What happens after Paley retires? Who replaces him as the "gold standard" of LL?

Paley is considered by many the gold standard/ultimate goal of LL, one of the best and most trusted etc. Whether you're looking at old discussions from 10 years ago or current ones, a lot of people have this attitude of "Paley or nothing" or "if money was not an issue then ofc I'd go with Paley" and he's always at the top of every list.

But he'll be 68 in a few months and according to some people here retiring soon (which would make sense considering his age). Who will then take his place when that happens? People like me who have just started researching LL and probably won't be able to afford it before at least a few years from now probably will miss out on him, even if money was not an issue. So who is currently the closest we have to an uncontested best LL surgeon after him, and who won't be retiring soon?

Dr Craig Robbins , Dr Donghoon Lee, Dr Birkholtz , Dr Michael Assayag , Dr Marie Gdalvich.

Quote from: saltedchocolate on December 05, 2023, 02:10:05 PMDr Craig Robbins , Dr Donghoon Lee, Dr Birkholtz , Dr Michael Assayag , Dr Marie Gdalvich.

Wrong, they cannot replace him, right now they are way below Paley, maybe Silver standard, there is no immediate replacement, with experience some of these silver standards will reach gold standard, right now Paley is in his own class alone - nobody in same standard at this moment

What separates a good Doctor from a great Doctor? What separates a great Doctor from a legendary Doctor?

Experience. Research. Teaching.

Dr. Paley is seen as the GOAT because he has been doing limb lengthening his entire professional life. 67 years old and he's done this for decades. Thousands of patients. Not just cosmetic patients, but trauma patients too. Dr. Paley is the pioneer of LON, which was a huge step forward from external fixators only to using an intermullary nail inserted in the center to help with weight bearing and alignment. He is the man that created that idea back in the 90s and wrote a paper on it(I think it was 90s, maybe 80s I have to check). Dr. Paley has taught other Doctors, from being a speaker at international conferences to training Doctors like Dr. Dong Hoon Lee, Dr. Parihar, Dr. Robbins, and certainly more. As the saying goes, the best way to learn something is to teach it.

Dr. Paley checks every box. That is why he is seen as the GOAT. Here's something to consider though: Age related mental decline. At some point, Paley will retire as hell want to enjoy life as does everyone. Nothing strange about that. But as he enters his 70s, no doubt he will experience some degree of dullness. It happens to everyone. If you want to get LL with Paley, I recommend you do it soon before he 1) Retires 2) Gets too old and his skill regresses. Which isn't his fault, we all age.