Featured Image Credit: TIkTok/@le_tremba
Topics: Health, Mental Health, News
Kit Roberts
A man from Germany underwent three operations to become taller as he 'didn't feel masculine' before.
The 21-year-old, who had previously been 5'8", described how his height had made him feel emasculated and how he had difficulties with his body image, resulting in him taking extreme measures to try and resolve the problem.
In the end, the difficult surgeries added a whopping seven inches to his height. Time to update the Tinder profile, maybe?
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He posted his journey to TikTok, where he goes by the username @le_tremba online.
A video with more than seven million views shows him returning home to his family rather taller than he left.
Speaking in one of his TikTok videos, he explained: "For me 1.70m is short, honestly it affects my self-confidence. I don't feel masculine.
"There are women who are 1.75m or even taller."
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The surgery - which the TikToker traveled to Turkey to get - is no mean feat either, as it involves intentionally breaking the legs and inserting magnetic nails to lengthen them. It doesn't happen overnight, as the bones, muscles, skin, and nerves all have to take time to stretch out.
But for this man, the pain was most certainly worth it, with him adding in his TikTok video: "The most important thing for me, as a man, is to be self-confident, free and content.
"To say height doesn't matter is a lie."
Cosmetic limb-lengthening surgery is only available at private clinics, and there isn't much data about specific risk factors involved in the procedure.
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However, there are the sorts of risks you might expect from any procedure such as infections, reactions to an anaesthetic, and losing blood.
In addition to the medical risks, the surgery is also expensive.
At a UK private clinic, you can expect to pay as much as £50,000. And in the USA it can be even higher, ranging from £56,000 up to £210,000.
Despite this, the procedure appears to be gaining popularity, with an increasing number of people appearing to be choosing to undertake it.
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Dr Shahab Mahboubian, a surgeon at the Height Lengthening Institute in California, told NBC news that the number of surgeries he expects to perform has more than doubled this year, rising to 50 from 20 last year.
It's hardly a huge surprise that many men feel insecure about their height. Tropes such as 'tall, dark, and handsome' equate male attractiveness with being taller, as well as some dating apps having users list their height on their profile.
On the other side, shorter men are frequently the subject of offensive stereotypes around anger issues or aggression. There is even the so-called 'Napoleon complex', even though Napoleon himself wasn't even particularly short and the cliche was the creation of British propagandists.
Social media has recently seen the 'short king' trend becoming more popular. The body positive trend sees users posting positive content about shorter men and trying to break down some of the stereotypes surrounding it.