Quote from: inchesmatter on July 08, 2021, 05:34:43 AMYeah, he responded by saying after reviewing my X-rays he cannot find an explanation for the pain. It may well be my own fault, as I over-aggressively twisted my leg trying to internally rotate the hip and the next day the pain started. I did get an X-ray and found a bone spur growing out of the new bone, so that may be it, too. I just don’t know, but it hurts badly and I cannot walk normally at all. This whole process has been nightmarishly slow for me. My improvement has been very, very slow. Even now when I lie in bed on my back, my lower back feels as though I have duckass. My front upper thighs are also sore every time I get up from a seated position. Does that mean I have a tight IT band? No amount of stretching helps for two years now. I am also sore in the inner groin area on both legs. Two years now.
Sorry to hear that. I may upset you saying this, but two years later, and with only x rays to go by Betz won't be able to help you. He can't know a lot that could have happened in between such as what you described above. It sucks, but you should likely consult someone else closer to you.
Hopefully at least you achieved your lengthening goal and can enjoy your height. How much did you lengthen?
RB - Femurs with Dr. Betz - March 2021
Quote from: DonBones on July 08, 2021, 07:24:25 AMThanks for the update. Happy to hear it went well. By the sounds of it IT band release will be necessary for me too. It sucks, but at least it does not seem to be a complicated procedure. May I ask how much it costs?
Thanks man!
My insurance covered it so I only ended up paying about $750 AUD out of pocket but if I had to fund it it would have been roughly $3000-4000 AUD which is probably around 2000 to 2500 euros. That's for Australia but it may be similar to other countries.
Quote from: RB on July 08, 2021, 08:10:19 AMThanks man!
My insurance covered it so I only ended up paying about $750 AUD out of pocket but if I had to fund it it would have been roughly $3000-4000 AUD which is probably around 2000 to 2500 euros. That's for Australia but it may be similar to other countries.
Okay cheers, at least it's quite manageable money wise. How are you doing otherwise? Walking alright? Enjoying the new height?
Quote from: RB on July 08, 2021, 03:29:45 AMHey guys,
Just discharged from the hospital after the ITB release. Doctor came to visit me before I left and said everything went well, he released both IT bands completely and also aligned my hips while I was in surgery as my left had become crooked due to the left ITB being tighter.
Pain has been very minimal, the only pain I have is at the incision site (4/10) when I bend my legs in bed or when I bend them to walk but no pain otherwise and doctor said incision pain will get improve over the next couple of days. But holy crap I am excited to tell you guys that my wide legs are completely gone and my legs are 100% in like a normal person when I have been walking with the crutches! My duck ass has also 100% disappeared when putting my legs together! I knew doing the release would help but I didn't think it would work instantly for both duck ass and wide legs. I will be mainly using crutches for the next 2 weeks or so as my legs are still weak and heavy from surgery but I am so glad I decided to undergo this procedure.
This really demonstrates that an ITB release should be done for all femur lengthening's. Some people may get lucky and not get hit with wide legs / duck ass but majority of people will have some form of issue that arise from tight IT bands such as a hip deformity on top of the wide legs and duck ass. I still recommend Betz in the current LL market as his nail is truly weight bearing and I'd still choose that over Precise, however be aware that not doing an ITB release can cause major issues and be ready to do it with another doctor willing to perform it unless you want to spend months and months rehabbing after lengthening with no guarantee that it will fix the issues caused by tight IT bands.
Once again I am extremely happy with the result! Just need to rest and recover for the next few days and stay on top of PT.
Sorry to hear that mate. Do you know what is causing the right leg issues? Did it just appear randomly after 2 years and were you walking normally before this? Any response from Betz yet?
Wow I'm envious you completely recovered. My wide legs improved significantly, but hamstrings are still too tight for me to completely close my legs. More work is needed for me. 
Quote from: DonBones on July 08, 2021, 07:24:25 AMThanks for the update. Happy to hear it went well. By the sounds of it IT band release will be necessary for me too. It sucks, but at least it does not seem to be a complicated procedure. May I ask how much it costs?
If you haven't paid the deposit, I would consider Guichet. He uses the same nail as Betz and performs the release during initial surgery. Note that the ITB incisions are quite large. You don't want more scars.
I paid 2350 Euros for Giotikas from Athens. Great doctor. If you do go with Betz, be prepared for minimal post-surgical care if you leave Germany.
Considering you're only doing 6cm, it is on the border of what's possible by PT. Work hard and maybe you will get through it. As soon as your legs widen out of control, perform the release immediately. Not only does it immobolize you and prevent you from stretching other muscle groups, it could also deform your knees/hip as it had for RB.
