Hey guys! So I just removed the external frame from my left femur, tibia frame was removed like a month age. So far I've lengthened 7.5 cm both on my tibia and femur. I currently have a very light ballerina - my feet don't go past 90 degrees when standing, but when sitting they're ok. Also I can't bend my knee on my femur leg past 140 degrees (straight knee is 180 degrees, so I currently have 40 degrees of ROM). I'll be working on it actively next months and will update on progress. In 2 months I plan to restore my knee ROM to 100% and go for the second surgery on my left tibia and right femur. After that I'll be lengthening my humers. Or actually... I may lengthen them when I'm done with distraction phase, if my Dr. allows me to, as I want to save some time. If not, I'll just do it after removing all the frames - will be much easier, considering I'll have my legs functional, but that will require additional 4 months. We'll see.
Yea, I'm bad at writing diaries, so ask me your questions, if you will.
One Step Closer - External tibias, femurs, humerus - Petersburg, Russia
Hi!
Quote- You wrote that you have had 2 lenghtenings. One on tibia and one on femur. Does it mean that you had cross-lengtening? Could you explain what does it mean?Yes, it's called cross-lateral lengthening. It's done due to big external frames on the femur being really uncomfortable. So instead of doing 2x femur at the same time, they do tibia-femur and then repeat. It's more comfortable this way.
QuoteHow long does it take lengthen tibia for 7,5 cm?
After what period of time frames are removed? Full consolidation is needed?
Usually 3 months for distraction phase and another 6 for consolidation. So 9 months total. If everything goes good.
Quote- Is it possible to lengthen legs at home after surgery and then come back to a hospital to remove frames? Yes. However, you'll need to take x-rays so the Dr. can monitor the proccess, your healing rate, misaligment, pin stability... X-rays are usually taken every 10-14 days.
Quote- Is it possible to exercise upper body during lengthening?It's possible, but no one really feels like to. Plus, if you exercise solely your upper body, your legs will look really tiny compared to it.
Quote- Could you work during lengthening (for instance as a freelancer) or is it not preferable because it may have bad impact on consolidation You can work. No impact on consolidation.
Quote- Did you experience some difficulties during lengthening?My back hurt really bad at the side of the femur external for like 2 months. Idk why, but it vanished.
Quote- How is your health? How do you feel after surgery and before another?
- What was your original height?
- How old are you? Does age have significant influence on recovery time?I feel the same overall. My original height was 167 cm and I'm 22. Yes, the younger you are the faster your bones heal and your muscles/tissues recover.
Quote- Are you Russian?
- Is Dr Soliman a nice and trustworthy person? Is he a good expert at his field? Would you recommed him to others people wanting to undertake a surgery?Yes and yes. Well, not sure about him being 'nice', as I didn't get to speak with him, but he is very experienced, from what I've gathered. He works closely with my Dr.
Quote from: Uppland on January 27, 2015, 08:00:03 AMSo you went from 167 to 182CM?
That's a huge gain, why did you choose to do so much?
Will you be lengthening your arms as well?
Any chance you might post a few pictures and videos to show off how your recovery is going and how it looks with that much height gained?
I'm done with the first stage. I still have one more lengthening stage on my other tibia and femur, that should be in around 2 months. Like it states in the thread title, yes, I'll be lengthening my humerus. I'll post pictures when I'm done with everything, which won't be any time soon. Maybe.
Quote from: pablo1989 on January 27, 2015, 06:48:02 AM-Is it possible to walk after consolidation phase without crutches?
-Are frames removed after distraction phase or consolidation phase?
Yes it's possible. In fact you can walk without crutches right after the surgery. Though it's not recommended. While the external frames are usually much more weight bearing than internal devices, pins still can bend and break under pressure.
Frames are removed after consolidation phase of course, if you remove them after distraction phase, your newly formed 'bone' will simply break. That is of course if you don't choose to do LON (lengthening over nail).
Quote-Are x-rays taken during distraction phase or both distraction and consolidation?
