LON Tibia Dr.Mustafa Uysal March 18th (AFA)

Hi!

So after a long time of constant research and consideration, I have finally made up my mind to go through with the surgery. My surgery is scheduled for March 18th and PT, transportation, etc is arranged with the help of the AFA team. The reason why I considered this surgery in the first place was all due to sabotaging thoughts related to my height. Although I might not be considered short comparatively (173 cm), we all have different ideal perceptions of our body, and I think it should be respected. This forum has helped me a lot in the past 2 years in terms of getting to know different aspects of LL. I am truly grateful for this community and want to give back as much as I can for the prospective patients WHO REALLY THINK THIS SURGERY CAN MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE FOR THEM MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY. I am planning to keep updating until the 1-year mark, after which I will disappear just like most of the previous patients. This is purely to forget this concept of height once and for all and move on with my life. LL is a risky and lengthy process, and I would have not considered it if I did not think it would make a huge impact on my mental well-being. I have seen a lot of negativity and skepticism posted by people on patient diaries, and I have to say it is absolutely unacceptable to treat patients like that who are openly sharing their stories out of goodwill. So If I encounter such toxicity here, I'm afraid I will stop posting. For those who are really interested, you can still email me or message me through IG.

For those who want to follow me personally here's my IG username: jokerhastowait

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them here I will answer them ASAP.

That's it from me for now, take care!

Hey Joker,

Congratulations on finally pulling that trigger! Since I’ve joined this forum, I feel that AFA is deemed reputable from the diaries I’ve read and I’m heavily considering them as they aren’t heavily marketed unlike other agencies. I too plan to undergo LON Tibias this year and I’m hoping to aim for 6CM which is about 15% of my Tibial length and to fix my bow legs which I slightly have Genu Valgum. I have a couple of questions for you and your reply is much appreciated!
1. Do you know if your surgeon specializes more on the Femurs or Tibias?
2. Do you plan on staying in Turkey throughout the entire distraction phase?
3. Will you use the Ilizarov frames or the Monorail fixators as your externals?
4. How much do you plan on lengthening?
Thank you joker and I look forward to hearing back from you!

-AsianCyborg

Hi AsianCyborg,

Yes, During my research phase AFA stood out as well. This was because they never shared their patients' identities (Unlike other agencies in Turkey) unless they wanted to. Also, the doctors they work with are top-notch and have good track records as far as I know. 6 CM is definitely possible in tibias but everything gets harder after 5 cm and you need to listen to your body and not get too greedy about an extra 1 cm or so.  To answer your questions:

1- As far as my research tells me, Dr.Uysal has done many CLL surgeries in both Femur and tibias with great results, and I don't think he'd have problems performing surgeries on either segment.

2- Absolutely! LL is a very compilation-prone surgery, and you need to be monitored by your doctor regularly to identify possible obstacles in advance and prevent them from getting worse. Dr.Uysal visits his patients at least once a month ( sometimes biweekly) to make sure everything is on the track. In fact, this was one of the main factors that made me choose him. After all, LL is no joke.

3- Initially, I was planning to get monorails. But, after my consultation with Dr.Uysal, I decided to go with Ilizarov frames. The reason was that he emphasized that Ilizarov frames have a lesser capacity to cause deformities in tibias in comparison to monorails ( monorails can cause valgus). And also the pins at the top and bottom in Ilizarov frames can effectively fixate fibula to the tibia to prevent any shifts, especially in the ankle area, which in turn prevents arthritis in the future. So, Although they are bulkier I rather have lesser chances of complication and deformity. that's why I chose them.

4- I am aiming for 5.5 cm, but if things get hard after 5cm I might settle for 5.2 or 5.3 cm as well. So, fingers crossed!

CONGRATS on your journey!!! im currently getting my femurs done via LON and i couldn’t be happier with the care and expertise of Dr. Uysal and staff. in particular, Omer, my primary contact has been AMAZING. they brought me a goodies basket right when i got out of surgery.. let me tell you… when you wake up from surgery and someone hands you ice cold juice it’s like HEAVEN…it’s the little things ya know?

i love the hotel. the breakfast buffet is AMBROSIA. i just started lengthening yesterday! i feel great. very little pain, but boy oh boy do i get tired after walking just a few steps. I’m 179cm tall and will increase 8cm. because i have a very athletic body type and play a lot of sports, my healing protocol is slightly different. i weigh 104kg so i can’t walk all day long or i’ll be in danger of bending my LON nails. so…i just do exactly what they tell me to do in physical therapy and so far everything is going swimmingly. Thank you to Farooq, Mahmood and the gentleman who changes my dressings. You guys are so professional, so utterly patient.

dr. uysal is amazing. absolutely not pretentious, kind, honest, efficient and encouraging. you could not ask to be in better hands.

Hey there jlk! Good to hear you're having a great time! 104 kg!! You're a beast hahaha It would be awesome to meet you in the hotel after I get my surgery done.

Hi Joker,

Thanks for the reply! I thought the screws that are fixated on both the proximal and distal end would ensure proper alignment relative to the Tibia and Fibula? I’ll be following your guide closely and wish you all the best in your future endeavours!

you bet joker lets meet when you get to our hotel, omer can introduce us.

Dear,
I think you're referring to syndoesmotic screws located at top and bottom for tibial lengthening, in that case you're right they need to be present to pull the fibula for the ride while lengthening. In my case, Dr uysal is going to insert distal and proximal pins across the tibia and fibula with the ilizarov fixators to Essentially achieve the same purpose. Although good results can be obtained as a result of monorail lengthening of tibias, any six axis external fixator has a batter mechanism to prevent and adjust mis or malaligments. I actually asked this question on the last Q&A stream where Vic(Cyborg4life) interviewed Dr.Assayag. You can check that out if your interested.

So quick change of plans,

I rescheduled my surgery to March 15th ( Tomorrow). Now, I'm lying on my hospital bed after doing all the preoperative examination. Met with Dr.Uysal. pretty chill person. Answered all my questions which made me more comfortable. Can't lie feeling a bit nervous which I'd assume is normal before undergoing a major surgery like this. Don't know what to expect on the other side. I guess it's going to be painful and uncomfortable. But you know what they say nothing worthwhile comes easy. So Wish me luck I guess

Regards,

.