My Experience So Far- External Monolateral - Dr Mitkovic

Edit Post

is it a simple procedure to remove the device at home by yourself when the consolidation period has finished.

does it take a lot of time, do you need assistand of someone else etc, or is it a 20 minute job if you will.

i know with external ilazarov you need to had resurgery to remove it.

also would someone buy me a wheelchair over there somehow, so i can go back home in that wheelchair, i don't think i would be able to go into any shop on my own, i guess this would be a common occurence.

also does this device have the same issues that ilazarov has when turning in that the actual turn isn't the true gain you get, people were saying that when you turn 0.66 it end up being 0.44.

Edit Post

Quote from: microman on June 28, 2015, 11:12:01 AMis it a simple procedure to remove the device at home by yourself when the consolidation period has finished.

does it take a lot of time, do you need assistand of someone else etc, or is it a 20 minute job if you will.

i know with external ilazarov you need to had resurgery to remove it.

also would someone buy me a wheelchair over there somehow, so i can go back home in that wheelchair, i don't think i would be able to go into any shop on my own, i guess this would be a common occurence.

also does this device have the same issues that ilazarov has when turning in that the actual turn isn't the true gain you get, people were saying that when you turn 0.66 it end up being 0.44.

its simple to remove.. you loosen bolts that are connected to the pins which removes the bar.. then its just a matter of using a small spanner to unwind the pins from the bone.. u would prefer a doctor to do it but u can do it yourself if your careful.. youll be able to purchase a wheelchair no problems. i used a combination of x rays and a chart to track my amount lengthened.. you will find that the device requires quite a number of turns at the start before the bone starts distracting.. its nothing to worry about i will be able to show you how to set your chart out and can even go to the x ray place with you to get an accurate measurement of ur distraction gap.. basically what i did is i used the chart to ensure i was doing equal amount of turns on each length so theyd be the same as each other.. after about 3 weeks from when i began lengthening, i had an x ray and had my distraction gap accurately measured.. once i knew what the gap was, i used the chart to determine how many turns would get me to my goal of 4cm..once i got to where i thought was 4cm i had an x ray to get the gap checked and it was exactly 4cm.. i ended up doing 1mm more just to be safe.. so dont worry i can show u everything i did to ensure you know how much you have done.. and its a very accurate system that measures it so dont worry bout that..

Edit Post

that's good news, would be good to see a diagram or video of it being done, but i can't see anything going wrong when removing the device as essentially the bone has consolodated so it simply doesn't need the device anymore.

I think this feature should be added to the main FAQ when comparing ilazarov to monorail, its clearly a big bonus over the ilazarov, i had no clue this could be done before reading your diary, i don't think it was even mentioned in the other diaries.

and yeah i have been reading other mitkovic diaries apparently you need to turn 3mm in one go as the first 3 don't really do anything.

i understand about the chart thing, with that you can tell what the gain you got from the amount of turns you did, good idea.

Edit Post

Do you know if you need your own footholder for dr. mitkovics device, i read in a barinov diary that someone said to get your own footholer, this would have been external ilazarov of course.

Are you taking multivitamin pills, would you recommend them, what does the doctor say about them, i read on a diary that you should bring and take.

1. Bone builder supplements - like calcium tablet and other mineral
2. Vitamin C - I find it helped me with curing itches and fight off infection from the open wound
3. Melatonin - it's natural sleep enhancer. Pop a pill when you find yourself having difficulty sleeping

take 500mg vitamin c and a multi vitamin pill everyday.

do you think that would be a good idea?

I just wanted to check that if i go home during the first month of the consolodation phase will i be returning home in a wheelchair or on crutches?

Edit Post

Quote from: microman on June 30, 2015, 09:18:37 AMDo you know if you need your own footholder for dr. mitkovics device, i read in a barinov diary that someone said to get your own footholer, this would have been external ilazarov of course.

Are you taking multivitamin pills, would you recommend them, what does the doctor say about them, i read on a diary that you should bring and take.

1. Bone builder supplements - like calcium tablet and other mineral
2. Vitamin C - I find it helped me with curing itches and fight off infection from the open wound
3. Melatonin - it's natural sleep enhancer. Pop a pill when you find yourself having difficulty sleeping

take 500mg vitamin c and a multi vitamin pill everyday.

do you think that would be a good idea?

I just wanted to check that if i go home during the first month of the consolodation phase will i be returning home in a wheelchair or on crutches?

theres some sleeping tablets i had that i dont use.. you can have them... i probably only used 5 tablets the whole time but i obviously dont need them anymore/. as of yesterday i started taking multi vitamin tablets to speed up my bone consolidation and vitamin e tablets but thats mainly for my skin... the first 3 weeks after lengthening my walking wasnt good enough to walk around outside.. but after 3 weeks i found i was able to 100% weight bear which meant my walking with walker was good enough to go get my own groceries.. i started using crutches a week which was 1 month after distraction phase.. once your legs are strong enough to use crutches you can get around quite easily even tho its pretty slow still.. but when ur in crutches you can get up and down stairs easily..

