Man undergoes brutally painful height lengthening surgery to grow five inches taller
Moses Gibson has always been insecure about his 5ft 5in frame from a young age and said he has struggled with 'heightism' in his dating life.
After spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on painful height lengthening surgery, the 41-year-old is aiming to reach his dream height of 5ft 10in.
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In 2016, Moses surgically added three extra inches to his height, with the procedure costing $75,000 (£60,376).
After undergoing such a painful operation - which involves breaking his bones and having magnetic screws put in - the business owner ended up having another surgery last month for $98,000 (£78891), in the hopes of reaching his desirable height.
He is also using a height lengthening device three times a day, which pulls the bone apart a millimetre at a time and stretches his body.
Moses, from Minneapolis, US, said: "They give you powerful pain medication as there are times when it's really painful and you have to work through it.
"You go home and you have a week or two for some healing to happen before you get the device to start lengthening."
He said that 'as far back as when he was 15', he realised that his peers around him were taller, which made him feel 'unhappy'.
"From a young age, I've just wanted to be a normal height or average. Not where your friends look at you and say 'man, you're really short'." the business owner said.
However, after his first surgery, Moses began to feel more confident.
"[After the first one] I became less hesitant and less worried about the result when talking to women. I now have a girlfriend.
"I started wearing shorts and taking full body pictures which I never used to.
"It's a crazy thing nobody should feel that way."
He continued: "It's about me as a person and the way I look at myself with the height thing. In my mind, when I'm done with this part I can just be free.
"I just won't care about my height anymore. I'll be satisfied with what I have.
"There's always going to be people taller, but it will just be something that isn't on my mind anymore."
Moses said it had 'been his dream just for that [those kind of comments] to go away'.
"People who said 'you're short', they just don't see it anymore. Even though they don't know there's difference, they ask if I've been working out." he added.
"I'd advise anybody who wants this to go for it, it's definitely worth it.
"I'm definitely wanting to spread the word and if it can help other people go through it then so be it, I'm glad."
The NHS states that this leg lengthening process, known as a distraction, may be an option if you have particularly short legs.
However, they warn that this lengthy surgery can come with complications, such as poor bone formation, fracture and infection, therefore, it is not recommended.
Topics: Health
Anish Vij