Would you be in the willingness to let a surgeon break his legs, to stretch the millimeter bone to a millimeter and then spend months in recovery – all to gain a few centimeters high?
This is essentially the promise of the call stretching surgery members, a procedure once reserved for the correction of serious orthopedic problems that has now become a aesthetic tendency: Place your legs and grow a few centimeters.
Although it may seem like a quick solution for those expecting to get higher, the procedure It’s far from simple. Bones, muscles, nerves and joints pay a high price By intervention, and the risks often exceed the benefits.
Member stretching is not new. The procedure was developed in the 1950s by the Soviet orthopedic surgeon Gavril Ilizarovwhich created a system to treat poorly consolidated fractures and congenital deformities of the members. His technique revolutionized reconstructive orthopedics and remains the basis of current practice.
Although the number of people who submit the aesthetic surgery of limb stretching remains relatively small, the procedure is gain popularity.
Nos Specialized Clinics United States, Europe, India and South Korea are registering a growing demand of people who are subject to procedures that cost tens of thousands of euros to grow a few centimeters.
In some private clinics, aesthetic member stretching interventions Already outnumber surgeries with medical originwhich reflects a cultural change: More and more people are willing to undergo a demanding and high risk medical act for satisfy social ideals About height.
Surgeons start with boneusually the femur (thigh bone) or the tibia (cinnamon bone), explains the anatomy teacher Michelle Spear no .
To ensure that the existing bone remains healthy And that new bone can grow, surgeons are careful to make their blood supply and periosteum intact – the soft tissue that covers the bone.
Traditionally, the cut bone segments were linked to a bulky external structure that was adjusted daily to separate the two ends. More recently, some procedures started using telescopic rods placed inside the bone itself.
These internal devices can be stretched gradually using magnetic controls from the outside of the bodysaving to patients the stigma of an external structure and reducing the risk of infection
However, are not suitable for all patientsespecially children, and are considerably more expensive than external systems.
Regardless of the device being placed outside or inside the bone, the process is the same. After one Brief period of healingthe device is adjusted to separate the cuts cut very gradually, usually about one millimeter per day.
This slow separation Encourages the body to fill the space with new bonea process called show. However, the muscles, tendons, blood vessels, skin and nerves stretch to accommodate change.
Over weeks and months this procedure can result in a gain of five to eight centimeters high In a single intervention, the limit that most surgeons consider it safe.
Some patients submit to operations Both in femur and tibiawith the purpose of earn up to 12-15 centimeters in total. However, complication rates increase dramatically with each centimeter of additional growth. Complications include joint rigidity, nervous irritationlate bone healing, infection and chronic pain.
Intense pain
The underlying challenge of limb stretching surgery is the same: the body shouldconstantly eporate a bone that is being separated.
When a bone departs, A clot blood around the fracture. Bone cells (osteoblasts) create a callus (soft cartilage) that stabilizes the fracture. Over weeks, osteoblasts replace this cartilage with a new bone, which gradually remodels to restore strength and shape.
In limb stretching surgeries, however, the fracture is in practice to be continuously separatedwhich means that the body repair process is constantly interrupted and redirectedgenerating a column of a delicate bone where hardening is delayed.
The process is intensely painful. Patients often need Strong painkillers. Physiotherapy is also essential to maintain the movement. However, even when surgery is successful, people can still have weakness, gear changes or chronic discomfort.
There is also the psychological burden that accompanies the procedure. Recovery, largely past with restricted mobility, may take a year or more.
Some patients have symptoms of depression or report that they are sorry to have decided to advance with the procedure, particularly if the modest gain at height not provide the expected improvement in your self -confidence.
Os muscles and tendons are also forced to stretch Beyond its natural capacity, which can lead to its rigidity. Nerves are especially vulnerable. Unlike the bone, cannot regenerate through long distances.
The healthy nerves can stretch perhaps 6 to 8% From its rest length, but in addition, fibers begin to suffer injuries and are compromised, explains Spear.
Patients also feel often anthill, numbness or ardent pain during stretching. In severe cases, the nerve damage can become permanent.
As joints, immobilized for monthsare the risk of stiffen or developing arthritis due to changes in the way strength and weight are distributed.
Increased aesthetic limb stretching illustrates a broader trend in cosmetic surgery, in which increasingly invasive procedures They are offered to people no medical need.
In theory, almost anyone could earn a few inches high. But in practice, means months of party bonesfragile new fabric, exhaustive physiotherapy and the constant risk of complications.
For those who need medical, Benefits can change life. But for those who seek to add a little height, the question remains: can you withstand months of pain and uncertainty It is really worth?
