Posted on May 27, 2019, 7:30 pm
#1
Hello everyone - let me start off by saying what a wonderful forum this and the old forum were over the years. I have been serious about getting this surgery for the past 10 years but the idea of being bedridden for 3 months was enough to put me off from the surgery.
First, a little about me. I'm in my mid-30s. I have a decent paying job which allowed me far more and better options for financing than I would've had 10 years ago. Sure it would've been nice to get this done earlier and enjoy more years with my new height, but having much less stress about paying off my loan combined with the much better technology in the Stryde nail versus previous iterations make me glad that I waited. I'm almost 5'9, which I realize is considered average in the United States, but I travel a lot and especially in Europe (and even many American cities), 5'9 is most certainly not average IMHO. Doing this had nothing to do with with improving my chances with women - I've met and dated many fantastic women in my life but things didn't work out for various reasons. Having said that, I have some anecdotes with pushed me towards surgery. I dated a woman for almost 4 years and she mentioned many times during our relationship how she wished I was taller (again, I consider myself average). While I would like to consider her the exception (especially among 5'6 girls), it sort of planted the seed in my mind for how important society deems height. For the past 4 years coinciding with a new job in a new city, I've worn 2.5 inch lifts in boots, and primarily only wear boots. I've noticed better respect from colleagues, dating has been easier (until I take my boots off!), and overall I feel much more confidence and greater mental health. But, I feel every day I play russian roulette -- the embarrassment of being with friends and taking off my boots at an airport security screener, the time I had been randomly selected to be screened at an airport gate in France and the security screener loudly called over her supervisor when she noticed I had lifts in my shoes, and being absolutely mortified to go over to friends house if there's a chance I need to take my boots off when I enter their house, etc. I do not want to live the rest of my life living in fear of being exposed. Plus, boots with 2.5 inch heels hurt after a while! The other issue is that I have a 5 mm limb length discrepancy between my legs. I read some peer reviewed journal articles and there does seem to be a link between having that much discrepancy and future hip issues. Before anyone asks - no that did not at all help to get insurance to pay for any part of the surgery.
I had some free time from my work coming up this summer and figured it would be perfect to get the surgery done. I did so much research and contacted 3 doctors - Dr. M of Los Angeles, Dr. Paley, and Dr. D. I could not find a single diary of Dr. D., and so to my knowledge this is the first. I will share the good, the bad, and the ugly along the way. I'll also dispel some myths that I've found and share some tips. But most importantly to me, I'll hopefully get some good advice from the awesome veterans of the surgery that can make a big difference in the recovery. I had an excellent vibe from Dr. D. but was dismayed as many of you were that there was not a single diary. I took a considerable risk. I was lined up to get the surgery after my video consult and originally wasn't going to meet him in person until a couple days before the surgery. I had many sleepless nights fearing this could be a giant scam, so I planned a quick trip to Vegas to meet him and see his practice in person before handing over final payment. Dr. D. spent 3 hours talking to me that day. He brought in a former patient who was very open about the process. You get the sense from talking to Dr. D. that he is passionate about the work he does. His face lights up when he talks about surgery. Go to the local bar and ask the most passionate fan what he thinks about his favorite football team. That's how I'd compare it. He isn't fixing someone's broken bone and getting them back to the lifestyle they had - his work is physically transforming someone into image they have in their minds.
I flew to the area a few days before surgery. I couldn't enjoy the strip - I was a nervous wreck prior to surgery. I could barely sleep. This was one of the most difficult parts of the process. I spent some time hiking some of the beautiful mountains nearby knowing this is something I won't be able to do for a while.
Day 1
I had a Lyft take me to the hospital. They wanted me there at 6am. The hospital was very thorough. They called me several times the day prior asking what medication I was on and told me what I needed to do before surgery. Upon arriving at the hospital (Sunrise), they have a temporary check in set up in the womens/childrens hospital. They're doing some construction in the main check in area. The hospital itself is on par with any other hospital in a major American city. It's an HCA Health owned location. Rooms are up to date. TVs have more channels than I've ever seen in a hospital, and the technology they use means constantly scanning a barcode you wear on your arm before administering any medicine. They keep track of literally everything.
