United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Has anyone ever had limb lengthening? If so, how effective is it?

Trinda
One of the families in the UK has looked into limb lengthening, with a Doctor who has performed it on many people with discrepancies with their leg lengths.
He said to lengthen the arm would be possible, but he wouldn't attempt it until the child has stopped growing at around 18 years.
He would use a frame (i think called an Elizaroff ?? frame) in much the same way you would for leg lengthening. I won't describe it here, it's not a pleasant procedure.
I think his opinion was that the risk of infection and scarring was high and that it was a big risk to take for a small return.
I just thought I would let you know of our experiences over here in the UK
Karen

I've seen a couple of shows about it on tv...

they cut the limb in half and put a brace around the top and bottom secions. As it grows back the person keeps on adjusting the brace so that you keep on adding space that the bone has to grow into. You keep on doing this until you've achieved the additional length.

It was recently on Maury Povich show about what "little people" (midgets) were doing to become more functional. (and they were actually being scorned by their community for doing this). The woman who had it done said that it was just excruciating pain but because of how much function it gave her for her life, it was worth it.

I'm sure there are great risks as what Karen listed but everyone makes choices for their own reasons.

-francine

I looked into it about 10 years ago, and not only was the pain and scarring too much, but the doctor thought it wouldn't even work for someone like me. Apparantly there must be limb movement to stimulate bone growth, and with significantly reduce movement in the arm because of the nerve damage itself, it wont work.

I had the proceedure done on my right lower leg about 7 years ago. I was in an auto accident in 1963 that left my leg shorter and crooked. Through time I wore out my inner meniscus and was experiencing pain in my knee, back and ankle. The total time I was in the apparatus was about 6 months. My right leg was lengthened 1 1/8" and straightened 17 degrees. There was virtually NO pain involved and the scaring was minimal. The pain in my back and ankle was 100% gone . The pain in my knee was 80-90% gone. I no longer looked bow legged and most of my limp was gone. It worked out very well for me. Emil me for more info. Bill Hardin

Ilizarov is the name of the procedure.
A friend of mine had it done after a car accident (for her leg).
http://www.vardaan.net/ilizarov.htm

marieke