hard. However - extremely grateful to even be able to walk few days after surgery!!!
Quote from: Limbfan2020 on October 16, 2022, 05:33:01 PMAwesome man!
What's the name of the anti-blood clot drug?
Have you already done first steps? When will they remove these bottles of blood?
I actually never spoke to Betz or met him. All my dealings were with Becker. Betz was there for the surgery but I was so wacked out don’t remember lol.
Anyway, Becker said it’s a case by case basis. If you stretch with routine and stay consistent - anything is achievable. Also by doing less “clicks” per day on tibia, it reduces tension massively… but it takes longer to achieve the results (6 months in my case).
Quote from: Taller90 on October 16, 2022, 06:00:15 PMWhat did the docs told you regarding your target of 10 cm on tibia. I thought betz only recommend to do max 8 cm on tibia…
New Update
Instagram story posted:
blood bottles removed and a view of how my legs look so far
Yeah that’s what I was saying earlier… with all the options out there, the Betz bone just felt like the best move overall. Seems like the best nail, great price, mobility, etc etc
Quote from: SpeedDialer on October 17, 2022, 07:13:21 PMI'm under the impression that betz nail for tibias is currently the only weight bearing internal tibia option, am I understanding right? Was that a factor in the above?
Dr. Giotikas told us that gnail can't be used for tibia so all the internal tibia patients here in Athens (er well all 2 of them) are all using precise. What are your thoughts on the pros and cons of betz nail for tibias vs precise 2 for tibias?
I agree with @reallostsoul on this. If you do another surgery, go for at least 8cm / 3 inches on the tibias.
Quote from: overandover on October 18, 2022, 06:22:51 AMI am planning to do 1 inch(2.5 cm) tibia with this. How do you do the clicking for the tibia?
Overall I paid around 56k. Not including travel of course but even if you add all those other expenses it’s less than all other options.
I’m here for next 4 weeks and I think the first 2 weeks are included in the stay. And yeah man, can’t speak for others but so far my experience with Becker and his team are amazing. I met the patient emotional support lady; Tanja… and she’s a bright ball of positivity. Really needed this!
Quote from: SpeedDialer on October 18, 2022, 06:23:25 PMThanks!!!!
How much did you pay overall for internal tibias with betz bone? Roughly
Wonder how it compares to spending 6 months in Athens doing precise 2 tibias, not sure but I bet some people would be interested in comparing the two, I might try to make a chart comparing the two if I think I understand the differences enough at some point
seems like:
precise 2 in athens- cheaper? not sure, but no clicking and you can reverse lengthening if non union is a problem
Betz bone tibias in Germany- Need to spend 3 months only in Germany? not sure. have to do clicking. Wonder if there is anything else to know?
Thanks!!!
Some rough math:
https://www.betzinstitute.com/en/patients-info.html
LOWER LEG LENGTHENING
Bilateral lengthening
of both lower legs
€ 56,300
Lengthenings incl. 2 weeks of hospital stay
Two lengthening nails (price is valid for Betzbone; other nails are available upon request) operation on both sides, anesthesia, physiotherapy, medication and all postoperative adjustments and examinations
Boarding and lodging of companions is not included in the price, but it's possible for companion boarding and lodging to be arranged
ACCOMMODATION/BOARDING
Parkhotel Weiskirchen
Everything under one roof - that is the motto of the four-star deluxe "Parkhotel Weiskirchen
Elkes House (House Liborius)
The House Liborius offers boarding for guests who prefer the comfort of a hotel combined with the personal touch of a shared house. As a privately-held house, we offer both. Hotel service at a high level
https://www.athensbjr.com/cost-pricing-of-cosmetic-limb-lengthening/
So it seems like the main thing is to figure out the costs of the Germany hotels
Tibia lengthening with PRECISE-2 nails: 42400 Euro
56,300-42400 = 13900
ok so about a 14,000 Euro difference in price
and then have to take into account the living costs in Germany (3 months in Germany vs 6 months in Athens I assume? Not sure how long someone should stay in either case) and how important the reversibility of precise 2 matters
But I'm guessing so in total maybe Germany is about 25,000 euros more expensive for internal tibia than Athens? including living costs? I'm not sure how much more expensive Germany is than Athens
my goal is 6cm, I think that is the limit Dr. Giotikas recommends so I don't think I'll be going for 7cm tibias, just 6
I'm doing gnail for femurs right now, and I think that gnail doesn't work for tibias which confuses me (I have to think that dr. guichet's (unrelated) tibia patients in France must be using a clicking device so idk..). I'm aware that I mention 3 doctors in this post (two of which start w/ G) and that this is confusing/probably stupid on my part to do
Though I wonder if I'm already doing femur with Dr. Giotikas if its better for me to stick with him, I've heard some doctors are not willing to do rod removal for other doctor's patients
Hey man. Different doctors and their devices are completely different than what Betz / Becker are doing here.
I mean look what happened with the stride nail: recalled. And look, they had to go back in time and use the precise nail that’s not even fully weight barring.
As an American born and raised, I love my country and the people, but the doctors for this specific surgery just aren’t up to date with the technology.
Look at American made cars for an example and then compare them to the German made Mercedes Benz or the Porsche… just not comparable!
Quote from: 1team on October 18, 2022, 07:50:57 PMOP you are 160cm doing 10cm on tibias?! Paley and the other top docs recommend 5cm tibias and 8cm on femurs max. I get you have a really low start height but this seems like you are asking for long term problems.
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