Turkey's first limb lengthening coordination team.patient community.honest guide.
Wanna Be Taller is an international health tourism intermediary based in Istanbul. Since 2015 we have coordinated cosmetic limb lengthening for patients from more than 60 countries: one contracted surgeon, one JCI-accredited contracted hospital, and a team that stays with you from the first consultation to full recovery, in your own language.
From one patient's decision to 760 patients' journeys
Every step of this timeline can be checked: public records, press archives and the founder's own photographs.
160 cm, and a decision nobody could advise on
I am Ibrahim Alğan. I studied Psychological Counseling and Guidance, and despite that background I spent years with the insecurity and social withdrawal that came with being a short man. In 2015 I was 160 cm. To my knowledge I was the first person in Turkey to undergo cosmetic limb lengthening, and at the time it was almost impossible to find anyone who had been through it.
2015 · 160 cm2020 · 172 cm
Public recordwannabetaller.com goes online: 21 July 2017
Our team began coordinating limb lengthening in 2015, and the website has been online continuously since 21 July 2017. Domain registration records are public and independent of us: review the registration date and history yourself.
172 cm, and the team I wish I had found
After two surgeries I gained 12 cm and reached 172 cm in 2020. Today the opposite problem exists: there is a great deal of information online, much of it unverified, and it is hard to separate reliable medical information from advertising. That is why Wanna Be Taller exists: a team that gives accurate information, sets realistic expectations and stays with the patient through the entire process.
Whatever you decide, and wherever you decide to have surgery: gather the information you need, ask difficult questions, and decide consciously.
Read the full story with photos and videos →
Contracted hospital · JCI
The team today760+ patients, 60+ countries, nine languages
Coordinators, contracted physiotherapists and patient support staff work across nine languages so every patient goes through the process in their own language. A monthly programme of events brings patients at every stage of lengthening together.
Told by journalists, not by us
Our work and our founder's own journey have been covered by international media. These are their words.
- The Guardian · Aug 2025'Being short is a curse': the men paying thousands to get taller
- The Guardian · Nov 2022Would you have your legs broken to make yourself taller?
- Business Insider · Jan 2023Leg-lengthening surgery changed my life. I'm 5 inches taller.
- iNews'I had my legs broken to be taller': the modern pressure of male vanity
- TF1 · FranceSe faire allonger les jambes pour gagner quelques centimètres
- Le ParisienIls se font casser les jambes pour être plus grands
- 朝日新聞 · Japan身長を伸ばす手術を受けるためにトルコへ
- VICEInside the world of cosmetic limb lengthening
- The Guardian · Aug 2025'Being short is a curse': the men paying thousands to get taller
- The Guardian · Nov 2022Would you have your legs broken to make yourself taller?
- Business Insider · Jan 2023Leg-lengthening surgery changed my life. I'm 5 inches taller.
- iNews'I had my legs broken to be taller': the modern pressure of male vanity
- TF1 · FranceSe faire allonger les jambes pour gagner quelques centimètres
- Le ParisienIls se font casser les jambes pour être plus grands
- 朝日新聞 · Japan身長を伸ばす手術を受けるためにトルコへ
- VICEInside the world of cosmetic limb lengthening
The GuardianWould you have your legs broken to make yourself taller?
"A 32-year-old American, who prefers not to share his name, wanted to extend all four leg bones to go from 5ft 8in to 6ft."
Read ↗
Business InsiderLeg-lengthening surgery changed my life. I'm 5 inches taller.
"It changed more than Ibrahim Alğan's height: it inspired him to quit his job, and he says he gets more compliments now."
Read ↗
iNews'I had my legs broken to be taller'
"Both men attended Wanna Be Taller, established in 2015 by Ibrahim Algan, who has had his legs lengthened twice, gaining almost 5in (12cm) in total."
Read ↗Five things we have done the same way since 2015
Swipe or scroll sideways →
Turkey's first
Coordinating cosmetic limb lengthening since 2015, with a founder who went through the process himself. Nothing here is theoretical.
Authorized, not improvised
International health tourism authorization certificate no. AK-0198 issued by the Ministry of Health. Every treatment takes place in a contracted hospital under full regulatory oversight.
One surgical team
Not a rotating list of surgeons: a single experienced contracted surgeon and a hospital selected specifically for this procedure.
Complete care, not just surgery
Consultation, pre-operative testing, surgery, hospital care, physiotherapy, accommodation support and long-term follow-up run as one continuous process.
Honest information
Risks, recovery timeline and the limits of what is achievable are explained before any decision, including when we believe surgery is not right for someone.
One surgeon. One hospital. Chosen for this procedure.
All procedures are performed by contracted surgeon Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yunus Öç, Orthopedics and Traumatology Specialist, at BHT Clinic Istanbul Tema Hospital, a JCI and ISO 9001 accredited hospital. Our criteria have not changed since 2015:
- Extensive experience in limb lengthening specifically
- Close post-operative follow-up and regular radiographic monitoring
- Modern implant technology: LON, Fitbone and Precice 2
A successful outcome depends far more on surgical planning and follow-up than on the device itself. In recent years we have seen a rise in patients seeking revision surgery after complications elsewhere; those cases only reinforced how much the choice of surgeon and hospital determines the outcome.
BHT Clinic Istanbul Tema HospitalJCI · ISO 9001Everything around the surgery, handled as one process
- 💬Online consultation before surgery
- 🚐Airport welcome and VIP transfers arranged by the contracted travel agency
- 🕌Accompanied excursion to Istanbul's historical sites
- 🏨Accommodation arrangements
- 🧪Pre-operative tests and examinations
- 🏥Surgery and 4-day hospital stay
- 🛡️6-month complication insurance issued by the contracted insurance company, subject to policy terms
- 🗣️A companion who speaks your language during the hospital stay
- 💊Medications and mobility equipment: walker, crutches and wheelchair
- 🩺Doctor examinations twice a month during recovery
- 🧘Physiotherapy with contracted therapists experienced in limb lengthening
- 🧠Contracted psychologist and dietitian support
- 🎁Patient kit and a guidebook covering the entire process
- 📞Post-operative consultancy and long-term follow-up
Patients at every stage, together every month
Our services are within the scope of international health tourism
Risks and honesty
Limb lengthening is major surgery, and no surgical procedure anywhere in the world is free of risk. Every candidate receives a full explanation of the possible risks and complications before making a decision. Careful surgical planning, regular radiographic monitoring and a structured physiotherapy programme significantly reduce these risks, but they cannot eliminate them entirely, and we do not claim otherwise.
Read the full Information and Consent Form every patient receives before surgery.