St. Petersburg Lengthening -- DISTRACTION COMPLETED

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So what Will be the cost now for Latn in MEDEM?

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LATN -- Nailing Surgery Completed

Everything went well.  Just got a bandage change and everything looks good.  Spinal was dc'd this morning so starting to feel things but not too bad at all. 

One or two days more at MEDEM and I am on my way home 3.5 inches taller. 

Still hard to believe.  Had to think twice when the nurse asked me my height.

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Congrats. Why didn't you do this sooner in life?

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I suppose I never really thought about it earlier in life.  Deciding to do leg lengthening was somewhat spur of the moment in that one day I just decided to look into leg lengthening.  Then, things just kept moving forward--I never hit a decisional roadblock and realized it could be done so I continued to press forward and now its done.

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Very interesting. You had a hip replacement right? Do you know how long they are going to last?

And please keep us updated on your recovery!

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Thanks for sharing the pic.

Wishing you a great recovery and a great (taller) life.

How hard was your whole LL journey, in your opinion?

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The logistics of the process was not necessarily hard; there were simply many steps and many balls to keep in the air.  All doable and nothing particularly hard; just time consuming and requiring much attention to detail and visualization of the process so that I could accurately plan.

The process for me was painful.  The psychological impact of waking up with your legs in jail should not be underestimated.  I suffered near constant swelling and edema so have lived with pain at a 4-6 level for nearly five months.  Not unbearable but definitely not comfortable, interferes with sleep, etc.

Yet, now that I am done, I do not at all regret my decision.  I would not do it again but I am glad I did it.

I am also fortunate that my surgeries have been deemed "near perfect" and that my regenerate is good.   I know I just have to be careful, stay off my feet until I have 3 of 4 points of consolidation, work on strength and flexibility and I am confident I will have 100% success and be 3.5 inches taller for life (which is still something hard to get my mind around.)

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I received several PMs similar to the following so I will respond here rather than individually:

Every time I look at your swollen feet,  it reminds me of my own feet..
Hope your consolidation is going well

Counting days to get ride of this frame,  so I can get some sleep

One big problem I'm dealing with is my knee extension is very limited,  I mean I can't straight out my legs or even lay down,  top of my feet burns like hell. I do stretch everyday.  Any advice?

Some choose to go home during distraction.  In  my humble opinion, it is a mistake to do so because by doing so, you generally remove yourself from those professionals who can best address developments when they arise.

As for my swollen feet, 85% of the swelling is gone now.  My next x-rays are March 5.  I hope they will show that I am at least 75% consolidated so that I can begin weight-bearing.  I am confident that once I begin walking, the balance of my swelling will go away.

Already, my legs are feeling much stronger.  I am working out and riding the stationary bike every day.  I feel good.

The top of my feet also "burned".  For me, that sensation was caused by edema.  If you were under the care of your surgeon, you could request treatment or a consultation with a specialist that might help.

I could not completely extend my right leg without significant effort until recently.  For me, this occurred because my soft tissue did not stretch as quickly as I was distracting.  You must remember that your Achielle's tendon is connected to the base of your calf muscle; each side of the top of your calf muscle is connected to your two center hamstring muscles, which in turn are connected to the backside of your pelvis.

When you lengthen your leg bone, all of your soft tissue specifically including your leg muscles and tendons must also stretch.  When the muscles and tendons on the backside of your leg do not stretch as quickly as you distract; then, you usually feel it at your knee.  That is, you not be able to fully extend your knee.  This is normal and usually corrected by time, massage, and stretching -- but you have to massage the entire backside of your leg to help the entire band of muscle and tendon to stretch.

The more you distract, the "smaller" you become.  What do I mean?  The more you distract; the harder it becomes to distract.  Your body will push back against you harder and harder.  If you push things as far as I did; then, you will be close to bed-ridden by the time you stop distraction because of pain and because much of your body's energy will be trying to fix the problem you are making.  You won't have much energy left over.

Sleep will come when it comes.  I felt sleepy at midnight or 2 AM, tried to sleep but often could not sleep.  I just rested and watched the hours tick by.  Often, I would take my meds and eat breakfast at 6 AM with no sleep; then, sleep from about 7 AM to 1 PM.

I had to learn to do my work from bed with my computer propped on my stomach--rest, pick-up my project again--rest, take meds--rest, eat -- etc.

To be successful at this, in my opinion, it is essential to change your attitude.  Your "job" becomes leg lengthening--everything else is secondary.  Your situation changes on a daily basis. 

But if you listen to your body, accept that your life will be different during distraction, push things but also stop pushing when your body says so; then, one day you will realize you either hit your goal or your max and it is time to stop.

From that day, the process begins to work in the opposite direction.  You begin to get stronger, more flexible.  You experience less pain.  You sleep more.  You eat more.  Your wounds heal.  Your scabs fall away.  You begin to feel your feet and legs.  You feel more normal and you realize that you have accomplished a very challenging goal and will get to the end of the process.

It is not easy, I would not do it again, but for me it has been worth it.

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Thanks for sharing another pic, California2.

Can I ask you at what distraction length did you first start feeling tight?

You mentioned this in the OP, but I'd really appreciate if you found the time to expand on it:

QuoteDistraction was easy through 3 CM.  At 5 cm, my ankles lost all flexibility and equinas began to be apparent.
This seems to go in line with what I've seen in the literature. 3cm tends to fall under 10% of the initial bone length distracted.