‘Short king’ pays £36k on surgery to break legs and increase his height from 5ft 7in

A man spent £36,000 on surgery to break his legs and make him taller after he reckoned that his arms were 'too long' for his body.

36-year-old PhD student Irakli Archvadze stopped growing when he was 15, ending up at the incredibly respectable height of 5'7 (170cm), a height he shared with the likes of Tom Cruise, James McAvoy and your humble author.

However, the Georgian (the country, not the US state) bloke ended up getting an arm span of 181cm (5'11) leaving him thinking that his body was lagging behind in length.

Irakli, 36, said he felt 'uncomfortable' about his height, particularly when he was stood next to taller people or trying to approach women that were taller than him as he was 'too shy'.

The bloke ended up wearing insoles in his shoes to make him appear taller until last year, when he found a YouTube video on surgery that can increase your height by making your legs longer.

The surgery to become 3.7 inches taller cost him £36k (PA Real Life)

Taking a trip to a clinic in Istanbul, Turkey in August last year he decided to get the surgery, which involves breaking his bones and fitting his legs with metal frames.

Irakli went in for the surgery on 14 February, explaining that for the next three months afterwards he used an Allen key every day to separate his broken leg bones by a millimetre a day so that new bone could grow in the gap he was making.

He had to go through an immense cost of £36k and the 'intense pain' of the surgery, but he reckons it was worth it after gaining 3.7 inches in three months and increasing his height to almost 5'11.

He told PA Real Life: "People don’t understand how us short kings feel."

Speaking as someone who is 5'7, this short king feels as though it's not exactly the heaviest cross to bear, but this bloke sees things differently as now the surgery has been done, he said 'my puzzle is complete'.

The surgery involved breaking his bones to increase his height (PA Real Life)

There are some practical benefits to being a few inches taller than he used to be, as the Georgian student said: "It’s easier to get things from the kitchen cupboard and I will see if I can see better at concerts now!"

He said it was a 'real shock' when he saw the YouTube video about surgery that could make his legs longer, and when he decided to go for it he only told his sister and two of his friends.

While his sister supported him, his mates said they wouldn't have a surgeon break their legs and then have to screw them longer over the course of three months even if they were paid a million quid.

Irakli even quit his job at a call centre that he was working around his PhD so he could get the surgery and have the time to focus on recovery.

He said he got himself into a 'warrior mindset' ahead of the surgery, where he was put under general anaesthetic so a surgeon could break his femur bones in two places and attach metal frames to them, which have rods and screws that can be adjusted.

Irakli had to go through several months of rebab since his legs were broken (PA Real Life)

Five days after the surgery he started using the Allen key to turn the screws and force his broken bones apart one millimetre at a time.

While new bone was growing in the space that had been opened up, the man went in for physiotherapy three times a week for three months.

“I stretched as much as possible and I woke up five times per night, stretched in the bed and went back to sleep, and I went to the gym almost every day,” Irakli explained.

“I used a walker to get around. There was some intense pain but I prepared myself mentally so it was okay, and I had painkillers too.

“Pain is inevitable in this process but I looked at the pain as progress – fear is an obstacle to a progress. Therefore, I pushed myself not to give up and to go forward."

He turned the screws every day until 10 May and they were removed two days later, and now Irakli says he is starting to be able to be on his feet again without a walker or crutches.

He's just started being able to be on his feet without crutches or a walker (PA Real Life)

Even if his friends would never go in for this treatment they did applaud when they saw his new height and Irakli thinks he has 'more respect' from them now he's the same height or even taller than some of them.

"It felt amazing, I’m really satisfied with my height now and I achieved what I dreamed of," he said of the change he'd been through.

"I think I don’t get as nervous any more, I feel relaxed. I became stronger mentally and physically. I feel better about my proportions now, my arm span is still a little bit longer than my height but I feel really happy, especially with sneakers on."

It seems like he has no regrets about getting the surgery done, saying 'you'll feel like a champion after when you are taller'.

If he thinks it was money well spent then who are we to disagree?