aestheticallylong's Dr. Betz Experience

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Hey Everyone,

Been browsing this forum for the last 4 years, and as I draw closer to finally get LL, I thought it's time I start. interacting with the community. I want to give. a brief introduction and ask a few questions that will help me make. the right decisions.

Introduction
Been considering LL for the past few years, and have always planned to do it as soon as graduating. I am very fortunate to have my parent's support, and have the option to go with any doctor I choose (no budget constraint). Unfortunately with the STRYDE recall, that has left me in a strange spot, since I am only considering weight-bearing nails. I would like to get 6-7 cm on femurs internally. Currently I am 171 cm, early 20's, and have been stretching and working out intensely every day for the past 4 months. I plan to get into twice a day stretching, an hour each session, around 2 months prior to operation day. The goal is to get as close to full splits as I can, and stretching hip flexors, while also building strength in the core and glutes.

 Originally I planned to go with Paley STRYDE, but given that is no longer an option, I am considering Dr. Betz. I have contacted Paley, Mahboubian, and Debiparshad, and they all say to expect STRYDE back in 2023. I can technically wait that long, but if Betz can do the job, I might as well go for it (a few questions further down about this). I graduate in April, and would like to start the process in either June or August (questions below).

Questions

• For those that did LL with Betz, do you recommend him? I have read the diaries of SirStretchAlot, chasing_higher_dream, and RB, and while there are some complications, it does not seem unrecoverable. I am having a hard time deciding since I only know of the process through these diaries. Would I be able to talk to any current patients (If you are a patient PLEASE DM me)?
• Is stryde FAR superior to Betzbone? In all technicality I would need to wait around another year most likely, and I am only considering weight-bearing nails, so if it is just a matter of clicking pain and some risk of non-union I can handle that. The stryde diaries are a joy to read though, and seeing results like Movie and StrydeNailChallenge is definitely swaying my opinion.
• How would you tell your girlfriend/partner, if you would even do so? I am fairly confident she would be supportive, but I don't want to be an absolute cripple for like 5 months and have her deal with that. Looking at the walking abilities of Betzbone and stryde patients, I don't think it would be horrible, especially since a lot of these patients
  go to work occasionally.
• How difficult is it to start working one month post-op? I run a startup, and we work remotely, so I am able to work my own hours and at home. We were planning to set up an office in the summer, but I can have that set up and start attending it near the end of my lengthening period.

Summary
I look forward to starting this journey as soon as possible, but I want to have the best odds of success and minimize downtime. I am indeed fortunate to have the support of my parents, and they are willing to travel with me should I stay abroad while lengthening. I very much appreciate the incite you guys can offer, and I will give occasional updates as they become relevant.

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Quote from: aestheticallylong on March 01, 2022, 04:50:39 AMHey Everyone,

Been browsing this forum for the last 4 years, and as I draw closer to finally get LL, I thought it's time I start. interacting with the community. I want to give. a brief introduction and ask a few questions that will help me make. the right decisions.

Introduction
Been considering LL for the past few years, and have always planned to do it as soon as graduating. I am very fortunate to have my parent's support, and have the option to go with any doctor I choose (no budget constraint). Unfortunately with the STRYDE recall, that has left me in a strange spot, since I am only considering weight-bearing nails. I would like to get 6-7 cm on femurs internally. Currently I am 171 cm, early 20's, and have been stretching and working out intensely every day for the past 4 months. I plan to get into twice a day stretching, an hour each session, around 2 months prior to operation day. The goal is to get as close to full splits as I can, and stretching hip flexors, while also building strength in the core and glutes.

 Originally I planned to go with Paley STRYDE, but given that is no longer an option, I am considering Dr. Betz. I have contacted Paley, Mahboubian, and Debiparshad, and they all say to expect STRYDE back in 2023. I can technically wait that long, but if Betz can do the job, I might as well go for it (a few questions further down about this). I graduate in April, and would like to start the process in either June or August (questions below).

Questions

• For those that did LL with Betz, do you recommend him? I have read the diaries of SirStretchAlot, chasing_higher_dream, and RB, and while there are some complications, it does not seem unrecoverable. I am having a hard time deciding since I only know of the process through these diaries. Would I be able to talk to any current patients (If you are a patient PLEASE DM me)?
• Is stryde FAR superior to Betzbone? In all technicality I would need to wait around another year most likely, and I am only considering weight-bearing nails, so if it is just a matter of clicking pain and some risk of non-union I can handle that. The stryde diaries are a joy to read though, and seeing results like Movie and StrydeNailChallenge is definitely swaying my opinion.
• How would you tell your girlfriend/partner, if you would even do so? I am fairly confident she would be supportive, but I don't want to be an absolute cripple for like 5 months and have her deal with that. Looking at the walking abilities of Betzbone and stryde patients, I don't think it would be horrible, especially since a lot of these patients
  go to work occasionally.
• How difficult is it to start working one month post-op? I run a startup, and we work remotely, so I am able to work my own hours and at home. We were planning to set up an office in the summer, but I can have that set up and start attending it near the end of my lengthening period.