Quote from: SirStretchAlot on July 08, 2021, 08:40:52 AMWow I'm envious you completely recovered. My wide legs improved significantly, but hamstrings are still too tight for me to completely close my legs. More work is needed for me. 
If you haven't paid the deposit, I would consider Guichet. He uses the same nail as Betz and performs the release during initial surgery. Note that the ITB incisions are quite large. You don't want more scars.
I paid 2350 Euros for Giotikas from Athens. Great doctor. If you do go with Betz, be prepared for minimal post-surgical care if you leave Germany.
Considering you're only doing 6cm, it is on the border of what's possible by PT. Work hard and maybe you will get through it. As soon as your legs widen out of control, perform the release immediately. Not only does it immobolize you and prevent you from stretching other muscle groups, it could also deform your knees/hip as it had for RB.
Already paid the deposit, booked the flights, my stay with Elke and even a driver!
Too late to back out I'm afraid.
Quote from: inchesmatter on July 08, 2021, 05:34:43 AMYeah, he responded by saying after reviewing my X-rays he cannot find an explanation for the pain. It may well be my own fault, as I over-aggressively twisted my leg trying to internally rotate the hip and the next day the pain started. I did get an X-ray and found a bone spur growing out of the new bone, so that may be it, too. I just don’t know, but it hurts badly and I cannot walk normally at all. This whole process has been nightmarishly slow for me. My improvement has been very, very slow. Even now when I lie in bed on my back, my lower back feels as though I have duckass. My front upper thighs are also sore every time I get up from a seated position. Does that mean I have a tight IT band? No amount of stretching helps for two years now. I am also sore in the inner groin area on both legs. Two years now.
Yeah I would also feel my duck ass through my lower back when I laid down in bed so it could be tight IT bands. Do you walk with wide legs still?
Quote from: DonBones on July 08, 2021, 08:22:47 AMOkay cheers, at least it's quite manageable money wise. How are you doing otherwise? Walking alright? Enjoying the new height?
Walking is good from the standpoint that I can now walk with my legs close but since the surgery was only 24 hours ago the pain and swelling from the incisions is causing me to walk very slow but I think this will improve in the coming days.
Now that I can see and feel my full height it's the best feeling. Although I'm not fully recovered by a long shot, it's great to see the hard work pay off in the form of the new height finally.
Quote from: SirStretchAlot on July 08, 2021, 08:40:52 AMWow I'm envious you completely recovered. My wide legs improved significantly, but hamstrings are still too tight for me to completely close my legs. More work is needed for me. 
I think because I spent the last 4 weeks of consolidation really stretching out my hamstrings that it allows me to put the legs in all the way. Once you loosen your hamstrings more I'm sure your will come all the way in too
Congrats, RB. Now enjoy your new height. The sweet outcome of the hard labor you did for previous months 
Hey RB, what did your hip realignment entail?
Quote from: chasing_higher_dream on July 08, 2021, 10:23:05 AMCongrats, RB. Now enjoy your new height. The sweet outcome of the hard labor you did for previous months 
Thanks man! Wishing you the best for the rest of your journey. You’ll be at your goal height in no time
.
Quote from: Highest on July 08, 2021, 10:33:47 AMHey RB, what did your hip realignment entail?
Hey man, the hip realignment was known as manipulation under anaesthesia of the hips and it involves stretching/realigning the hips in a way that is not possible while awake due to pain. That was the explanation he gave and looking at my hips they definitely look straighter now.
Hey guys,
Speaking on the subject of an ITB - release, it Def. Should be considered when lengthening the femurs.
I also did my LL with betz and was operated 3 days after RB (hey bro we did it congrats
)
I lengthened a total of 9,9cm, everything went pretty similar to RB's journey, towards the end it got harder and harder, it definitely was the toughest time of my entire life. While in general everything went smooth during lengthning, the wide stance and tight IT Band present by far the worst problem-for me as well! It got progressively worse during lengthning and its now keeping me from being able to walk even one step unassisted, legs are just to wide apart. I've been in, constant contact with RB throughout the entire lengthing process and now that he has successfully undergone ITB-release I'm strongly considering it as well.
I also talked to betz about the entire issue and was quite disappointed by his reaction and behavior towards me. He insists its not necessary and that the problem will subside overtime with enough PT (which may be true) but at a certain point TIME becomes the main issue there, cause IMO doing 6 Monts to 1 year of rigorous PT to get the legs to come in is totally inacaptable and mentally a huge negative for ANY patient having that problem.
It's quite insane that even tho I'm done lengthing you don't really notice a real increase in height due to the wide stance, which is quite frustrating.
Betz, as RB said is a very good surgeon but him not releasing the IT Band during the first surgery seems to be huge mistake as so many people struggle with that afterwards so IF you do LL with betz, make sure you got options of doing an ITB-release and be prepared for these circumstances.
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