Leg Lengthening: A Procedure Goes Mainstream ... and Too Far

Things are getting crazier by the day in the world of plastic surgery. We've seen or heard stories of patients who become so obsessed with their appearance and the notion of "perfection," that they are willing to subject themselves to extensive and painful procedures.

Now, leg lengthening has become a favorite plastic surgery procedure in Russia, and strictly for making one taller. Up until now the procedure was used to correct limb deformities; but, image-obsessed patients are using it add to their height.



I recall years ago having a student who had a form of dwarfism that resulted in her having shorter than normal limbs and a larger than normal head. This disproportion could prove not only in making life difficult, but hazardous as well, resulting possibly in falls due to imbalance.

K was having the limbs-lengthening procedure done on all four limbs at once. She came to class each day wearing metal brackets -- or "external fixators" -- down the outsides of her upper arms and down the outsides of her thighs. Her mother warned us that there might be days when K would be moody due to pain. The brackets are "tightened" daily, with the intention being to increase the bone length by a millimeter per day. There was one day, in fact, when her mother e-mailed all of K's teachers saying that K had fallen on one arm over the weekend and was in considerable pain. However, I never saw K in any mood other than bubbly and joy-filled. She was an amazing girl -- brave and tough in spite of her physical problems and medical treatment.

The procedure is controversial, with the advocacy group Little People of America having taken an official stand against it, warning of the risks of long-term nerve and vascular damage. Imagine: If it's controversial in the world of Little People, where limb lengthening is done to hopefully improve people's quality of life, it has to be even more so in the world of cosmetic surgery when it is performed solely for aesthetics.

I found a story on MSNB from 5 years ago that followed the case of a young woman with dwarfism who underwent leg lengthening. There is a pictorial along with information. Go here.

The procedure was invented in the 1950s by the Russian surgeon and professor Dr. Gavril Ilizarov. And now some 10,000 people from around the world have gone to his scientific center in Kurgan, Russia for the procedure. Here's what the UK's DailyMail online reports:

Many come from developed countries, including the UK, Australia and Egypt. All are desperate enough to pay up to £75,000 and suffer excruciating pain for up to a year to attain just a few extra inches of height.

Inside, in a scene that might better befit a medieval torture chamber, patients have their legs broken at the shin bone and then attached, via spiky metal pins, to the Ilizarov Frame.

This provides the support of a cast, using metal spokes - descending from a metal frame - which pierce the flesh to fix the bone in position.

Rather than setting the broken bone in a conventional sense, by pushing it together so new bone can grow and seal the break, this bizarre contraption gradually moves the two sections of bone further and further apart.

By preventing the broken ends from rejoining naturally, new bone cells form and fill the space between.

Every day, as new bone begins to form, the broken sections are pulled slightly further apart. Through this process, it is possible to lengthen the bone by almost 2in a month. The body also grows new nerves and muscles.

If it's not for medical purposes, why would an individual choose to have the painful procedure done "merely" for aesthetic reasons? The article continues:

So why do people go through such trials in the name of vanity? 'Some people won't understand, but I was so tired of being tiny,' says lawyer Sara. 'I'd been teased my whole life and was never taken seriously. In my career, I always felt my height was holding me back.

'Even though I had an honours degree in law, it was very hard for me to gain respect because my tiny size affected the way people thought about me. I looked, and sometimes felt, like a child.'

It seems that at this time, leg lengthening is only being performed in Russia. It seems like an awful lot to endure just to gain height. But, I don't know what it's like to be taunted for being short, or to be a professional who perhaps is disrespected for being small. I clearly can see the case for the procedure for those suffering from limb deformities, but just for cosmetic reasons?