Dr. Ahmed Mostaque
Limb lengthening surgery also known as Ilizarov surgery is the last stage of fascination with height. When every other option fails to make you taller, you might want to think of the limb lengthening surgery. This cosmetic surgery is for those who are unsatisfied with their height and interested in height enhancement.
Originally developed to treat dwarfism or acute deformity correction, this surgery became widely popular and is now mostly being used to increase height. Especially in a place like India where people are being judged by their height and color of their skin, Limb lengthening surgery became very relevant. People are gushing over the result of limb lengthening surgery. Despite the agony of the surgery, more people in India are seen interested in limb lengthening surgery.
What Is The Price For Limb Lengthening Surgery in India?
The cost of limb lengthening surgery in India is quite cheap. Recently people from all over the world are choosing India to get leg lengthening surgery. Mostly because of the cheaper cost of surgery and living expense. The limb lengthening surgery is quite affordable in India compared to other countries. Starting from Rs 1.5 lakh ($1,990) the surgery can cost up to 8 lakh ($10,600) depending on the procedure and hospital facility along with other expenses. The price for the limb lengthening surgery in India is quite affordable.
But the services are not as lucrative as the price. The reality of cosmetic limb lengthening surgery is pretty harsh. Most of the hospitals are not well equipped with the latest medical instruments. Furthermore, there are very few orthopedic specialists in India who are capable of successful cosmetic limb lengthening surgery.
Sometimes the surgery can go terribly wrong and there are previous cases where the patient had to chop off his leg due to infection. If the surgery is unsuccessful the first time the patient will have to go through surgery one more time, which can be very painful. It not only takes a huge toll on the body but also weakens your mind. The pain can be devastating for someone.
Limb Lengthening Surgery In Banglore, India
Smriti, a 22-year-old girl from Kerela, came to Banglore with the expectation to increase height by surgery. She belongs to a middle-class family in India. So it is difficult for someone like her to pay for the cost of limb lengthening surgery. She was 4’9 before the surgery which is considered short in India. Her father had to sell a piece of land to manage the cost of the leg-lengthening surgery. Her family was worried because it will be difficult for her to get married with this short stature. She always wanted to be taller and had to struggle all her life because of her height.
Smriti tried so many medications and wasted a lot of money on pills that promised to make her taller in months. But nothing worked out for her. So eventually she had to go through the whole process of limb lengthening surgery. After successful surgery, she was discharged from the hospital after 1 week. After 6 months her height increased to 5’1 which was a 4-inch increase from her actual height.
In an interview, she talked about her whole experience with leg lengthening surgery. She told about the whole cosmetic limb lengthening surgery procedure and how painful it was. It took her more than one year to recover. Yet she has a problem walking properly. After the surgery, she had to be in a wheelchair for months. She couldn’t move properly and had to take a lot of painkillers to ease the pain. Once the effect of the painkillers decreased the pain was unbearable. But after all that pain she was relieved to see an increase in height. She was satisfied with the surgery and she said she will do it again and try to increase her height by 3 more inches. Despite the pain and all the agony, she wants to do it.
This grow-taller height increasing surgery is not just a pain for your body. It takes a huge toll on your mind.
Limb Lengthening Hospital In India
Ortho-one, one of the most reputed orthopedic centers in India, says they have to deal with as many as 70 patients who want to increase their height with leg-lengthening surgery. These people not only come from all around India but also from other parts of the world. Doctors at ortho-one usually don’t recommend limb lengthening surgery for patients who just wants to grow tall.
Cosmetic limb lengthening is not for people who are looking for an immediate result. As this surgery can be traumatic for some people, they usually avoid cases where the patient just wants to be tall and increase height. They do counseling for this patient and try to make them understand the consequences and the post-traumatic experience the patient might have. They also do not perform on those patients with pre-existing medical conditions and poor health.
India is a country where height is considered attractive. The average male height in India is 5’3 and for most women, it’s 5’1. There are a growing number of young Indians who are fascinated with growing taller. There is a stigma around a person’s height. Not only in India but over the world.
