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Man Undergoes Limb-Lengthening Surgery To Grow From 5ft 11ins To 6ft 1ins

Man Undergoes Limb-Lengthening Surgery To Grow From 5ft 11ins To 6ft 1ins

'I really wanted to be more like my heroes. All of my heroes were super tall.'

Jake Massey

Jake Massey

A man in the US has undergone cosmetic limb-lengthening surgery to grow from 5ft 11ins to 6ft 1ins.

Alfonso Flores, from Dallas, Texas, had dreamed of being tall since he was a child, and has stood above the six foot mark for the past seven months thanks to Dr Kevin Debiparshad of The LimbplastX Institute in Las Vegas.

Alfonso was already pretty tall prior to the op.
LimbplastX Institute

Explaining why he decided to plump for the unusual procedure, the 28-year-old told FEMAIL: "I know 5'11' is a great height, and many people would love to be that tall, but I wanted just a little more than that.

"This is something that I've really wanted to do as far as I can remember - since I was 12.

"I decided to go for 6'1 because I started off at a great height and wanted to retain as much of my athletic ability and range of motion as possible.

"I seem to have retained all of it because I am able to squat the same as before."

Alfonso said he was able to begin taking rehabilitation steps a day after the op and said the past seven months 'have been a dream'; however, his loved ones were initially very sceptical about the surgery.

He's delighted with the results.
LimbplastX Institute

He said: "They thought I was crazy and that I shouldn't do it because it was unnecessary.

"However, after I explained to them how the procedure worked and how safe it was, they were much more supportive.

"I really wanted to be more like my heroes. All of my heroes were super tall. Particularly people like Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and of course my father.

"These people were remarkable team leaders, hard workers, and they embodied everything that I wanted for my future self."

Dr Debiparshad can add up to six inches in height through the operations, which take about 90 minutes.

Explaining how it works, he said: "Cosmetic limb-lengthening is an elective procedure where I cut the leg bones - either the femur (upper leg bone) or tibia (lower leg bone) - and insert a device that slowly stretches them out to permanently extend a person's height.

"It's an X-ray based surgery where I make four to six small incisions into the leg, allowing access to the hollow part of the bone, where I insert a device that responds to an external remote control that the patient controls at home.

"Once the device is set, I place screws at the top and bottom of the device to lock into position. This is done on each leg. Post-surgery, the external remote control is used by the patient to simply increase their height by 1mm per day at the touch of a button, slowly stretching the legs to increase their height."

The surgery isn't risk-free.
LimbplastX Institute

He added that the surgery is 'usually painless', but like with any surgery, there is a risk of infection, and some high-level athletic ability might be lost.

Alfonso said: "I highly encourage people to really look into themselves before they commit to having the surgery, and really think about why they are doing this to ensure that it's for the right reason.

"As for post-surgery, I'd say as long as you're taking care of yourself, taking it slow, and being careful with your limbs after the surgery, you should be in really great shape."

Oh, and if you do really want it, you're also gonna have to find a spare $75,000 (£55,335).

That's quite a high price, you might say.

Featured Image Credit: LimbplastX Institute

Topics: Interesting, Surgery, Community, Weird