Wish You Were Taller? Leg-Lengthening Is Becoming More Common

This is a lot of pain and suffering for just a few inches.  (That’s what she said.)

Ever wish you were taller?  Well, having your legs surgically lengthened is more popular than ever.

NBC News just profiled a 26-year-old guy named “Alex” who had it done last year.  He was 5-foot-7, and now he’s 5-foot-10.  But it was NOT an easy process.

They basically break both legs up around your thighs, and insert a rod in each one.  Then new bone slowly starts to grow.  The rods work on a remote that lengthens them up to one millimeter per day for the next three to four months.

At that point, Alex was able to get around again using a walker.  Then he switched to a cane.  So you’re basically disabled for a while, with lots of physical therapy.

Regardless, he’s happy with the results.  He says he never wanted to be “tall,” just tall enough for people to stop making comments about his height.  He says making fun of someone’s height is still acceptable for some reason.

So how much does it cost?  He says it was around $100,000 total.  And most of it wasn’t covered by insurance.

The surgeon who did it says he expects to do around 50 leg-lengthening procedures this year, up from 20 a year ago.

It sounds like most of those patients are men, but not all of them are young.  He says even guys in their 60s have expressed interest.

(NBC News)

(Here are Alex’s before-and-after photos.)