Bilateral Femur Lengthening Dairy: May 2021 with Dr Betz and Betzbone

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Hey man, congrats on the 10 cm ! I'm scheduled for surgery this winter with Betz and I hope to be as successful as you :-)

I have one question for you (and also for other people who lengthened):

Pre-op, what are the most important muscles to strengthen ?
ie: what muscle did lose the most strength after the operation ? And what muscle you wish would have more strong right now ?
What weak muscles are preventing you from having a normal gait?

Thx

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@I want 8,07 cm
Betz and Buldu really can't be any more different. Betz uses Betzbone and doesn't do ITB release, while Buldu uses Precise and does ITB release. However, they are both known to provide little aftercare. I believe Giotikas is probably a stronger choice, as he does both Precise and Gnail, and isn't that much more expensive than Buldu. Since you're a European citizen, I'd also probably just stay in Europe (Betz/Giotikas), as your insurance will probably cover more and you have more legal recourse should things go wrong.

@Roger1300
Thanks. I wouldn't consider myself a success yet, haha. Maybe after when my walking completely recovers
1) Strengthening muscles pre-op is pointless as more muscles means less flexibility, and more muscles to stretch.
2) Glutes are the main muscles you lose through lengthening and what will affect your gait. However, you will lose them regardless, so I'd focus much more on stretching your hip flexors, quads, hamstrings and ITB pre-surgery.

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Recovery Week 2

Hey guys, the second week has been so much better!

1) Significant leg strength recovery. I can now stand for significant amount of time and walk 50% more before tiring.

2) Stretching progress has been slower. While the legs can narrow almost completely, the duckass has only improved a moderate amount.

Now that I've stretched my legs into a better shape, I will likely move to targeted glute strength training so I can stop swinging when I walk.

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Recovery Week 3

1) Steady progress. Legs narrowed. Discomfort reduced. Can stand-up from chairs without arm assistance, though still a struggle.

2) Duckass or anterior pelvis tilt is still apparent, especially when legs are closed. Trying various hip flexor stretches and glute strengthening exercises. I see some result, but it is very slow. In retrospect, I should have stretched harder during lengthening so it would not have progressed to this stage.

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Wow congrats on 10 cm man! Can you show us video of your walking gait?

Did 10 cm alter your squating motion?

How much percentage do you think you lost in sprinting speed?

Thanks!

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thanks for the update and congrats on the recovery. I'm pretty sure that the strength of your glutes (both medium and long) is as important as the flexibility of your hip flexors to prevent duck ass...

btw, people: my surgery with Dr. Betz is scheduled at the very beginning of December.
If anyone has a date with Betz before December and wants to switch with me, I'm open to it! DM me.

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Reading through this diary just gave me confirmation bias that Dr. Betz is either too old to be conducting this procedure or just flat out does not care about his patients at all. The man is like 70 or 71 for Christ sake. His earlier reports have been good but he’s been on the downhill slope for the past year. You claim to have gone through (3!!!!?) surgeries total? Along with that what kind of doctor that cares about his patients allows them to lengthen 10cm with a 12cm max? You said after you left Germany he stopped responding to your messages? Marvelous. As of rn I have looked into manhoubian, giotikas, or even Paley as the main players that everyone has to go to right now, if any of these doctors have bad reports link me please I’d like to read them. But I’m sorry man you went through hell and back and I commend your perseverance through all the pain.

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@Antonio111111
I'll probably record something once I'm better, but right now my gait is still noticeably abnormal.

@Roger1300
So after a full doctor checkup, it was determined that my anterior pelvis tilt (duck ass) was due to tight TFL muscles, not hip flexors, as most people would presume. What this means is that you should definitely have your IT band released, or risk major deformities later on.

@KillerShark
I believe Betz is just too busy to worry about patient after care. My left leg feels slightly mechanically loose/shaky when I pivot on it. I'd say Giotikas or Payley would be great bets. I have not read much about Manhoubian.

Recovery Week 5
Hi guys, sorry I've skipped out for 2 weeks. Have just started work in another city, and had to settle a lot of admin. Regardless going forward, as changes become incremental, I think my updates will become less frequent, until my gait completely recovers.

1) The great news is that my leg strength has almost completely recovered. I can walk for up to 20 minutes quickly without much fatigue. I remember struggling with 10 minutes during the last few weeks of lengthening. Your strength will return quite quickly after lengthening stops.

2) Widelegs/duckass are still here, manifesting in the form of a very ugly anterior pelvis tilt. As I mentioned to Roger1300, this is due to very tight TFLs, that are difficult to target-stretch. This is  compounded by the fact that I lengthened 10cm. My physiotherapist assured me that I will return back to normal eventually, but most likely by the end of the 7th month post-op (I'm on my 6th).

Hence I would like to ask everyone to not underestimate your recovery time. Expect at least 5-7 months of recovery time depending no your age and lengthening goal. Plan your life around it.

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Quote from: SirStretchAlot on October 23, 2021, 10:13:56 AMSo after a full doctor checkup, it was determined that my anterior pelvis tilt (duck ass) was due to tight TFL muscles, not hip flexors, as most people would presume. What this means is that you should definitely have your IT band released, or risk major deformities later on.

I disagree. The majority of Betz patients do not do IT band release and we are fine. I'm fine 9 years later after 9,5cm.
What most Doctors that do IT band release don't tell you is that your IT band won't ever be as strong again if you release it and this can give you knee problems later.

You had your surgery with Betz, then follow his advice which is to not do IT band release unless you're an extreme case.

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Quote from: BetzLandLiberator on October 23, 2021, 01:28:51 PMI disagree. The majority of Betz patients do not do IT band release and we are fine. I'm fine 9 years later after 9,5cm.
What most Doctors that do IT band release don't tell you is that your IT band won't ever be as strong again if you release it and this can give you knee problems later.

You had your surgery with Betz, then follow his advice which is to not do IT band release unless you're an extreme case.

I did my ITB release seperately with Giotikas. I've advocated for it so much that Betz is now making exceptions for patients who want it done.

Tight ITB is actually the usual cause for knee problems. In fact most atheletes with tight bands eventually get them released when physio fails.

Remember, the TFL is only 15cm long. Stretching it by 10cm or 66% of its original length will have severe reprocussions when it's injured.

Cutting the ITB saved me 2-3cm of TFL lengthening. You're essentially trading the safety of your fibrous tissues (ITB), for an actual soft tissues (TFL). I'd make that trade any day. Betz is the only one who doesn't perform ITB, and even that is changing.