Everyone,
I have been emailing with Dr. Birkholtz and he's answered a ton of questions I've thrown at him. I'm really impressed with the answers he's given so far, and I'll paste his responses here in no particular order.
I AM NOT being paid to promote him, or have any deal with him whatsoever- one of the answers he gives even shows he is against doing this sort of practice.
How many cases of Cosmetic Leg Lengthening have you done?I perform legengthenings for non-cosmetic reasons all the time (appprox 100-200 per year), and am comfortable with distraction osteogenesis as a technique. I arranged to have Precice brought into our country recently, and because I believe that standard exfix techniques have a risk profile too high for CLL, we've not done many CLLs. In fact only 2, one LON tibia (6cm) and one bilat LRS femurs (5cm limited due to knee stiffness). With Precice I believe we can now safely offer CLL widely.
What were the outcomes of the 2 CLL surgeries you did?My 2 CLLs: LON tibias 6 cm and very happy. femoral LRS, frames came off recently, so too soon to tell.
How much would it cost for bilateral femur lengthening using PRECICE? What would this pricing include?Pricing for CLL in our unit is 40K euro for bilat femoral Precice. This includes everything except complications, incl meals and accommodation for 4 weeks. (See forum for details). Physio is included and they will provide you with a home programme.
How much does PRECICE removal cost? What about PRECICE nail replacement?Ballpark figure for Precice removal would be around 4K euro. Should a precice have to be replaced it would cost approx 15K.
How much is a consultation? Would it be possible to send you x-rays and then consult with you over a skype call instead of flying out to SA for only a consultation?I will not charge you anything for an email or skype consultation. We will definitely need to see xrays for measurement purposes. These should be done according to a standardised protocol which we can send through via email.
There has been a long ongoing debate in our forums of the healing time of PRECICE vs. Betzbone, Albizzia, etc. Some arguments against PRECICE are the lack of weight-bearing it provides, which will slow down healing because you will most likely be confined to a wheelchair. Some arguments against the Betzbone is the twisting motion of the rod, which seems to affect consolidation as well. What is your take on this? Which do you recommend more?I think the controllability of the Precice is its key feature. I bieve that with IM nail lengthenings weight bearing is less important than the quality of the osteotomy in providing good regenerate. For this reason I think Precice is the superior product.
Do you work on minimizing scars?We always operate in such a way as to minimize scars (subcut sutures where possible etc).
How do you prevent ballerina feet that usually comes from tibial lengthening?Ballerina foot is a euphemistic term for a serious complication of equinus contracture. We have developed special orthotic devices to prevent this. Sometimes we include the foot into the exfix frame and occasionally we perform a percutaneous tendon achilles lengthening upon frame removal to correct this.
Do you have any pictures of your guesthouses I could look at?Guesthouse price quoted is for a guest room next to the hospital in the office building where my office is situated. Of course accommodation in the area varies somewhat in terms of price and quality. My suggestion would be to use the rooms initially until a bit more mobile (4 wks incl in price) and then spend a couple more weeks in a local hotel or guesthouse with more amenities. The Centurion Hotel may work well for this. You can find them via Forever Resorts SA. This would be approx 100 euro per day for bed and breakfast.
Would it be possible to work out a discount from promoting your services on several different forums at all? sorry guys, I had to ask! 
Wrt endorsements diaries etc, I think we should be careful about linking endorsements to monetary value. I know other surgeons do that, but ethically I would prefer for my patients to endorse me(or criticize me) independently!