Saint Petersburg - External Tibias - Dr. Solomin

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Just out of surgery! Will update later;)

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Hope you're feeling okay, badwolf!  Looking forward to reading what you have to write post-surgery!

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Hey MDOW!

I remembering following your diary. It was one of the things that made me consider China for the longest time until the prices went up. Good to hear from you!

My surgery was at 1 pm and now it is around 1 am. So far I've experienced close to no pain. The anesthesiologist seemed quite surprised! Once the pain increased (very) slightly, they hooked me up to a iv drip cktail of pain killers, antibiotics, and anti-swelling medication. The temporary effect of the antibiotics was a lot worse than the pain!

It's way too earlier to tell, but the accommodation here has been great. I've undergone surgery once in a fairly developed country, but the service and facilities here have been a lot more professional in general. Time will tell though.

I've yet to hear the details of how successful my surgery was and only caught a glimpse of my frames because right after surgery they bandaged it tight.

My mind is alert and wide-awake right now, but the nurse just came in and said I should sleep.

So, peace out;)

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Good morning. All seems well. Sleep is pretty much normal with still hardly any pain. The nurses came a couple of times and offered me painkillers, but I didn't take them. I seem to be getting the random bouts of hiccups though, which is odd;3

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Quote from: Morgenst. on September 20, 2015, 07:29:51 AMWhat I'm also 163, did the doc advise you to not go past 5cm? That sounds terrible

They didn't advise me not to go over 5cm, but, according to the ratio of my current tibia length, under 5cm is the optimal length to avoid complications.

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im 164.5 so i sortof know what its like to be 163, but honestly 168cm is pretty normal, if you wear any lift you will be taller than alot of guys in the room so hopefully 5cm will get rid of the worst of your height problem, im assuing you are from a western country or maybe your indian in which case ignore what i said.

but yeah this is where i would have gone if mitkovic wasn't available, the only issue i had with solomin is that he is unknown and i was skeptical of the very cheap price.

if there was 4 more diaries like this and mitkovic wans't available id be very happy to have gone with solomin.

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Quote from: microman on September 21, 2015, 07:00:18 AMim 164.5 so i sortof know what its like to be 163, but honestly 168cm is pretty normal, if you wear any lift you will be taller than alot of guys in the room so hopefully 5cm will get rid of the worst of your height problem, im assuing you are from a western country or maybe your indian in which case ignore what i said.

but yeah this is where i would have gone if mitkovic wasn't available, the only issue i had with solomin is that he is unknown and i was skeptical of the very cheap price.

if there was 4 more diaries like this and mitkovic wans't available id be very happy to have gone with solomin.

Hi, I'm from a typical Asian country where the average height is around 170cm. With lifts on I was pretty much average height there. Thus, the few friends whom I've told about LL were surprised that I would even consider going through with this.

I was also very cautious about Saint Petersburg, due to the lack of information and visa support. It was really after extensive communication with Dr. Kulesh and the MEDEM clinic that I felt comfortable enough to at least go for a consultation. That being said, I'll refrain from forming my ultimate opinion until after the entire process is finished.

My main reason for not going with Dr. Mitkovic was the limitations that the monorail frames seem to have:

1. Seems best suited for lengthening under 5cm.
2. I have genu varum (bow-leg) and this is best fixed with classic illizarov method.
3. Not related to the frames, but Dr. Mitkovic does not seem to offer nailing at the moment.

Other than that, he seemed like a very viable option and visa issues would've been less of a problem.

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yeah when people state their starting height if they are not in a western country where average is 177 they should probably say that 'oh yeah male average here is 170 (asian) or 165 (india) etc'

well okay then even if you do 5cm that will be you taller than half the men in the room assuming you wear a small 1cm lift of sorts so i guess you need not worry about the limitation.

and yeah i sent my passport to dr kulesh and he was preparing my letter but mitkovic said he would operate on me within 2 or so weeks so i jumped at that chance and i have had to do nothing visa wise at all in serbia.

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Quote from: badwolf on September 21, 2015, 06:36:14 AMThey didn't advise me not to go over 5cm, but, according to the ratio of my current tibia length, under 5cm is the optimal length to avoid complications.

This is a very rational approach that will serve both you and your body well. Seen too many guys do what they want rather than what their body can handle and end up with both mechanical and aesthetic problems. What is your starting ratio?

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Here's an update from yesterday:

I've been amazingly clear-headed today, one day after surgery. Once again, hardly any pain. Dr. Kulesh came and gave me an update on how the surgery went. Apparently, it was a success and certain alterations in the osteotomy were made to allow the possibility of implanting nails even after bow leg correction. Apparently, I have very hard bones and it took a lot of effort for Dr. Solomin to fracture them. I was told this is a good thing.

Just to make a few points clear:

As far as I know, I am the first patient to undergo limb lengthening surgery at MEDEM clinic. I chose MEDEM because they were an international private clinic that offered full visa support and only required me to perform surgery there and check-ups once a month.

In Russia (or at least Saint Petersburg), unless they have their own private practice, most doctors do not work solely out of a single hospital and it is possible for them to hold contracts with several different medical facilities. Both Dr. Solomin and Dr. Kulesh signed on as contract surgeons for my operation at MEDEM. While both doctors are highly experienced in limb lengthening and correctional orthopedic surgery (Dr. Kulesh spent hours openly showing me countless cases of his past patients, both the successful and the less so), they do not have much experience with international patients.

The nurses here have been lovely. And you never have to wait on them after pressing the call button. Today's physio-therapist spoke perfect English and Dr. Kulesh was blown away with how professional and skilled she was. So far he has been thoroughly impressed with MEDEM as a whole.