My journey in Singapore with Doctor Sarbjit Singh. Internal Femurs using Precise

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Hello all,

First of all, English is not my native language, so I am sorry in advance if you have trouble while reading my story.

I had my operation on the 31st January with Doctor Sarbjit Singh in Singapore. I will try to tell my story as detailed as possible for those of you interested. I think its about time that I make contribution to our community, also its a good place to learn more about LL from other veterans.

A little bit about myself:
Original height: 1m70.5 (5'7) ( not too short, but not tall enough...)
Age: in my 20s
My goal: 6.5-7cm (somewhere between 2.5-3 inches) depends on how my body takes it
Wingspan: 1m84 (6')

Its funny how my mind has changed. I used to want to get to 1m85 cm with 2 operations since my wingspan allows for that height. I used to think that a man below 1m8 is considered to be short.... Through time, I realize that your appearance just plays a small part in your life. And there are other aspects that you should care about more than your height. So I finally decided to settle for 1m77-1m78 cm which is close to 5'10 and I think it is a fine average height for men. The reason I chose Singapore is because:
1. Its near my home country
2. Its a first world country with top medical service
3. Doctor Singh seems to have a good reputation in his field.

Being said, it takes me no time to contact the doctor and set up the appointment for consultation. 2 weeks after the consultation, I had my operation. I came a day before to do some blood test and made payment to the hospital. Everything went well. Surgery was set for 11am on the following day. The night before the surgery, I went around the city with my Mom to relax and find something to eat. I really like Singapore in general. Good tropical weather, trees are everywhere, birds are everywhere and the people are friendly and helpful. We ate some foods and went back to the hotel at around 10pm. I did not have any trouble sleeping that night even though I was a bit nervous like we all should be unless you are a psychopath 

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The operation
I woke up at around 6am in the morning of the surgery. I only drank some tea. I did not eat anything as guided by Doctor Singh. I had one last bowel movement as I know it would be tough to do it in the following days 
9:00: I headed to the hospital.
9:15: I was admitted to my room. I decided to stay 4 nights in this room. Its a bit expensive since its a single bedded room, but for my privacy, its worth the price.
9h30: nurses came asking questions about my health history and had me signed some forms. They told me to wait in the room until someone come and get me to the Operating Theatre.
10h45: A nurse came with the rolling bed. I kissed my Mom goodbye, and hopped on the bed.
11h: I was put in a waiting room. Some nurses came, asking the same questions an hr ago, put the tags with my name and info on my wrist. Not too long after, the anaesthetist came. He asked me why did I chose to do femurs because he saw many people chose to go with Tibias. I just said I want a faster recovery. He asked me if I wanted epidural anesthesia or general anaesthesia. No way in hell I want to be awake during this surgery so I simply told him to give me general anesthesia. He also said its better since the operation will take around 4hrs.
11h10: I was rolled into the operating room, it was cold. I saw doctor Singh. He told me everything will be fine, I could trust in him. I smiled and gave him my thump. I was nervous, and the thing I hate the most while being in the operating room is the fear of being exposed to many people while I am unconscious. Then came the IV, and the gas mask. I dont know if you have watched this movie "Awake" casted Hayden Christensen . In the movie, the guy was awake during his heart transplant surgery. I watched this movie many years ago, but when the gas masked was put on my face, this movie was replayed in my head." I cannot be that unlucky".  I thought to myself....
17:00 When I opened my eyes, nurses told me the surgery was successful and I will be rolled back to my room. Time traveling is the exact experience you have after this surgery. I had no sense of being put to sleep for 4hrs...Even after reading about it in some of your diaries, I still felt weird as hell when it happened to myself....
From then one, I just felt dizzy and sleepy. I skipped my dinner. I just wanted some more sleep. I woke up again at around 9pm and talked to my parents. Nurses came and gave me antibiotic through the IV. I took some pain killers. Pain was non existent to me at this time.
And even though I was dizzy as hell, I cant help but feel so excited thinking that I have finally made it. The first step of a long journey, but yes its finally done, I had waited for this moment 10 years now....

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@cool: pictures are coming 
@raku: I believe Singapore is as advanced as S.Korea as a country and doctor Singh is an experienced and respectable doctor in orthopaedic field. English is the official language in Singapore so no communication barrier for foreigners like me, cannot say the same thing about S.Korea. I am not sure when Stryde is coming but I can ask the Doctor and get back to you or you can email him yourself. Here is his email: [email protected]
@Roh20: thank you my friend!!

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virtual dice 10 sided



I love this machine!!!


Way to the operating room!

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These are the pictures taken from my room during the nights I stayed there. Unfortunately, I forgot to take picture of the hospital food 

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Day 1

I woke up pretty early in the morning after the surgery. No pain whatsoever. But I couldn't move my legs either. They dont use the catheter here, and I am glad that they do not after reading some of your diaries. However, since my legs are totally useless at the moment, I had to pee into the urinal vase that the nurses gave me. That was the first battle.... It took me a good 15 minutes looking at the bottle while my mom holding my legs up straight. It was probably the most awkward 15 minutes in my life I gave up..... A few hrs later, I tried again but this time closing my eyes and imagine there is nobody in the room. I did it  Got to say, I have never feel such a relief for being able to pee in my life. Nurses came in checking my vitals and giving me antibiotic and pain killer every 2 hrs or so. Doctor Singh came in at around 10am. He told me everything went well and no complications happened during the surgery. An occupational therapist would come by and show me how to use the wheelchair the next day. I did not eat much in the first day post op for 2 reasons:
1. I did not feel hungry at all...
2. I was scared of going into the washroom for number 2 

This is the picture of the urinal vase given to me, I took it with me after being discharged from the hospital.

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@Kenda: Total price is about $68000 included 3 nights stay in the hospital ( single bed room)
If you could afford it, internal method is much more convenient in my experience so far. I cannot imagine how hard it would be to move around with the frame, not to mention to keep your opened wounds clean everyday. And more importantly, how could you sleep well at night!?

I give a huge respect to those have done external though. They truly have a strong will to overcome those problems I mentioned above.

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Quote from: Jubartt169 on February 04, 2019, 05:04:43 PMI guess this is gonna be a great story/diary

Good luck for you!
Thank you my friend! I am not too good with words, so I hope that I could make my diary as liveable as possible with pictures

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Day 2

Same routine as day 1.

1.Nurses came in checking my vital, giving me necessary drugs, and cleaning my body 

2.Doctor Singh passed by at around 10am asking how I am doing. He said we will start the lengthening process on the next day. He has already put the machine used for Precise implants in my room, and that got me very excited  But that is tomorrow. Today's biggest task is learning how to put myself in the wheelchair and the commode chair from the hospital bed. This will be my way to get to the restroom during my process as Doctor Singh does not allow me to walk. he told me that standing is ok, but walking will be too risky.

3.The therapist came to my room around noon time. She was very funny and full of positive energy. She introduced me to this thing that help me to move from my bed to the commode chair/wheelchair.







It was super tough at first, since you will need to use your upper body to carry your weight little by little. Thats why I think being in good shape is an advantage in this surgery. The therapist told me about a patient that weighted 200lbs+ and every time he got to move from the bed, it was super intense. Anyway, that was the highlight of my 2nd day post op 

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Quote from: raku on February 05, 2019, 12:35:51 PMNice picture. Thanks for your detailed friend. Where would you stay for the several months later?

Hey Raku,
I am currently staying at a 4 stars hotel near the hospital for the month of February. Cost is a bit expensive for now, but my comfort level is at maximum which really put my mentality on the positive side. For the next months, I am  still looking for an apartment/condo.