Quote from: swalsh on April 05, 2016, 05:26:50 PM Hello all, I am on this site, as I assume everyone else is, because I am interested in undergoing limb-lengthening surgery. More specifically I am planning to undergo femoral lengthening. I am writing this post to share with everyone who is interested what I have found through the research that I have done on the doctors. Just to give you a bit of background on myself, I am 5 ft 7 inches, I live in Florida and have my whole life, and I graduated from college almost two years ago.
After my initial research in which I discovered all of the top doctors for leg lengthening, my choices were narrowed down to two: Dr. Jean-Marc Guichet (who does his work in Milan and London) and Dr. Paley (who does his work out of West Palm Beach). Although Dr. Paley is located only 45 minutes away from me, after more extensive research on both doctors I decided that I wanted to meet with Dr. Guichet in Milan about a potential leg lengthening procedure. The reasons I decided to have a consultation with Dr. Guichet were as follows: 1. Dr. Guichet invented both the Albizzia Nail and Guichet Nail 2. Dr. Guichet strongly believes in the patient doing pre-operative work that includes a lot of stretching, and strengthening the legs for the best outcome 3. Dr. Guichet strongly believes in safely lengthening the leg so that there are no complications later in life 4. And Dr. Guichet believes in having his patients be active after surgery by walking and doing biking on a stationary bike and keeping them active throughout the lengthening process.
Although I was already strongly leaning towards Dr. Guichet when my parents and I set up a consultation with Dr. Guichet, I was not going to make a decision until I had met with him, and I was absolutely sure that he was the right choice. When I got to Milan I went through a series of tests that included; low radiation X-Rays to check my bones and make sure they were strong enough for a potential surgery, a psychological exam to make sure I was of sound mind, I met with the physical trainer who works with patients and had the flexibility of my legs checked, and my leg strength was tested at another facility. After a very impressive display and thorough process of checking whether I was a right candidate for leg lengthening I met with Dr. Guichet himself.
It was the day I met with Dr. Guichet that I was 100% sure that he was the doctor I wanted doing my leg lengthening surgery. When we met with Dr. Guichet he told my parents and I what we could expect from the surgery and how it would be post-op. He told us about himself, how he went about the procedure, and how he believed that no patient was the same and that the gains the patient saw were dependent on how motivated they were in putting in the necessary work before and after the surgery, on whether they were willing to listen and do what Dr. Guichet told them to get the best outcome, and of course how their body responded to the lengthening process because under no circumstances would Dr. Guichet risk complications for the patient later in life just to get more gain in the short term. After meeting with Dr. Guichet he took us to see a few of his patients that had just completed surgery or were further along in the post-op recovery. What I saw was nothing short of amazing. I watched as patients that had just completed surgery were able to walk up and down stairs and just walk in general, I saw patients walking to stationary bikes and biking, and patients told me how some of them were able to get up from the operating table post-op, and walk to their room. Reading about it was interesting and confidence building, but actually seeing it was an unbelievable experience.
Shortly thereafter I knew that Dr. Guichet wasn’t only the right choice, but the only choice for me. We left Milan with the primary goal of getting ready for surgery. Dr. Guichet has been readily available to answer any questions since we got back from Milan, which has made things that much easier. I have been training to be in optimal condition for the surgery, and I went back to Milan just recently to meet once more with the doctor to monitor my progress, and to get everything in order for the surgery. While there I had an opportunity to meet with new patients who have been walking and biking after surgery (which never ceases to amaze). I have set up my surgery with Dr. Guichet for the beginning of July with a month of training in Milan in June. I am excited and looking forward to doing the surgery with Dr. Guitchet.
Hi Dr. Guichet