Hasan From New Zealand: A Limb Lengthening Journey

Hi guys. I thought I’d record a  video about my limb lengthening journey so far. After being undecisive probably for a year, thinking whether I should do it or not, finally I thought  “you know what, I should do it”. So here is my limb lengthening patient diary.

And I have done a lot of research, comparing prices, doctors and stuff at different countries, I was finally convinced that Turkey is the right place, just because it is a good price, a good experience, and I thought why not.

I have arrived here on 8 th of July, and I went to Ozel Esencan Hospital on 9 th and 10 th of July, and I have done all examinations and everything and I was good to go. And then on the 11 th of July, finally I underwent the surgery. The surgery, surprisingly, was better than I expected. I had it under, what it is called, semi-anesthetic state, in which they numb you from the waist down and they just put a curtain in between you and the doctors and nurses so you don’t actually see what they are doing and but you can hear things. But it is quite a painless procedure like I didn’t feel a thing.

After that, you know, it felt like it was only about an hour, but my sister was with me and she said that the operation took about two and a half hours, or three hours. After the surgery, I didn’t feel a thing, I didn’t feel my legs, but when the effect of anesthesia had gone, it was really painful, like one of the worst pains I have ever experienced. That lasted for a couple of days. I mean, they were giving me painkillers, but it was still quite painful, I cannot sleep probably, it hurts, because they are drilling bones. I was expecting it to be painful, but I have never broken a bone in my life, so probably that’s why it was more painful to me than other people.

The device itself, that’s what it looks like. I expected it to be bulkier, but no, it is alright, it is not that bulky, and the devices are on the inner side of the legs. And as you see, here are the marks where the doctor actually did the surgery. And these are the dressings that cover the pins where they go into the skin, just to keep them clean. So the first week after the surgery, the doctor gave the green light to go ahead and  start the lengthening, and I will probably post another video where I do the lengthening. You can see the arrows which show in which direction I should lengthen. Because you want to lengthen, not shorten.
So by now, I have lengthened this much, it is about 1 cm. You lengthen by  1 mm per day, so in ten days I have lengthened 1 cm. So it is not bad, it is a bit slow process, but it is not that bad. I mean, one week after the surgery I was able to move around with a walker, as you see, things were fine. I was even able to move around a few steps without the walker. That was fun, it was the second week after the surgery.

And then in the end of the second week, we stumbled upon a problem. I felt my knee was quite sore, this part here, and down there, where the ankle is. I could not stretch my leg from the knee at all. And it was so painful. I contacted the doctor and they said  there was an infection, which I wouldn’t say it is common, but it is not uncommon either. Because in this surgery, the skin is opened, and when you open the skin, you are likely to get an infection. That’s why you should change the dressings every a couple times a week, pretty much anywhere the skin is damaged.

Continue Limb Lengthening Journey

So I had a course of antibiotics, and I am still taking the course, but I have taken the medicines for seven days already, and today I am feeling a lot better and I can actually move around. During that infection the doctor told me to stop lengthening. So I stopped it for 4 or 5 days, just to get the infection under control. And  once the infection was under control, the pain was gone. I would say it has gone away by 90-95 per cent. Still a bit more painful than the right leg, but I haven’t finished the course of antibiotics yet.

So yes, I am back to using a walker, it has been definitely better than I thought. I have done the surgery on the 11 th, and today is the 28 th. Good progress, it is a shame that the infection slowed down the lengthening process by a few days, but hey, these things happen. I am quite pleased that I noticed the infection straight away, and the  doctors, nurses and everyone was quite attentive to it and they have helped me out straight away. Yeah, I will keep you updated guys, so far this is what I have got, but I will keep posting more of this limb lengthening patient diary.