It took a while between checking in and the nurse calling me back in the pre-surgery staging area. I met the anesthesiologist (very funny Eastern European guy who cracked many jokes while we were there). They inventory everything you bring, so when you have multiple suitcases it's going to take a while. Of course when I mentioned to the security guard I had my medicine for post-surgery in my bag the nurse overheard that and flipped out - she took the medicine right away and called a second nurse over to count every single pill. I understand that, of course. Dr. D. came out, talked very briefly (one thing I notice is that Dr. D. is laser focused - he doesn't engage in a lot of small talk outside of limb lengthening in general. That's okay with me. His focus is probably much better than my focus is on most matters!
Okay, surgery time. I'm transferred to the bed. I feel like it took a decent amount of time for the anesthesia to kick in. They put a catheter in you after you're knocked out, as well as shaving the parts of your legs where the surgery takes place. Next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room. Normally immediately after surgery I feel very loopy - possibly due to too much anesthesia. Not this time. I wasn't nauseous at all (at least not yet). In recovery there is one nurse assigned to you 100% of the time. She was very nice, told me lots of stories. She was working the night of the fatal shooting from Mandalay Bay and told me about that. Every person in that hospital the night of the shooting is an absolute hero. I suggested to Dr. D.'s staff that they request her specifically for future CLL patients. I was able to get a urinal to take with me for later use in the hotel. Dr. D. checked in with me briefly post-surgery. I think it says on his web site surgery is 1 hour -- well, that was certainly not the case. Apparently it was about 3 hours.
Next I was transferred to my private room in the hospital. The room, like I said earlier, was very modern. But boy was it small. The move up to my room made me feel very nauseous. I told the first nurse I was probably going to throw up but she did not come back quickly and I couldn't hold it any longer. One of the things I learned is that there is a wide difference in the responsiveness of the nurses. A lot of that, I'm sure, depends on how busy they are at the moment.
I'm currently on day 4. Since this post is getting so long I'll put up another post below a little later with days 2-4. Because I know how important pictures are, I'm attaching my initial picture standing next to Dr. D. and x-rays someone took from a monitor right after the surgery. By the way, it was the 11.5 gauge nail.
Images from pre-surgery and xrays post-surgery
First, a little about me. I'm in my mid-30s. I have a decent paying job which allowed me far more and better options for financing than I would've had 10 years ago. Sure it would've been nice to get this done earlier and enjoy more years with my new height, but having much less stress about paying off my loan combined with the much better technology in the Stryde nail versus previous iterations make me glad that I waited. I'm almost 5'9, which I realize is considered average in the United States, but I travel a lot and especially in Europe (and even many American cities), 5'9 is most certainly not average IMHO. Doing this had nothing to do with with improving my chances with women - I've met and dated many fantastic women in my life but things didn't work out for various reasons. Having said that, I have some anecdotes with pushed me towards surgery. I dated a woman for almost 4 years and she mentioned many times during our relationship how she wished I was taller (again, I consider myself average). While I would like to consider her the exception (especially among 5'6 girls), it sort of planted the seed in my mind for how important society deems height. For the past 4 years coinciding with a new job in a new city, I've worn 2.5 inch lifts in boots, and primarily only wear boots. I've noticed better respect from colleagues, dating has been easier (until I take my boots off!), and overall I feel much more confidence and greater mental health. But, I feel every day I play russian roulette -- the embarrassment of being with friends and taking off my boots at an airport security screener, the time I had been randomly selected to be screened at an airport gate in France and the security screener loudly called over her supervisor when she noticed I had lifts in my shoes, and being absolutely mortified to go over to friends house if there's a chance I need to take my boots off when I enter their house, etc. I do not want to live the rest of my life living in fear of being exposed. Plus, boots with 2.5 inch heels hurt after a while! The other issue is that I have a 5 mm limb length discrepancy between my legs. I read some peer reviewed journal articles and there does seem to be a link between having that much discrepancy and future hip issues. Before anyone asks - no that did not at all help to get insurance to pay for any part of the surgery.
