Disturbing risks exposed as men are undergoing leg-lengthening surgeries
Men aren't just heading to Turkey to get their hair done.
Clinics in Istanbul are now offering a type of limb lengthening surgery that can add up to six inches in height.
Known as distraction osteogenesis, it involves surgeons breaking the bones in a patient's legs and gradually pulling them apart so new bone grows in the gap.
For the basic leg-lengthening option at the Wannabetaller clinic in Istanbul, you're looking at around £20,000, while a more comprehensive package can add up to £8,000 extra, the Mirror reports.
Advert
“Patients may not be chosen by a girl for a relationship. These patients have more mental problems for social activity. When we add 8cm or 9cm they feel more good. Some patients are hoping for a wife and children but they don’t like their body,” lead surgeon Dr Yunus Oc told the outlet.
Outside of Turkey, similar cosmetic procedures have cost more than £100,000 in some places.
The risks of limb lengthening surgery
Prof Tim Briggs, an orthopaedic surgeon and NHS England’s national director for clinical improvement and elective recovery, warns that it's a 'serious, invasive procedure'.
"It can be beneficial for patients when there is a genuine clinical need but carries significant risks and requires informed discussions between patient and surgeon," the health expert told The Guardian.
"Patients face months of treatment, which can be extremely painful, with the possibility of infection, nerve damage, blood clots and even permanent disability.
"Anyone considering this surgery for cosmetic reasons abroad, should think very carefully about the long recovery and the risks, and I would urge against it unless well informed about where they are seeking treatment."
What patients have said
Dynzell, from Chicago, used limb lengthening surgery to get from 5'5" to 6'0", and spent €100,000 on the process.
He told LADbible at the time that the response from women was 'crazy'.
"I got a lot more attention from women and women actually approached me," he said.
"And it was so weird because it was women I didn't know who were approaching me.
"It's like they knew something was different even though I never met these women in my life.
"But one of them actually told me, she said, 'You like you just ooze confidence', like she said, 'Your smile and you just like, radiate confidence'.
"That's the first time I've ever heard that in my life, and I've always considered myself a confident guy, like always."
Robert, an engineer in his 50s from Oregon, told the Mirror that he paid £25,000 for his package.
“It’s always bothered me. I’m 5ft 2ins and I just want to be average height, like 5ft 6in or 5ft 7ins. It bothers me so I just want to do it to get it out of my head. I just want to get a little height, not too tall and not too short,” he admitted.
”I felt it was worth the risk so in the end I will have better confidence in myself. It’s bothered me since I was like 15-years-old and I didn’t even know this was possible.
”I did some research on it and just thought ‘let’s do it’. I will feel more confident, have more self esteem and just be less stressed thinking about it. It’s just for myself, not for anyone else, that’s why I did it. I think more people who have this height issue will want to consider it. If scientifically it’s possible then why not?”
Anish Vij