Choosing The Right Limb Lengthening Surgery: Femur Lengthening vs Tibia Lengthening
Many aspirants for limb lengthening are curious to know whether they should have surgery on their femurs or tibias first. In reality, it all depends on how much height they need to acquire, their leg fractions, how much downtime they have, as well as how much funds they’re willing to spend. Below, we’ll go over the advantages and disadvantages of limb lengthening surgery when it comes to lengthening the femurs or the tibias first. Also, if you decide to lengthen both, consider which one to do first.
“So whatever you make a choice, always follow the doctor’s advice because your well-being and safety are more valuable than any height gain.”
If you want to achieve the maximum height in the shortest amount of time, femur lengthening surgery is the way to go. If your tibia is relatively short than your femur and you believe that longer lower legs will look more proportional, or if a 5-6 cm height gain is sufficient for you, tibia lengthening surgery is recommended.
The two advanced methods of limb lengthening are the following:
- Precice Stryde (Stryde Nail)
- Precice 2.2 (P2.2)
Stryde and P2.2 nails have one thing in common: they both provide the same amount of lengthening in the femur and tibia. Patients can gain up to 6 cm in the tibia and 8 cm in the femur using either method. The main distinction between these two methods is that Stryde nails are made of stainless steel alloy and can support the entire body weight of the patient. Precice 2 nails, on the other hand, are made of titanium alloy and cannot support the patient’s entire body weight. As a result, during the lengthening phase, patients are mobilised with a wheelchair.
What is LON Method?
With its safe and comfortable lengthening experience at an affordable price, the LON method is the most accessible advanced limb lengthening method. Internal stainless steel alloy nails and external fixators are used in the LON limb lengthening system. As a result, patients can engage in a variety of physical activities, including walking, even during the lengthening phase.
Patients can gain up to 6 cm in the tibia and 8 cm in the femur using the LON method. The LON limb lengthening mechanism, unlike the Precice 2.2 and Stryde nails, allows for a greater height increase (1 to 2 cm) than the above limits. The ability of the patient’s muscles, nerves, and tissues to adapt to the new height, however, is the determining factor in the amount of lengthening.
Tibia Lengthening vs. Femur Lengthening
Leg lengthening surgery is done on the lower leg (tibia) and/or the upper leg (femur). Both bone segments provide patients with some advantages and disadvantages.
Femur Lengthening
The femur is the human body’s longest and strongest bone. The femur extends from the hip joint to the knee joint and is essential for standing and moving. The femur also supports many essential muscles, tendons, and ligaments in your circulatory system.
Femur lengthening is managed to accomplish by surgically cutting the femur and inserting a device that gradually separates the two ends of the bone. As the space between these two ends widens, the body uses its natural ability to generate new bone tissue to fill it.
Advantages of Femur Lengthening
- The femur heals more quickly than the tibia.
- Femur lengthening results in more height gain than tibia lengthening.
- Femur lengthening involves fewer risks and complications than tibia lengthening.
Disadvantages
- Femur lengthening is more painful than tibia lengthening in the first few weeks after surgery.
- Femur Lengthening can reduce the patient’s leg mobility.
Tibia Lengthening
The tibia is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee that connect the knee to the ankle (the other being the fibula, which is behind the tibia).
Tibia lengthening is accomplished by surgically separating the tibia and fibula and inserting a device that separates the two ends of the tibia bone by a fixed amount (1mm/day) each day.
Advantages of Tibia Lengthening
- Tibia lengthening is much less painful than femur lengthening, and the patient’s mobility is increased.
- Tibia lengthening surgery can correct bowlegs (genu varum).
Disadvantages
- Tibia heals more slowly than femur.
- The Achilles tendon in the lower leg is the limiting factor in tibia lengthening. If the lengthened tibia exceeds the Achilles tendon’s stretching limits, your heels may be unable to touch the ground until the Achilles tendon is sufficiently stretched. With physiotherapy and exercise, this condition can usually be improved within a few months.
- For greater tibial lengthening, the Achilles tendon can be lengthened. Surgery to lengthen the Achilles tendon can result in permanent muscle weakness. As a result, we do not advise lengthening the Achilles tendon to allow for greater lengthening.
Is it possible to lengthen both the tibia and the femur at the same time?
(Surgery for Quadrilateral Limb Lengthening)
Theoretically and practically, it is possible to extend both the tibia and the femur bone at the same time. However, this option raises the risks of surgery (fat embolism) and provides patients with a more painful and uncomfortable leg-lengthening experience. Experienced surgeons around the world prioritize patient safety and minimize risks when performing limb-lengthening procedures. As a result, they do not perform quadrilateral limb lengthening surgery and do not advise his patients to do so.
Suggestion
A series of tests and examinations are performed prior to limb lengthening surgery. One of these tests is the Ortho X-ray, which provides precise anatomical tibia and femur lengths. After this test, you and your surgeon can decide on the best proportional lengthening strategy for you. Because doctors only need to break and distract the femur, femur lengthening is safer than tibia lengthening. To extend the tibias, the fibulas, the thinner bones next to the tibias, must also be lengthened, thereby increasing the risk of fractures, malunions (improper healing of the two parts of the bone), and nonunions (when the two parts do not consolidate and join again). These complications influence on various surgeries, which are typically not covered by the initial cost, potentially increasing the cost of tibia lengthening. Because of the additional complexities, tibia lengthening should only be performed by a reputable surgeon with extensive experience.
How can Medsurge India Help?
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