Height of Surgery: Limb Extension to make you taller

Feel you are too short...new surgery can now make you taller, that is if you can afford the price...The price tag is steep — about $120,000 — and it's not covered by insurance.  Other than having your bones broken in about 4 places and a bit of pain...well you get the picture...it is possible to gain 4 inches or so in height...BD 

It's called limb lengthening and for years the procedure was done almost exclusively to correct developmental deformities or repair damage to limbs after an accident. But more and more often the surgery is being done for cosmetic reasons to help people primarily men grow a little taller.

"Orthopedic surgeons don't do cosmetic surgery. It's not in our normal routine. We do this for a guy who is maybe [5 foot 2] or [5 foot 3] and well adjusted but being short is something that is very disturbing to them. When they walk into a room and they're [5 foot 2] they can't stand it. … When you talk to them you can feel the pain they go through," said Rozbruch.

Orthopedic surgeons use several different methods to lengthen legs but the most common involves breaking the bones and attaching a steel frame to the outside of the limbs. The patient is taught to turn the screws on the frame, essentially pulling their own leg bones apart about one millimeter a day.

Every day for months you rotate screws attached to the pins in your legs. There are many moments of excruciating pain and the constant worry of infection. After that there is a grueling regimen of physical therapy. Now imagine, this was all completely voluntary — in fact, it was your idea.

ABC News: Height of Surgery: Limb Extension

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