-How much does it cost (surgery+accomodation)? Are hostels in St. Petersburg expensive? They're taken every 10 days during distraction phase and then like every month or two during consolidation.
It cost me about 2000$ for the surgery, external frames and 2 weeks hospital stay included. That was before the ruble drop though. I don't think you'll find anything expensive here especially considering our currency situation.
QuoteHow is the attidude of Russians toward Polish people? I know our governments don't like each other, but what about ordinary people? I hate politics and i hope normal people in Russia too.They don't care at all.
Quote from: Uppland on January 27, 2015, 10:00:51 AMGood luck man.
Please do an arm lengthening diary, we are crucially short on those -yours will be the first on this forum.
Yeah it'll be there eventually. I don't think there's anything special about arm lengthening though, from what I've gathered it looks like humerus is the easiest bone to lengthen. And it makes sense - you don't need walking aids, your legs are functional, you can use your arms for usual tasks they don't require weight bearing. The only reason I feel a little bitter about doing it is the additional down time. I don't plan lengthening more than 3.5 cm on my humerus though, so it shouldn't take more than 4 months.
Quote from: Disobedient on January 27, 2015, 05:14:45 PMWow, this is something!!..
so you lengthened 15cm at tota
Not yet, I'm only done with the first stage, so I lengthened 7.5 cm. I need to fix my knee bending now so I can go for the second surgery. I'm very optimistic about regaining knee ROM, because I'm also very determined. I'm now waiting for the pin wounds to heal, so I can start working on it HARD. I'll probably regain it even earlier, mark my words 
I didn't have duckass, as I was walking from the first day of the surgery. Knock knee you mean x-legs? No, neither that. I had a misaligment problem during the lengthening on my femur but it was corrected at that time, my last x-rays show perfectly straight bone. I'll upload them tomorrow
The CPM machine seems very good, thanks. Though I'm afraid I'll have a very hard time finding it here in Russia lol. I'll probably have to stick with soviet-methods of just hanging weights on my feet.
My doctor is Dr. Kulesh. Him and Dr. Solomin are in the same team. Can't comment much on Dr. Solomin, sorry, all I know is that he's very experienced in his field.
I'm not sure if they send invitations, I'm a local myself.
Quote from: tikal on January 30, 2015, 05:52:06 AMwat is the cost of surgery for 7cm? i do not understand about cost of surgery
wich city of Russia the hospital locate?
can u give me the email of ur doctor or hospital?
I don't think my doctor works with international patients, but you can contact Dr. Solomin: http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=844.0 They're working closely together from what I've seen. The surgery cost me around 4000$ without staying costs and it was around 70$/day if you wanted to stay at the hospital, but you don't have to. That was before the ruble drop. Also, keep in mind that I'm from Russia myself, they might and probably have different prices for international patients.
And the city is Saint Petersburg.
Here's an x-ray from the last lengthening day, sry can't find the other version it's such a mess, I have like 200 x-rays.
The surgery cost was 140000 rubles with 2 weeks hospital stay included. After that if you wanted to stay, you had to pay 2200 every day for a single bedroom. I didn't do LON, as I insisted on pure external, so I can't know the price. Not sure about multibed either. But all those prices they don't mean anything now I'm afraid, I've already heard they're increased for locals, and they will most likely charge international patients even more, idk. Your best bet would be contacting Dr. Solomin and asking him.
They use classic Ilizarov externals, no hexapod, it had 3 levels, the only modification was in the inside-bone elements that they use aren't just wires or pins, but rather mostly bolts.
I'm pretty sure they fixate fibula with the device (I think they use wires/pins for the fibula and thicker bolts for the tibia itself, not sure). I actually didn't have any pins at all on my femur external, only bolts. I'll try to find some x-rays.
Quote from: ItsMyLife on February 02, 2015, 03:24:28 PMcan u help me to ask if he can install a nail for me? i have already done ex-tibia in russia.. thanks. how much does it cost
Just mail Dr. Solomin, he should answer. Btw, I don't advice nails in your tibias unless your consolidation is bad.
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