Become Taller: Ezequiel’s +7 cm Limb Lengthening Story
A 40-year-old teacher from Spain came to Istanbul to check everything with his own eyes before deciding. He gained 7 cm, filmed every step for his YouTube channel, and then came through a setback nobody had planned for. This is the whole story, from first visit to the gym.
- 40years old
- Teacherand volunteer
- Spainhome country
- 180 cmhis target
- +7 cmheight gained
- 7
- 6
- 5
- 4
- 3
- 2
- 1
- 0
Ezequiel is a 40-year-old teacher and philanthropist from Spain. He loves his job, volunteers whenever he can, trains regularly and tries to become a slightly better version of himself every day. He had a full, active life. There was just one wish he had carried for years: he wanted to be taller.
His goal was clear from the start: 8 to 9 centimetres, enough to pass the 180 cm mark. Not for the number itself, but for how he expected to feel standing at it.
Ezequiel did not decide from behind a screen. In December 2024 he flew to Istanbul for an initial consultation. He met the surgical team and the physiotherapists in person, saw the contracted hospital, and stayed in the patient accommodation himself to judge the safety, comfort and daily routine from the point of view of someone who would be living there after surgery.
We were glad he did. A patient who checks everything in person makes a better decision, and his thoroughness told us a lot about how he would approach the process itself.
During the same visit he filmed the physiotherapy room and sat down with the physiotherapist to ask the questions anyone considering this surgery has: how much it hurts, how soon you walk, what a normal day looks like.
Filmed by Ezequiel on his first visit, January 2025: the physiotherapy room and his interview with the physiotherapist.
During his visit, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yunus Öç, the surgeon Wanna Be Taller works with, and the physiotherapy team explained what his body would need from him. Ezequiel went home and started a tailored pre-operative stretching routine the same week.
For the next seven months he treated those exercises as part of the surgery itself. Flexible, well-prepared muscles make the lengthening phase smoother and the recovery easier, and he wanted every advantage he could give himself. You can see how patients prepare on our pre-operative procedures page.
In July 2025 Ezequiel boarded his flight from Spain to Turkey. The day after he landed, the Wanna Be Taller team accompanied him to the contracted hospital for the pre-operative evaluations: blood tests, anaesthesia assessment, full-length X-rays and the other routine checks.
Then came the examination with Dr. Öç. He went through the X-rays and checked Ezequiel’s flexibility, and the months of stretching showed. He confirmed that Ezequiel was ready to go for his goal of at least 8 centimetres.
The next morning, Ezequiel went into the operating room. The surgery was performed by Dr. Öç at the contracted, JCI-accredited hospital.
After the operation he was taken to his room, where a caregiver from the Wanna Be Taller team stayed with him around the clock for the whole four-day hospital stay. Dr. Öç checked on him every day, and the physiotherapist started him on the first gentle exercises and his first steps with a walker.
“My First Week After Leg Lengthening Surgery in Turkey”, Ezequiel’s own account: from the pain of day one to his first physiotherapy, the move to the hotel and the start of lengthening.
On day four he was discharged and transferred by private ambulance to the contracted hotel. From day five the lengthening began: about one millimetre a day, daily physiotherapy, X-ray checks on Dr. Öç’s schedule, and a lot of patience.
Ezequiel filmed almost all of it. His channel, The Height Quest, became an honest, unfiltered diary of what the process really feels like, and a reference for many people considering the same path.
Towards the end of the lengthening phase he had some mild swelling just before his external fixators were removed. He documented it openly, worked through it and kept his eyes on the goal. His lengthening phase was completed with a total gain of 7 centimetres, and he flew home to Spain to continue his recovery there.
From the lengthening phase in Istanbul.
finally aligned with the version of myself I always felt inside Ezequiel, after completing his lengthening phase
At home, recovery became a daily rhythm: physiotherapy, walking a little further each week, learning to trust his legs again. Six months after surgery he was walking on his own, slowly, steadily and proudly.
Ezequiel, six months after surgery.
This process wasn’t just about gaining height; it was about gaining confidence, balance, and a new beginning. I feel like I’ve opened a brand-new chapter in my life. Ezequiel
A fall, a hip fracture, and the nails coming out early
Seven months after his surgery, Ezequiel fell and fractured his hip. The fracture was the result of the fall, not of the lengthening, but it meant another operation. Surgeons in Spain fixed the fracture with a plate.
There was one piece of good news inside the bad: his X-rays showed that the lengthened bone had already consolidated well. So Wanna Be Taller shipped the nail-removal instruments to Spain, and his surgeon there was also able to remove the intramedullary nails from the lengthening surgery. The hardware that would normally come out in a separate operation later was removed at home instead.
- The fall
Seven months after surgery, a fall leads to a hip fracture.
- Hip surgery in Spain
The fracture is fixed with a plate by his surgeons in Spain.
- X-ray check
The new bone from the lengthening has consolidated well enough for the nails to come out.
- Nails removed
Wanna Be Taller sends the removal instruments to Spain; his surgeon takes the lengthening nails out.
Why we tell this part: a real patient story includes what did not go to plan. Ezequiel’s fracture was an accident. It was treated, our team stayed in touch with him and arranged what his surgeon needed, and he kept going.
Less than a year after surgery, he is back in the gym
In spring 2026 Ezequiel sent us this video. Less than a year after his lengthening surgery, and only months after his hip operation, he is training again, 7 centimetres taller than when he started.
Today his journey is complete. He has fully recovered, returned to his normal life and found the confidence he had been looking for. From the very beginning, Ezequiel was valuable, worthy and whole; this was never about becoming someone else. It was a path to becoming the most comfortable and confident version of himself.
Ezequiel talked with us about why he chose this surgery, what the hardest days were like and what he would tell someone who is still deciding. Hear it from him directly.
Interview with Ezequiel.
More from Ezequiel’s journey
Every stage, from the pre-surgery visit to the gym, is on his channel. A few more moments:
Thank you, Ezequiel
Thank you for trusting us, for checking everything before you decided, and for documenting all of it, the good days and the hard ones, for the people who come after you. Every step you take now is a reminder of how far you have come.
From all of us at Wanna Be Taller in Istanbul
This page describes one patient’s experience. Results and recovery times vary from person to person, and nothing on this page replaces a consultation with a medical professional.
Wanna Be Taller is an international health tourism intermediary. Our services are within the scope of international health tourism (international health tourism authorization certificate no. AK-0198). Treatments are provided in contracted health institutions that hold a health tourism authorization certificate. Travel services are provided by Hemcar, a licensed Group A travel agency (Ministry of Culture and Tourism certificate no. 12109).