Risks/Complications Of LL

Dameon, that was a fantastic post.  You should sticky that somewhere on the forums.  Too many users here are unaware that there's permanent side effects to LL and that this is something that's unavoidable.  When I read that people want to run faster with longer legs or start a professional sports career, I just shake my head.  You cannot stretch and build muscle through these problems, they will definitely affect you regardless of your PT.  Your body is not at a naturally increased height, you are the product of artificial lengthening.  Saying you can run faster after LL is like saying muscle implants in your arms will make you lift more weights. 

Some people think that's it's just a pain thing and then that's it, increased height.  But unfortunately, it is not.

I communicated with too many people who learned so the hard way.   This is a combination of feedback I received from a few people who has already done limb lengthening via both internal and external methods:

"Pain during this procedure should be the least of ones concerns....it's the lingering after effects of doing limb lengthening that people should be concerned about.

Whether that be

- nerve damage (numbness, altered sensation, painful supersensitivity (from neuromas formations),
- paralysis, or reduced motor function or response times, especially in high level sports);
- pain and stiffness from internal trauma and scarring;
- bio mechanical load changes and it's added load stresses on joints (back, hip, knees, and ankles) leading to pain and possible early Arthritis
- reduced Athletic response time and abilities;
- permanent muscle / adipose tissue damage / atrophy; mobility issues; reduced agility;
- osteoporosis and increased chances of osteochonral lesions;
- lingering aches and pains months or years, or even a lifetime after the lengthening is complete and you say Good Bye to your CLL doctor.etc."

One may or may not notice or realize it at the beginning, but long term, it's a different story.

This is not simply working out and building anew like some people put it....if it was, then there would be a whole lot less lasting complications since people would recover completely from it...

But unfortunately, Limb lengthening surgery is not like working out like how some people think it is...it's not just going through some pain and then rebuilding back stronger.

Instead, this is more like how a healthy athlete/person who gets in a serious injury, such as in a sporting accident or car accident, and has to undergoes traumatic surgery which cuts open, damages, scars (internally and externally) and alters the natural body...sure they may recover to a point...but they will never be like their PRE-surgical / PRE-injured self.

If physical pain during the lengthening procedure, as well as the cost and time; were the only things one has to deal with when undergoing Limb Lengthening, then this would be heaven....but unfortunately, it is not.

Countless patients in the past, who lengthened various amounts with various Doctors (From the some of the best, to some of the worst) and various techniques (internal, external, or both) have found out.

This is the reality, and even though people may not want to hear, I feel it's something people need to know beforehand because it's critically important for their lives, before making this life-altering decision.

Of course, if the mental anguish of height neurosis is so bad, and if you feel that you will miss out more in life due to height prejudice / height neurosis even though you would be at peak physical healthiness / abilities, then maybe it's worth sacrificing some (or a lot) of physical freedom / health to open one's life up to the increased benefits from the increased height.

Height increase does have its benefits, but there will always be a cost, and it's not just temporary Lengthening pain, money, or time...a lot of times, it's more.

But then again, physical abilities go down overtime anyway, but the life you have with the increased in height, well that may be worth it...in the end, one must decide which possible path is the best for them to live the fullest life possible with the least amount of restrictions ...if it has to be with the height then maybe height increase is worth it.

But if the height is not really something that's worth permanently damaging yourself or losing a portion of your athletic / everyday freedom, as well as being symptom-free from ongoing aches, pains, nerve damages, and increased risk of other physical consequences in the future, then maybe one should work on their mental state and other physical attributes like working out, rather then their height."

-Altered mechanics in my legs which led to exertional compartment syndrome when walking, requiring fasciotomy

This post just made me a little depressed. I thought you could make a full recovery after LL. I know people say they lose a little athletic ability but I thought after a couple years if you work on it everything would get back to normal :/

The patellar tendon is split and pulled apart to make a path for the nail to go into the tibia.  Studies have shown 25% of patients who've had this done end up with permanent discomfort in their knees.