mrBadak.com

The authorities in China has finally ban the open practise of leg-lengthening surgery (news link). From now on, only hospitals that has passed certain criteria can perform these procedures and only after explaining to the patients the risk involve in going through with the procedure.

This measure is taken after more stories of botched operations that has left patients disfigured and some unable to walk. This is because many of the “doctors” are unqualified and offering cheap prices, taking advantage of one of China’s social prejudice on short people.

Actually I’ve seen this procedure highlighted in a documentary shown on Discovery Channel (or National Geographic - not really sure) this year.

First these so-called doctors break the patient’s legs and insert steel pins into the bones, all of them connected to a metal frame located outside of their skin. On this frame, there is a knob that the patient can turn just a little bit everyday.

Whenever this knob is turned, it is actually making a gap in between the bones that are still trying to heal. Because of these gaps, naturally new bones will be filled in by the body. So in a way, making their legs longer.

And yes, every turn on this knob, though only a little, makes the patient suffers excruciating pain.

But I guess these patients feel that the pain of being looked down by society for being short is greater, that is why they rather go through this.

Since their economic boom, many Chinese people feel discriminated against in their jobs if they are not tall or good-looking enough. In the documentary, it shows how one woman’s leg got so swollen, it looked like her legs were part of incredible hulk’s muscle. It was infected with germs and the doctor blame it on her, blaming it on her poor hygiene instead.

Hopefully the action by the Chinese government will end this terrible procedure and unmonitored procedure.

So how do plastic surgeon in our modern world do leg-lengthening? Going through the list of procedures offered by plastic surgeon, as the list on Naples cosmetic surgery, there are none.

I’ve read somewhere surgeons would offer hormone growth instead. I think I will prefer eating pills or getting injected than turning those knobs. Ouch.