Although, limb lengthening surgery is completely unregulated in India many of the surgeons are performing it with lacking experience. The market for height is really bigger in India and it is just growing exponentially day by day. People with ‘I have to be taller’ mentality are the reason behind this growing industry. And why not? Even big corporates discriminate against people by their color, height, and a lot of other stupid stuff. Even it is difficult for someone with short stature to get married in India.
Leg Lengthening Surgery In Mumbai, India
Another patient named, Mukesh from Gujrat, India went for the limb lengthening surgery. He got admitted to a private hospital in Mumbai where the leg lengthening surgery will be performed. He didn’t receive any mental counseling before the limb lengthening surgery though every hospital should do it. The doctors didn’t tell him about the complications and the suffering he would face after the surgery. The surgeons immediately admitted him to the hospital and started the surgery after doing some examinations. Mukesh was 5’3 before the leg lengthening surgery.
After the surgery, he was kept in the hospital for observation. 3 Days later the doctor found that the surgery was not successful and was flawed. So they told him that they will have to cut his leg one more time for another surgery. It cost Mukesh nearly 8 lahks for the operation. After 4 months he saw a 2-inch increase in his height. The height increasing surgery worked for him but not as well as he expected. He was very much in pain and agony. It took him 8 months to fully recover. But the trauma remains. He later told that if he knew that it would hurt this much and would have so many complications he would have never done it.
Dr. Amar Sarin
Dr. Amar Sarin is one of the best Orthopedic Doctors in Delhi. He says many doctors in India are performing this very difficult surgery after just two months of fellowship. There is no specialized college in Ilizarov Cosmetic Surgery let alone proper training. Limb lengthening surgery is completely unregulated in India and many of the surgeons performing it lack experience.
Dr. Sarin, who started offering the surgery five years ago, has treated 300 patients already, and only a third of them are from India. “It is a growing trend in India,” he says. “I get around 20 calls a day, with people telling me ‘I want to be tall, I have to be taller.’”
Many doctors in India have little to no experience with limb lengthening surgery. Most of them are unqualified for performing leg lengthening surgery. But still, they are doing it without any proper qualifications.
Although some hospitals in India are specialized in limb lengthening surgery. Sparsh hospital says they only perform surgeries who have deformities or people who are really short in stature and really need to be taller. They do a psychological profile of the patient, and take them to a psychiatrist to make them understand the risk and difficulties involved in limb lengthening surgery.
The risks are the same as that of any surgery. But in limb lengthening surgery the success rate is high since it is a planted one. But the main problem begins if the patient gets an infection in their wound. There are some other complications as well for which the doctors might have to perform the surgery more than once. So obviously it would raise the cost of the surgery and there will be further implications as well.
India’s reputation for cheap and well-trained doctors attracts people from around the world. This cosmetic surgery in India saw increasing numbers from countries in Europe, America, and elsewhere where procedures can cost four or five times as much.
Height can be a serious problem for many. Being short can sometimes be awful especially when people constantly mock being short. Often shorter people lack confidence when talking to other people. Their height makes them feel vulnerable and they constantly keep thinking about it. But there are some other possible solutions that might not need to be as painful as leg lengthening surgery. But for that, you have to be patient and dedicated.
Those stupid ‘grow taller pills’ and height increasing shoes won’t solve your problem. It is just a way to rip off money by capitalizing on people’s insecurity. Rather than trying out these stupid medicines try something natural. We have this article on where Dr. Daniel Berry explains how to grow tall naturally in 4 weeks. Maybe try out those exercises and diet for 4 weeks and see if you can grow tall.
Maybe you can see some changes in your height without going for this limb lengthening surgery. There are so many complications of this surgery and some cases show permanent damage on the ligament. So we would suggest trying a natural way or just don’t try it at all and being happy with your height. Because no matter who you are, you are beautiful.
Height increase surgery cost in India
Height increase surgery costs in India can vary depending on the location. Height increasing surgery can cost up to RS 199000/- in Mumbai.
Banglore and Pune have the top Orthopaedic Surgeons and hospitals. Surgery in Banglore can cost up to RS 233000.
