Wannabegiants tibial lengthening in Moscow, Dr. Bagirov

Okey guys i decided to start my diary now because the only thing left preventing me from going is sorting out the Visa/Visum for Russia, which will probably take me about 5 workdays to be granted. After that Im going to Moscow as ive already made arrangements with the Clinic.

Starting height: 174-175 cm
Goal height: 178-179 cm (4 cm gain)

External Tibias with Dr. Bagirov in Moscow.

According to the Drs assistant, I am allowed to return home 5 days after surgery and lengthen at home, although I have planned to stay for the complete lengthening phase which will take about 40 days.

I was originally intending to go with Dr. Mirzoyan but i decided this was a better option because the flight is closer, the price is cheaper, the clinics reputation is better, and their external device is smaller and easier to hide.

I also opted out of getting the double incision, since i dont want my ankles to get any longer and skinnier. Its probably safer in the long run.

Good luck buddy!!

How much do you think the whole process will cost you?

Quote from: Blackhawk on February 10, 2014, 10:20:17 PMGood luck buddy!!

How much do you think the whole process will cost you?

Thank you mate!

Its 6000 USD for the operation and 1000 USD for a month stay at the hospital, and for both the flight tickets about 600 usd total. its definitely a manageable price, i know plenty of people who have debts from study loans that are significantly higher than that. I still live with my parents (im 23 years old) so i havent needed to take any loans, it evens out 

Sounds good man. Going external only it's a safe bet that you're in the best hands in Russia, birthplace of Ilizarov fixation.

Quote from: Kilokahn on February 11, 2014, 12:31:39 AMSounds good man. Going external only it's a safe bet that you're in the best hands in Russia, birthplace of Ilizarov fixation.

Yeah thats a good point , internal was never an option for me though because of the much higher price, the extra operation to get rods out and high risk of knee problems, also the idea alone of having metal inside my bones makes me feel uneasy :p

Hi. It's awesome to see a new diary from the patient such a potentially promising doctor, who will use such a potentially promising device. Would you mind elaborating on just how similar this device is to the Salamehfix?

Also, do the doctors and staff at Dr. Bagirov's hospital speak fluent English? If not, how is the language barrier overcome?

Have you met or learned of any past cosmetic LL patients of Dr. Bagirov?

I sincerely hope you have a very smooth and complication-free journey. People like you, who pursue their goals, regardless of how strange they may seem to others, inspire me greatly. I think you are very smart and responsible to limit yourself to 4 CM. We've seen too many cases of people who got too greedy with the amount they gained and ended up disproportional and never fully recovered. 4 CM is still a noticeable amount, and you will have a fantastic chance of achieving a full recovery, especially with external-only.

Quote from: Tall on February 12, 2014, 03:20:14 AMHi. It's awesome to see a new diary from the patient such a potentially promising doctor, who will use such a potentially promising device. Would you mind elaborating on just how similar this device is to the Salamehfix?

Also, do the doctors and staff at Dr. Bagirov's hospital speak fluent English? If not, how is the language barrier overcome?

Have you met or learned of any past cosmetic LL patients of Dr. Bagirov?

I sincerely hope you have a very smooth and complication-free journey. People like you, who pursue their goals, regardless of how strange they may seem to others, inspire me greatly. I think you are very smart and responsible to limit yourself to 4 CM. We've seen too many cases of people who got too greedy with the amount they gained and ended up disproportional and never fully recovered. 4 CM is still a noticeable amount, and you will have a fantastic chance of achieving a full recovery, especially with external-only.

Thank you for the kind words Tall, this site and people like you make this journey seem much less frightening for me.

Everything ive heard about the doctor sounds great so far. I have only spoken to his assistant, a woman named Alida. However she speaks pretty good english so I assume the Doctor can as well. The only issue I have with them is their website which is severly lacking in information, but according to them an english version is under construction (im using google translate with the current one) so hopefully it will be easier for future patients.

This lack of information has made me have to ask a lot of questions to the assistant, and currently the only thing she hasnt been able to answer is questions regarding the Visa. I know I need a Business Visa to stay longer than 30 days because that is what the embassy in Sweden told me, and before I apply it at the embassy I need an invitation letter.

Now I noticed that invitation letters for Business Visa can be bought online, but the assistant of Dr. Bagirov made it sound like she was going to send me an invitation letter, but i havent gotten another response in 4 days now. Im kind of losing patience to be honest, I just want all of this to be over with, as my time window is now. I would hope to be out of the frames until summer but the more time i lose now makes it unlikely.

Btw, There is a video of the external device, and according to the assistant, it is almost completely invisible under regular trousers, not sure how true that is but it looks small, here is the video:

Also yeah 4 cm is perfect for me, it might seem strange, but i know that at that height I would be the person I always pictured myself as. And exactly like you said, I want to be conservative because this makes it more likely that: I will recover faster and hopefully 100%, it wont affect my proportions and biomechanical function much, and with an increase of 4 cm people i know might notice something is different but not to such a degree that they will bring it up.

I also have a perfect excuse just in case somebody might see me in those frames (despite how unlikely that is), I will just say that I did a bow leg correction. 

Edit: About other patients of Dr. Bagirov, the only ones I know about is "En" who made a diary at that old forum, and another patient posted in her diary as well, both of them seemed very satisfied overall.

I lost patience with the visa process too...

Thanks for writing this diary. Even though I may be busy at the gym or at work, I always check back on this website to know what is going on.

Honestly, I don't think anyone would notice your 4cm increase. Even at 8cm, no one talk to me about my height increase. But I agree with you, conservative is the best choice. There is no point in taking risk and you need to get back to 100% full recovery. Plus external only is a long process.

If I were you, bring these supplements along.

1. Bone builder supplements - like calcium tablet and other mineral
2. Vitamin C - I find it helped me with curing itches and fight off infection from the open wound
3. Melatonin - it's natural sleep enhancer. Pop a pill when you find yourself having difficulty sleeping

Quote from: Smallguy on February 12, 2014, 04:46:09 AMThanks for writing this diary. Even though I may be busy at the gym or at work, I always check back on this website to know what is going on.

Honestly, I don't think anyone would notice your 4cm increase. Even at 8cm, no one talk to me about my height increase. But I agree with you, conservative is the best choice. There is no point in taking risk and you need to get back to 100% full recovery. Plus external only is a long process.

If I were you, bring these supplements along.

1. Bone builder supplements - like calcium tablet and other mineral
2. Vitamin C - I find it helped me with curing itches and fight off infection from the open wound
3. Melatonin - it's natural sleep enhancer. Pop a pill when you find yourself having difficulty sleeping

No problem mate, ive been reading your diary too, its very good and helpful

I agree that 4 cm would not be easily noticed by just looking at me, however when i stand next to my old friends and acquaintances, people will probably notice that im not noticably shorter than them like i used to be. I know a LOT of people who are 5'10, and many of those guys imo are likely to notice that we are the same height after the surgery, since its very obvious that many of them take pride in their small height advantage they have over me. This is apparent in their body language and sometimes some comment might subtly touch upon it.

Thanks for the supplement list  I already stocked up on calcium tablets and Vitamin D. I also actually have melatonin because i had trouble sleeping before, but i didnt think about bringing them with me with all the controls you have to go through when flying. I bougth melatonin online from amazon but I actually think it is illegal to buy in Sweden, not sure.

Im also thinking about buying Vitamin K, as ive read it stimulates bone growth and works in tandem with vitamin D, but im not sure if it actually works or if its necessary, im not familiar with this vitamin.