Length growth in humans; It takes place in a process that can continue from infancy to the end of adolescence, in which factors such as genetic factors, health status and nutrition are determinative. While height growth usually stops shortly after the onset of menstruation in girls, this process can continue until the end of puberty in boys. The height of the parents has the most important effect on the height a child will have in adulthood. In addition, many conditions such as bone and joint diseases, health problems that affect bone formation and calcium levels, problems in growth and development, and inadequate and balanced nutrition can cause short stature.
What is Height Lengthening Surgery?
Although it is a relative situation, short stature can become a negativity that causes aesthetic concerns and psychological problems in people. In this case, the operation, which can be applied to patients with the appropriate profile and called height extension surgery, is an innovative application that offers patients the opportunity to increase their height to a certain extent. In addition to its aesthetic dimension, lengthening operations can also be performed for therapeutic purposes in individuals with certain health problems.
Tall lengthening surgery; It is an orthopedic surgical operation performed to increase the leg length for aesthetic reasons or for therapeutic purposes. This procedure, which is usually performed on the thighbone of the leg, is rarely applied to lengthen the arm bone.
Tall lengthening surgeries have been used in previous years for congenital deformities, one leg being shorter than the other, traumas or diseases that cause dwarfism. With the development of medical treatment methods, in recent years, height lengthening is preferred by men, especially because of aesthetic concerns.
Length lengthening surgery; It is performed by cutting the arm or leg bone to be lengthened, then expanding the gap between the two ends of the bone day by day with the help of a special fixator. While new bone is produced in the opened space, the desired elongation in the bone length is achieved. This process, which is performed in the form of cutting and separating the bone from each other, causes distraction osteogenesis. is named.
In these operations, it is not necessary to remove any bone tissue from a different part of the body. If the targeted lengthening amount is up to eight centimeters, the operation can only be performed on the thigh or shinbone. However, if a height increase is aimed above this, both bones should be treated.
Length is performed very slowly to prevent damage to muscle, nerve, connective tissues and blood vessels, and the bone gap is expanded by about 1 mm every day. Physical therapy can also be used in order to adapt the bones to elongation. In patients who want to have this operation, which is mostly performed for therapeutic purposes, for aesthetic reasons, psychiatric evaluation is first resorted to, and the operation is planned for suitable patients.
To Whom Is Height Extension Surgery Applied?
In order to perform the lengthening surgery, the growth plates must be closed. must be. In individuals who want to increase their height for aesthetic reasons, growth plates that close at the age of 18-20 should be expected. Therefore, it can be said that the best period for the operation is after the age of 20.
The lower limit for lengthening operations applied for therapeutic purposes was determined as 3 years old. Height increase surgery can be performed after the age of 3 in children with short stature or dwarfism due to various health problems. In these patients, the operation is usually performed in two or three stages. In operations performed after the age of 10, the procedure can be performed in a single session, depending on the patient's condition.
Genetic diseases are among the most common causes of short stature in children. Apart from this, the problem of short stature may occur due to diseases in infancy and childhood. In addition to these, hormonal disorders, childhood kidney diseases and nutritional disorders are among the health problems that cause short stature and may necessitate heightening surgeries.
After the evaluation to be made by the physician in such patients, the right time for the operation can be determined and planning can be made. The age limit for height extension surgery varies according to the patient's bone density, but can be specified as 45-50 years.
Tall Extension Am How Many Cm Does It Extend the Hand?
How long lengthening surgeries can lengthen is one of the most frequently asked questions by patients who plan to have this operation. The technique of the operation is directly related to how much lengthening will be achieved. In patients for whom the procedure is planned, the targeted lengthening amount is determined in advance and an appropriate operation technique is determined.
With the frequently applied lengthening techniques, an extension of 7-10 cm in length can be achieved. This elongation takes place in approximately two months. By using appropriate techniques, patients can increase in height up to 15 centimeters by performing operations on both the thigh and tibia. Operations performed with fixators placed on the leg from outside the body, called the method of operation, were preferred. However, since there was a fixator outside the body for a long time in this method, daily life was adversely affected and large-scale lengthening surgery scars were in question. Therefore, with the advancing medical technology, this method has left its place to lengthening surgeries with fixators called internal fixation and placed into the leg through a small incision.
As the internal fixation method requires much smaller incisions, it does not cause large scars. Internal operations can also be performed using different techniques such as placing motorized nails with various features and connecting them to control mechanisms such as remote control and Holyfix device.
Apart from all these, lengthening surgeries where both internal and external fixators are placed on the leg with the operations called combined technique are also performed.
How is the Height Extension Surgery Performed?
Height extension surgeries are performed by experienced orthopedic specialists. Although the operations are usually performed under general anesthesia, epidural anesthesia technique may also be preferred according to the patient's request in some cases.
First, the bone that is planned to be lengthened with surgical incisions is reached and the procedure called osteotomy is reached. The bone is cut transversely. The leg is fixed and a special device is placed on the bone and the two ends are gradually moved away from each other. In this way, bone formation is ensured in the area where the osteotomy is performed. The implanted device is enlarged 1 mm per day for continuous bone growth. This process is continued until the targeted height is reached. In patients with any angular defect in their legs due to trauma or genetic disorders, some interventions can be performed to eliminate them.
Patients can walk with the help of crutches until the target height is reached. As the bone tissue heals and hardens, patients can gradually put weight on their legs and start walking without crutches. After this healing is complete, X-ray examination is performed and the fixation device is removed from the bone. Surgical operations in which the fixator is placed and removed are performed using small incisions and the operations take an average of 2-2.5 hours.
There are no significant and obvious scars in patients after aesthetic lengthening surgery. Those who have lengthening surgery can be discharged after an average of two days of hospital stay and continue their daily lives in a healthy way. After the fixation device is attached, the waiting period for the completion of the height increase varies according to the technique of the operation and the targeted height.
The recovery time after lengthening surgery varies according to the type of surgery. An average of 4-6 months is required to achieve an elongation of 5 cm. In order to complete this process in a healthy way, the physician may recommend a physical therapy program for those who have a height increase surgery. They may be asked to use calcium and some other mineral supplements.
What are the Risks of Height Lengthening Surgery?
The risks of lengthening surgery are minimal like many other surgeries for operations performed by experienced orthopedic specialists who have received advanced training in this field. However, in lengthening procedures performed by non-specialists, complications such as angular defects, unwanted cosmetic appearance and scars, and disruption problems may occur.
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