Summary
I look forward to starting this journey as soon as possible, but I want to have the best odds of success and minimize downtime. I am indeed fortunate to have the support of my parents, and they are willing to travel with me should I stay abroad while lengthening. I very much appreciate the incite you guys can offer, and I will give occasional updates as they become relevant.

Welcome to the forum. Have you talked to your doctor to see if your growth plate closed? You are probably still growing.

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Indeed, I have been 171cm since 16.

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If somebody can also weigh in on Dr. Guichet, I would be happy to hear, would be willing to look into him as well because his videos just give me less salesman vibes than both Betz and Paley.

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Stryde will take time. They have given no updates. How do you imagine they will have FDA clearance in 2023? And what gives you confidence that it will be a good nail? You wanna be the first patient to use it?

Many people have complained about one German doctor that he abandons patients after surgery. Many have also had great outcomes.

Guichet used to be well liked until one patient shared her experience. Surely you have read that?

It is a very difficult decision. Safe and slow = do it in US with Precice. Risky and fast = do it abroad with other weight bearing nails. But whatever happens you can go US surgeons and have them fix your complications.

Good luck

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Update:

Have my consultation with Betz soon, so if anyone has questions let me know and I can ask. My operation date is scheduled for June, and honestly I'm feeling massive relief cause I have been looking forward to this for a very long time. Its like just the knowledge that this is happening was enough to soften the dysmorphia. I do feel some fear, as its no longer a theory, but a reality that I am gonna have a pretty slow summer. I am continuing to do stretches daily, and have seen notable improvements in hamstring flexibility. Also, I am working out my glutes and legs 2-3 times a week with weights. I have ridiculous muscle growth speed so over the past month there has been significant hypertrophy. My hope is to get them into a far above average state before operation date.

My interactions with Betz's team so far have been great, they said that ITB release is now available to anyone who requests it, and I will definitely take this offer.

I wonder if any of the veterans have felt a sense of haste in the months leading up to operation. I felt a glimpse of what life was like before dysmorphia today - a calming presence and a childlike curiosity for the present task. There are some commendable people on this forum, who despite facing what I would categorize as a debilitating mental illness, have achieved FANTASTIC things. I can only imagine the momentum of life and the difference in productivity once September rolls around and I am done lengthening.

Or maybe I'm romanticizing this crazy procedure. I don't know. I've always seen it as the final obstacle before I step into the adult world. In any case, I am excited to see what happens.

If you guys can answer some of my above questions, that would be very much appreciated.

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The procedure is very difficult, but few regret it. You are lucky to be young.
It will be hard one day at a time.

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My case is very similar to yours in all aspects. I shot you a DM

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I had surgery with Betz in Nov/2021 and achieved 7.2cm. Now I've been consolidating for a little over 1 month. My bone growth is good and I'm physically getting stronger and more flexible each day.

To answer your questions:

• Yes, I recommend Betz. He is a good surgeon. While you're there he will visit the hospital everyday and will answer all your questions. Once I came back to my home country, he was little slow to respond but we keep in regular contact. You should definitely take him up on the IT band release offer.
• In my option Betzbone is superior to Stryde. Cobalt Chrome is stronger than stainless steel. I did the majority of my lengthening at home, and I knew each click is 0.052mm so you know exactly how much you've lengthened based on the clicks you've done. I feel with a magnetic nail like Stryde or Precise it may not be strong enough to lengthen if you have very good bone growth. With the Betzbone I was able to feel that resistance when clicking, so I wasn't too concerned about preconsolidation. I also couldn't imagine having a non-weightbearing nail like Precise as you wont be able to walk for a long time. With Stryde you would need to take more regular X-rays compared to Betzbone.
• I straight up told my girlfriend and I don't know how I would have done this without her. You will need support even with a weight baring nail. She was able to do my housework and helped me stretch.
• I came back home after 3 weeks and I worked fulltime remotely. I was able to do so but my performance was definitely less efficient than usual. Now I feel like I'm back to 100% mentally.

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Thanks for the response bro. Did you do it in the Freiburg or Saarbrucken clinic? I'm scheduled for Saarbrucken but Freiburg is where I think he usually is, they gave me the option to do Freiburg but it would be a week later.