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Comment by guiambros | Hacker News Reader

> Here's how it works: The doctor breaks the patients' femurs, or thigh bones, and inserts metal nails into them that can be adjusted. The nails are extended a tiny bit every day for three months with a magnetic remote control, GQ reported.

What could possibly go wrong? /s

Genuinely curious: has someone here gone through the procedure and care to share your experience? I'd imagine the 3 months must be hell, but won't it keep hurting even after when walking, running, or doing sports?

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This is a fairly common procedure for children with different length legs to fix a limping gait. My sister had it done back in 5th grade. She has additional health issues, but once the lengthening process was over, I don't recall her complaining about pain from it.

Interestingly, it’s a much less risky procedure on Children, because all the soft tissue around the bones will adjust much more easily than in adults (who routinely lose movement range with this procedure). However, it’s rarely done on non-adults except for medical reasons.

BusinessInsider is summarizing the https://www.gq.com/story/leg-lengthening article. I've read another first-person account of the procedure months ago, it's months of constant pain. As soon as you get used to the new millimeters there's the next procedure for the next millimeters. I wish I could find the older article, the guy said it was worth it but at the same time most of his close friends didn't even notice the height difference.

Not a doctor, but also sounds like a great way to get osteoporosis.

Doctor here! Fracturing bone does not predispose it to osteoporosis.

Bone is dynamic and living. It remodels (and fortifies) itself according to forces exerted on it!

This implies we can mold legs to be different shapes (for what devious purpose I don’t know).

I look forward to scampering around the house on four sharpened bone legs like some kind of horror movie esque spider beast when I'm an old man - it will be an excellent way to terrify the grandchildren.

For some reason my first facile thought was: to add cupholders

Not just legs but skulls too! https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/peru-elongated-sk...

It's true! We can. In fact, the “bumps” and grooves of bones (https://www.google.com/search?q=trochanter) are a result of the forces we (and gravity) exert on them.

Isn't that like what they did in Gattaca?

Yes. What's funny is that it looks like Jude Law and Ethan Hawke are already nearly the same height.

Love that movie and have always wondered how realistic that scene was. Pretty realistic, I guess!

In movie it was ankles. this is femurs/thigh bones

I haven't seen that movie in years, but I'm quite sure it was his tibia & fibula, not ankles.

https://youtu.be/KXmU1Z8PNXk?t=45 i see the braces on his ankles so i assume it was there

If you want to go into the rabbit hole, here you go.

https://www.youtube.com/c/Cyborg4Life

I haven't done this particular bone surgery, but I had my jaws broken and moved forward (sleep apnea) - not painful at all if you have a good surgeon. And in this case, they're moving it bit-by-bit over a long period of time.

I imagine some physical therapy and you're all good - the nerves can stretch just fine.

Plus, if you know the risks, and you want to be taller - go for it. One life, spend it how you wish.

this take is actually kind of neat

From what I have read, the little by little movement is what makes it excruciating. With jaw surgery, you break it and put it into its final place while under anesthesia. Then the healing starts immediately. With leg lengthening, you are slowly moving a break and this shifting/stretching the nerves. Not to mention there are lots of risks. I say you've only got one life to live, don't risk spending the rest of it limping around in pain for up to 3 inches of height.

Turns out Gataca was a documentary.

If the process is done too fast then the new bone is weak.

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