What is Length Extension?

Lengthening surgery is a surgical operation performed by orthopedic specialists in order to lengthen the bones in the arms and legs and increase functionality.

Apart from defects caused by leg length inequalities, poorly fused bone fractures as a result of unsuccessful treatment, congenital defects and developmental disorders, it can also be performed for aesthetic purposes only.

Lengthening surgeries are a surgical field that has been performed for about a hundred years and is thought to date back even more. It has evolved from those years to the present.

Why is Length Extension Surgery Performed?

Although short stature or disproportionate limb is not seen as a disease, it can cause a person to feel uncomfortable and social, psychological and functional disadvantages that will have radical effects on his life.

Thanks to the surgical methods applied today, these problems can be avoided. Lengthening naturally occurs over the years during the growth and development process. However, genetic factors, hormonal reasons or chronic diseases can cause short stature. At the point where this situation causes physical dissatisfaction or psychological discomfort, the person needs specialist counseling and when the operation is decided, the lengthening process that normally takes years is performed within months with lengthening surgeries.

So much so that patients who have undergone aesthetic lengthening begin to accept their height as normal after the process and state that their social skills and self-confidence have improved. Thus, their satisfaction increases with significant changes in their professional and personal lives. Most patients choose limb lengthening for cosmetic reasons.

The Ilizarov Method

There are basically three systems. The first is the system applied only externally. The application called the Ilizarov method is a system in which the bone is fixed with thin wires and circles. This device holds the bone from above and below, after the bone is cracked, the patient slowly extends the bone by turning the screws on the device. This is also called the external detection method.

Combined Method

The second is the combined method, which is an advanced stage. In this method, there is a fixation system outside the skin to fix the bone, and inside there is a nail or plate. The most important advantage of the combined method is that it shortens the detection time from the outside. External fixation is the most common complaint of patients during the prolongation and disturbing the comfort of the person.

The difference from the Ilizarov method is that after the extension process is done in a similar way, the bone is fixed with nails or plates placed inside and the external fixation process is terminated.

Since people who have cosmetic lengthening do not want to walk around with a device that is visible from the outside, the combined system is more preferred. In the Ilizarov method, it is necessary to wait 1-1.5 months for every 1 centimeter to be extended. This means that the patient stays with the device on their leg for 5 to 7.5 months for a 5 centimeter extension.

In the combined system; For example, since an average of 1 mm lengthening can be done per day in a person who will have a total lengthening of 5 centimeters, he or she will only walk around with the device for 50 days, then he will be operated again, the outside system will be removed, and a plaque or nail will remain inside. Since this situation is very comfortable for patients, the combined system is used more frequently today.

Motorized Nails

The third method is lengthening with systems only through the bone. In this method, there is no visible system from the outside, only a nail (Motorized nail) that gradually grows inside the bone. The internally applied nail can be thought of as a telescopic motorized nail.

The patient's comfort is very high, as bone elongation is provided only by an internal system. However, it is more costly than other methods.

Since these treatments are performed with bone cracking, pain may occur due to stretching of the muscles and nerves during lengthening. However, this varies from person to person. While some patients can continue their daily lives, some may experience pain so that they cannot leave their home.