Femur lengthening with Dr. Betz - 7cm

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How long do you need to stay in the facility? I'm hoping to schedule with Betz but can't take 2+ weeks off of work

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How long do you need to stay in the facility? I'm hoping to schedule with Betz but can't take 2+ weeks off of work

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I haven't been on this forum recently but wanted to provide a quick update.

105 days post surgery
Amount lengthened: 8.53cm


A few things happened since my last update. My nerve pain eventually went away after two weeks and I also started taking pregabilin daily. I've also reduced my clicks from 20 to 15 once the nerve pain kicked in and continued 15 clicks until I hit 7cm mark. For the last 3 weeks, I've been clicking 12 per day. I've noticed that my body responds much better to 12 clicks - the pain level is much lower and I'm in general lot more comfortable during the day, and sleep quality has improved as well.

PT has been a bit a tricky during the holidays. My physio guy had to self-isolate due to covid and then he was out on holiday for the last two weeks of December which left me without proper PT for almost 3 weeks. At the moment, I'm still doing physio 3x week. I also started walking every other day for at least 30-45min in the park nearby as the weather permits.

Current plan is to continue clicking for another week or so and then focus on recovery. I'll shortly post a video of my walking.

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Hi , nice to hear that aside from some small problems ,overall your journey is going fine .
Do you have any video of the different phases ?
Like 1 month post-op / 3 months po etc?

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I'm honestly considering going with Dr. Betz when it's finally time to do my 8 cm on femurs.

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Walking videos:
1 month post-surgery (~3cm): https://imgur.com/a/W9VTKjM
3 months post-surgery (8.2cm): https://imgur.com/a/5DiqwFb

(The second video is post 3 months and 1 week to be accurate)

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Quote from: eric.cartman on January 22, 2022, 12:18:57 AMWalking videos:
1 month post-surgery (~3cm): https://imgur.com/a/W9VTKjM
3 months post-surgery (8.2cm): https://imgur.com/a/5DiqwFb

(The second video is post 3 months and 1 week to be accurate)
Your walking actually looks really good in the 3 months post one. Have you done much walking without crutches yet?

Also, I'm not sure if you mentioned this but what height did you start at?

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Quote from: eric.cartman on January 22, 2022, 12:18:57 AMWalking videos:
1 month post-surgery (~3cm): https://imgur.com/a/W9VTKjM
3 months post-surgery (8.2cm): https://imgur.com/a/5DiqwFb

(The second video is post 3 months and 1 week to be accurate)
Thank you so much .
Weight bearing nails are just a different thing ...

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Hey everyone, I haven't been on this forum for a while but wanted to give a quick update. I finished my lengthening in February  2022. In total, I lengthened around 9.2cm on both my femurs . The lengthening phase was lots of ups and downs but in the end, I think it's worth it.

I don't remember the exact dates but I was walking without crutches fairly soon after I stopped lengthening. The gait takes a couple of months and yes your legs will feel weak during those months. I started gym fairly soon after the lengthening phase, but it took good 3-4 months until I could use any real weights to load the legs properly.

No issues so far except the occasional pain here and there. My ankle mobility is not quite 100%  (i.e. I can't do a proper slavic squat) but the everything else is fine. I have intentionally avoided jumping and sprinting as I don't want to test the rigidity of the nails.

Sorry if I haven't replied to your messages - I stopped checking messages on this forum as life got busy. Planning to get my nails removed in Q1 2025.

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Quote from: eric.cartman on December 04, 2024, 12:11:49 PMHey everyone, I haven't been on this forum for a while but wanted to give a quick update. I finished my lengthening in February  2022. In total, I lengthened around 9.2cm on both my femurs . The lengthening phase was lots of ups and downs but in the end, I think it's worth it.

I don't remember the exact dates but I was walking without crutches fairly soon after I stopped lengthening. The gait takes a couple of months and yes your legs will feel weak during those months. I started gym fairly soon after the lengthening phase, but it took good 3-4 months until I could use any real weights to load the legs properly.

No issues so far except the occasional pain here and there. My ankle mobility is not quite 100%  (i.e. I can't do a proper slavic squat) but the everything else is fine. I have intentionally avoided jumping and sprinting as I don't want to test the rigidity of the nails.

Sorry if I haven't replied to your messages - I stopped checking messages on this forum as life got busy. Planning to get my nails removed in Q1 2025.
Thank you so much for the update - I am planning to do the surgery now in Q1/25 Do oyu recommend Mr. Becker? How was your experience?