Anna-Lysa Gayle, special to wtop.com
WASHINGTON – People wanting to add a few inches can now go under the knife to become taller.
A New York man going by the pseudonym Apotheosis said in an online forum that he grew 6 inches after undergoing a cosmetic leg lengthening surgery.
The procedure, known as cosmetic leg lengthening, is also called symmetric extended limb lengthening. It is typically used by surgeons to help people with dwarfism or dysplasia.
Now it is now being used by some men with height dysphoria, a psychological condition that makes a person unhappy with their height.
It is advised that people 5 foot 9 inches and over do not have the operation. It is most common among people with constitutional short stature, those without deformities who are in the bottom fifth percentile of height in their region.
In order for the procedure to work, surgeons must first break the leg bone in two and then implant a telescopic rod in the middle of the broken bones. The rod causes the bone to pull apart at a slow rate, approximately one millimeter per day.
Recovery can take up to three months. Apotheosis told ABC’s 20/20 he doesn’t want to openly talk about his surgery until he is certain that the procedure has been safely completed.
“I am still lengthening right now and there could be further complications and I don’t want to talk about it successfully until it’s been successful,” he Apotheosis.
The surgery is considered a cosmetic procedure and is not covered by most medical insurances. Many travel outside the United States to save money — the surgery cost around $85,000.
Shortsupport.org lists Baltimore’s LifeBridge International Center for Limb Lengthening as the best place to have Cosmetic Leg Lengthening surgery.
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