Edit Post

oh right so i can go home in crutches then? i wont need the wheelchair? and i can go up and down stairs in my two story home with the crutches, its important to know if i can do that as i will need to get an x-ray each month at my local hosptial and my room and bathroom is upstairs.

if that's true i wont need to buy the wheelchair then, just the crutches, and yeah that makes things way better especially for getting on the plane, if i went with external ilazarov would I be walking with crutches going home or would i be in wheelchair? just want to know so I can undestand the pros and cons of monorail vs ilazarov, i like to know as much information as i can.

oh okay so you personally didn't take multivitamin tables while lenthening, but you are during consolodation, interesting to know that.

what about the foot holder, did you use one, should i buy one.

Edit Post

Quote from: microman on June 30, 2015, 03:44:24 PMoh right so i can go home in crutches then? i wont need the wheelchair? and i can go up and down stairs in my two story home with the crutches, its important to know if i can do that as i will need to get an x-ray each month at my local hosptial and my room and bathroom is upstairs.

if that's true i wont need to buy the wheelchair then, just the crutches, and yeah that makes things way better especially for getting on the plane, if i went with external ilazarov would I be walking with crutches going home or would i be in wheelchair? just want to know so I can undestand the pros and cons of monorail vs ilazarov, i like to know as much information as i can.

oh okay so you personally didn't take multivitamin tables while lenthening, but you are during consolodation, interesting to know that.

what about the foot holder, did you use one, should i buy one.

if i were you id finish lengthening here and then dont go home until your legs are strong enough to use crutches.. for me i started using crutches 3.5 months after surgery.. but u have to remember everyone recoveries differently.. walking with the walker when ur legs are weak requires quite alot of upper body strength so the less physically fit you are the harder it will be to keep motivated.. i havent missed a day of walking no matter how hard it   got.. i stretched every single day 4 or 5 times a day without fail, ive made sure ive done weight training 4 or 5 times a week without fail, and ive used the stationary bike every second day without fail for the past 1.5 months... some patients that do this get very lazy and dont walk for months and months after they finish lengthening.. so if you put alot of effort in and dont get lazy, the more chance you will have to be able to go home with crutches within the 4 months after surgery.. when you are unable to walk its very easy to fall into a trap of being lazy, which could lead you to requiring a wheelchair for 6 months or more.. 

i only started taking multi vitamins now cause i spoke to another patient who was 4 months ahead of me swore by them for speeding up consolidation.. i would have taken them the whole time but i never really thought about it,,

i never bothered about a foot holder.. but i guess it wouldnt hurt getting one but i didnt really feel the need

Edit Post

oh i see so its more likely about 6 weeks into consolodation i would be able to use the crutches, otherwise it's the wheelchair.

I'd probably go home anyway in a wheelchair anyway but we'll see how it goes.

okay i will buy

multi vitamin tablets,
vitamine E tablets for skin
Melatonin
Vitamin C
Calcium tablets

if there are any other tablets or special brands you or any other LL you know recomend let me know.

and yeah i have no idea what a foot holder is, if you have a better description i can search for let me know as i can't seem to find it when searching online and not sure what to look for exactly, if you can't find one its okay, it may not be important for monorail fixator.

I should only need 1 pair of track pants right, then i can have about 5 pairs of shorts, seems like not an important question but the reason is my rucksack can only fit soo much in it and i don't want to use a luggage bag as i would have to try to find the luggage on the airport so it's a bit of a hassle, likely i would board the airport in the track pants.

Edit Post

Quote from: microman on June 30, 2015, 08:52:45 PMoh i see so its more likely about 6 weeks into consolodation i would be able to use the crutches, otherwise it's the wheelchair.

I'd probably go home anyway in a wheelchair anyway but we'll see how it goes.

okay i will buy

multi vitamin tablets,
vitamine E tablets for skin
Melatonin
Vitamin C
Calcium tablets

if there are any other tablets or special brands you or any other LL you know recomend let me know.

and yeah i have no idea what a foot holder is, if you have a better description i can search for let me know as i can't seem to find it when searching online and not sure what to look for exactly, if you can't find one its okay, it may not be important for monorail fixator.

I should only need 1 pair of track pants right, then i can have about 5 pairs of shorts, seems like not an important question but the reason is my rucksack can only fit soo much in it and i don't want to use a luggage bag as i would have to try to find the luggage on the airport so it's a bit of a hassle, likely i would board the airport in the track pants.

yeah you dont need much clothes to be honest.. have you booked your flight.. do u know what date u arrive yet

Edit Post

just getting the money together as it's in a savings account so needs time to be 'liberated', then will confirm with mitkovic hopefully by tomorow, he offered me 10- 17th of july a few days back, hopefully that date is still available even when i get back to him on the 1st of July.

do you know if I can pay for the operation via bank wire transfer, I heard the exchange rates were better than by card, and can i check that you are charged in EUROs and not in serbian dinars, and if it's dinars do you know the rough amount, as if it is the exchange rate may give me a different amount.

also do you pay the rent of the hotel monthly or weekly, and can that be by card or do i get cash from an atm machine which will convert my money into dinars, i think i may have asked this before so sorry if i have.

I also read somewhere that my plane ticket might have to have a return date otherwise it might mess with my visa, is this true?

you don't need a visa to come here. As long as your plane ticket has a return date, you can stay here for up to one year I think. –cbick66 diary.

just want to make sure i don't need a return ticket, it will just be one way.