I am on the border to getting it done. Everything is in place and ready to move forward. The one thing holding me back is fear of serious complications. Most journals and surgeon sites make the procedure seem low risk but the published data says otherwise. Keep in mind that this is for precise internal femur.
(1) Largest sample size. Study with 782 patients: 34% complication rate. Type I (minimal intervention) in 11% of segments; Type II (substantial change in treatment plan) in 15% of segments; Type IIIA (failure to achieve goal) in 5% of segments; and Type IIIB (new pathology or permanent sequelae) in 3% of segments. Device and bone complications were the most frequent. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17453674.2020.1835321
(2) Excerpt from Dr. Rozbruch's website: Overall, limb lengthening surgeries have a high success rate (about 95%). Scarring is usually minimal since only small incisions are required in most procedures. Although minor problems may occur with pins and stiffening in the joints, serious complications from limb lengthening surgery are rare. Those that do occur are usually in seen in patients who are already considered to be high risk, such as those who are being treated for limb salvage.
https://www.hss.edu/conditions_limb-lengthening-overview.asp
(3) Smaller study of 10 patients. High rates of postoperative complications were seen in seven out of 10 patients (70%). Nevertheless, limb lengthening goals and satisfaction were achieved in all patients.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877056816300883
(4) Smaller study of 25 limbs. 4% complication rate. Study co-authored by Dr. Rozbruch, potential COI.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4397804/pdf/11999_2014_Article_3575.pdf
(5) Smaller study of 26 procedures. 17% complication rate.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4062798/pdf/ORT-85-293.pdf
On the fence, Coming to terms with potential complications~ realist approach
Quote from: billsmafia on February 14, 2022, 05:45:38 AMI am on the border to getting it done. Everything is in place and ready to move forward. The one thing holding me back is fear of serious complications. Most journals and surgeon sites make the procedure seem low risk but the published data says otherwise. Keep in mind that this is for precise internal femur.
(1) Largest sample size. Study with 782 patients: 34% complication rate. Type I (minimal intervention) in 11% of segments; Type II (substantial change in treatment plan) in 15% of segments; Type IIIA (failure to achieve goal) in 5% of segments; and Type IIIB (new pathology or permanent sequelae) in 3% of segments. Device and bone complications were the most frequent. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17453674.2020.1835321
(2) Excerpt from Dr. Rozbruch's website: Overall, limb lengthening surgeries have a high success rate (about 95%). Scarring is usually minimal since only small incisions are required in most procedures. Although minor problems may occur with pins and stiffening in the joints, serious complications from limb lengthening surgery are rare. Those that do occur are usually in seen in patients who are already considered to be high risk, such as those who are being treated for limb salvage.
https://www.hss.edu/conditions_limb-lengthening-overview.asp
(3) Smaller study of 10 patients. High rates of postoperative complications were seen in seven out of 10 patients (70%). Nevertheless, limb lengthening goals and satisfaction were achieved in all patients.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877056816300883
(4) Smaller study of 25 limbs. 4% complication rate. Study co-authored by Dr. Rozbruch, potential COI.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4397804/pdf/11999_2014_Article_3575.pdf
(5) Smaller study of 26 procedures. 17% complication rate.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4062798/pdf/ORT-85-293.pdf
Have you experienced any discomfort caused by the complications so far?
I haven't gotten the procedure done yet.
I don't have sources with me but from talking to surgeons, risk of losing a limb is around 1 in 2500 and risk of death is around 1 in 7000 if you do it in the US with a good surgeon. I don't have numbers for other outcomes like chronic pain, altered gait, inability to run and so on. They are not easy to find. You can schedule a consultation with someone like Rozbruch and tell him you are solely interested in these numbers and nothing else at this point.
Donghoon Lee also has a paper which would be worth reading.
Other than this, if you're this close to doing it and want to give it more thought, it is worth thinking about how you will be perceived if others find out about it. At the end of the day this is a big no-no in the eyes of the general public and will be so with whoever you will come across in life.
There are already several studies, some general about LL, other about specifIc methods. I will try to reference some later on altough some I have only in PDF.
Creating this topic is important and it can be a very useful and rigorous compilation with quotes for further individual research.
However this was already tried at least exactly for Precice (the author may want to search for, it's in the last 3 months, altough I don't have the link now). Even more useful (because it centralizes the issue of complications, ways to minimize them, and biology of the bone is the same), he/you can use the "sticky topic" that follows, indicating "Precice" at the beginning of the post (or any other method: externals, LON, Stryde, LATN, etc.). Link:
http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=680.0
It's strange comparing 5% of Rozbruch with the 0% claimmed by Palley both with thousands of surgeries. And number of amputations seems strange also, and astonishing (in a certain way let's "hope" it includes very bad surgeons).
I don't think if you are intimiated by complications of LL, you deserve LL if you don't mind me to say that.
Your being ambivalent between stepping back from LL and running the risks of complications to do LL is already explicitly indicating that you are not a good candidate for LL and you are very likely to regret doing this surgery during the procedures but just my 2 cents if I offended you I'd say sorry.
As for me, I don't care about complications except disabilities and even deaths are a resolution for me to get rid of height dysphoria. Not long time ago I weighed height higher than health and I thought Parkinson and Leukemia were better than being short so why I am writing you off not as a good candidate is already pretty self-explained.
'Once you hesitate on LL, you don't deserve LL'.
Regards and no offenses.
Quote from: zaozari on February 14, 2022, 10:54:54 AMIt's strange comparing 5% of Rozbruch with the 0% claimmed by Palley both with thousands of surgeries. And number of amputations seems strange also, and astonishing (in a certain way let's "hope" it includes very bad surgeons).
I think they may be just their propagandas. It's very intelligible and understandable to boast about the good outcomes to their studies that can reveal the success rate of their surgeries.
Fixing your (probably) serious height dysphoria vs. accepting a 5% complication that comes along with it. Take your pick
I think you don't need LL if your height dysphoria isn't bad enough that those numbers make you hesitant.
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