I had some free time from my work coming up this summer and figured it would be perfect to get the surgery done. I did so much research and contacted 3 doctors - Dr. M of Los Angeles, Dr. Paley, and Dr. D. I could not find a single diary of Dr. D., and so to my knowledge this is the first. I will share the good, the bad, and the ugly along the way. I'll also dispel some myths that I've found and share some tips. But most importantly to me, I'll hopefully get some good advice from the awesome veterans of the surgery that can make a big difference in the recovery. I had an excellent vibe from Dr. D. but was dismayed as many of you were that there was not a single diary. I took a considerable risk. I was lined up to get the surgery after my video consult and originally wasn't going to meet him in person until a couple days before the surgery. I had many sleepless nights fearing this could be a giant scam, so I planned a quick trip to Vegas to meet him and see his practice in person before handing over final payment. Dr. D. spent 3 hours talking to me that day. He brought in a former patient who was very open about the process. You get the sense from talking to Dr. D. that he is passionate about the work he does. His face lights up when he talks about surgery. Go to the local bar and ask the most passionate fan what he thinks about his favorite football team. That's how I'd compare it. He isn't fixing someone's broken bone and getting them back to the lifestyle they had - his work is physically transforming someone into image they have in their minds.
I flew to the area a few days before surgery. I couldn't enjoy the strip - I was a nervous wreck prior to surgery. I could barely sleep. This was one of the most difficult parts of the process. I spent some time hiking some of the beautiful mountains nearby knowing this is something I won't be able to do for a while.
Day 1
I had a Lyft take me to the hospital. They wanted me there at 6am. The hospital was very thorough. They called me several times the day prior asking what medication I was on and told me what I needed to do before surgery. Upon arriving at the hospital (Sunrise), they have a temporary check in set up in the womens/childrens hospital. They're doing some construction in the main check in area. The hospital itself is on par with any other hospital in a major American city. It's an HCA Health owned location. Rooms are up to date. TVs have more channels than I've ever seen in a hospital, and the technology they use means constantly scanning a barcode you wear on your arm before administering any medicine. They keep track of literally everything.
It took a while between checking in and the nurse calling me back in the pre-surgery staging area. I met the anesthesiologist (very funny Eastern European guy who cracked many jokes while we were there). They inventory everything you bring, so when you have multiple suitcases it's going to take a while. Of course when I mentioned to the security guard I had my medicine for post-surgery in my bag the nurse overheard that and flipped out - she took the medicine right away and called a second nurse over to count every single pill. I understand that, of course. Dr. D. came out, talked very briefly (one thing I notice is that Dr. D. is laser focused - he doesn't engage in a lot of small talk outside of limb lengthening in general. That's okay with me. His focus is probably much better than my focus is on most matters!
Okay, surgery time. I'm transferred to the bed. I feel like it took a decent amount of time for the anesthesia to kick in. They put a catheter in you after you're knocked out, as well as shaving the parts of your legs where the surgery takes place. Next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room. Normally immediately after surgery I feel very loopy - possibly due to too much anesthesia. Not this time. I wasn't nauseous at all (at least not yet). In recovery there is one nurse assigned to you 100% of the time. She was very nice, told me lots of stories. She was working the night of the fatal shooting from Mandalay Bay and told me about that. Every person in that hospital the night of the shooting is an absolute hero. I suggested to Dr. D.'s staff that they request her specifically for future CLL patients. I was able to get a urinal to take with me for later use in the hotel. Dr. D. checked in with me briefly post-surgery. I think it says on his web site surgery is 1 hour -- well, that was certainly not the case. Apparently it was about 3 hours.
Next I was transferred to my private room in the hospital. The room, like I said earlier, was very modern. But boy was it small. The move up to my room made me feel very nauseous. I told the first nurse I was probably going to throw up but she did not come back quickly and I couldn't hold it any longer. One of the things I learned is that there is a wide difference in the responsiveness of the nurses. A lot of that, I'm sure, depends on how busy they are at the moment.
I'm currently on day 4. Since this post is getting so long I'll put up another post below a little later with days 2-4. Because I know how important pictures are, I'm attaching my initial picture standing next to Dr. D. and x-rays someone took from a monitor right after the surgery. By the way, it was the 11.5 gauge nail.
Images from pre-surgery and xrays post-surgery