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Short Men Are Paying $76,000 To Have Their Limbs Surgically Extended

Updated August 16, 2021

Nowadays, if you hate something about yourself, odds are you can go to a plastic surgeon's office and have it changed, so long as you've got the cash to back it up.

Think your nose is too stubby? Get a new one. Feel like your boobs could be bigger? Go for it. Want to be able to reach things on the top shelf and see over other people's heads at concerts? Well, apparently there's now a surgery for that, too.

According to Insider, limb-lengthening surgery is a real thing that people (mostly men) are undergoing in order to become up to six inches taller, and one plastic surgeon predicts the procedure will soon become as mainstream as Botox.

If you weren't already aware, limb-extending technology has actually been around for some time now.

In fact, the Journal of Children's Orthopedics reports that it's actually existed for almost 100 years and has most commonly been used on patients with leg wounds from traumatic events, like car crashes.

Surgical nails and screws are inserted into the hollow party of a patient's leg bone, which are then slowly extended to train the tissue in that area to permanently stretch.

It's only now that we've started lengthening someone's bones strictly for cosmetic purposes, not medical.

As Insider reported, Las Vegas plastic surgeon Dr. Kevin Debiparshad founded The LimbplastX Institute in 2018 where he gives people the chance to make all their wildest, tallest dreams come true — for a price, that is.

But as long as they have a cool $76,000 sitting around for the procedure, they can get to growin'.

So far, Debiparshad has worked with more than 30 people to make them taller, and unsurprisingly, they're mostly men.

But perhaps the most surprising part is that a majority of the patients were who the surgeon would consider to be "fairly successful people," such as surgeons and lawyers.

However, when it comes to their height, he said "they have feelings of lacking." Which brings them to him, the first-known surgeon to ever open a practice solely dedicated to making people taller.

Debiparshad's procedure lasts two hours and requires weeks of physical therapy afterwards, which is all included in that $76,000 price tag.

Known as "Limbplastx", the surgery sees patients given a general anesthetic to put them under, after which point Debiparshad breaks the bone in the lower leg, thighbone, or shin area using a small drill that weakens it enough to be precisely broken.

Then, he penetrates the bone with a chiseling tool, inserts some nails and screws to repair the break he created, and repeats the entire procedure on the other leg.

Patients stay in the hospital for one night where they're given pain meds, blood thinners, and muscle relaxers.

Unsplash | Marcelo Leal

During this time, they're also given an iPad and told to press a button on it daily, which sends a signal to their leg's new implants to extend about a millimeter each day.

"Tricking the body into thinking you're growing is basically what this is," Debiparshad explained.

25 days and numerous button clicks later, the patient will have gained about an inch of height.

As debilitating as the procedure seems like it would be, the surgeon said one week of recovery is all patients need to start walking regularly again.

Then they can also start going to physical therapy to stretch the bone tissue and help the patients regain their full range of motion.

After one year, Debiparshad removes the screws and nails from their legs, and their bones remain permanently stretched.

Although there's understandably pain involved in the recovery, having your limbs broken and extended apparently isn't as bad as you think it would be.

Debiparshad reported that most of his patients tell him the pain wasn't nearly as bad as they'd expected.

There are some risks associated with the surgery, just like with any procedure, like blood clots and pneumonia, and some patients may find they aren't as athletic with their new stature as they might have been before.

As Debiparshad explained, "You may trade off some athletic ability to get to that end stage."

He continued, "You can walk and go to the gym, but you might not be able to sprint 100 meters in nine seconds," like perhaps you could before going under the knife.

Debiparshad anticipates this limb-lengthening procedure will one day become as commonplace as Botox and butt-lifts. And considering how many men as I know who are obsessed with their height (or lack thereof), I'd say the market for patients is pretty good.

h/t: Insider

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