Featured Image Credit: The LimbplastX Institute
Topics: Science, Health, World News
Dominic Smithers
Men are paying $275,000 to have their legs broken in a bid to make themselves taller.
Like the fear of going bald, height is a question that can really play on someone's mind.
One of those who spent years wishing they were a little bit taller (and, perhaps, a baller?) is Daniel Asadi, from Toronto, Canada.
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He had been conscious about his height since he was a teenager, when a doctor told him that he was done growing by the time he reached 5ft 7ins.
Speaking to the Mail, he said: "It’s really hard for a lot of people to understand, but I couldn’t handle it. It was this one thing I didn’t have, and it was on my mind day and night."
However, last year, the 26-year-old went to a clinic in Turkey and paid $19,825 (£17,000) to reach 5ft 10ins.
But how did he do it?
Well, the procedure, which is usually reserved for very specific circumstances such as emergency surgery, involves a hole being drilled into the patient's bone, which is then snapped in half and a metal rod is placed inside.
Another metal rod - a 'fixator' - is then fixed externally, and is extended 1mm each day by the patient, until they have reached their desired height.
Internal rods using either battery packs or magnets mean there is no longer a need for an external frame, reducing the potential for infection.
One of the world's leading specialists in the field is is Israeli orthopaedic surgeon Dr Dror Paley.
He has been working on the practice for decades and charges around $95,500 (£83,000) for both femurs, and up to $275,000 (£240,000) for a two-year package to extend all four leg bones.
He told the Guardian that he often has to treat people who've gone to other clinics and subsequently suffered complications.
"What’s driving it, sadly, is cash," he said.
"For the first time, orthopaedic surgeons have a piece of the plastic surgery business, but that doesn’t mean it’s being done well. In fact, patients are being preyed upon and are coming to me with horrible complications."
Daniel admits that it's a difficult concept for people to comprehend.
"It’s really hard for a lot of people to understand, but I couldn’t handle it," he said.
"It was this one thing I didn’t have, and it was on my mind day and night."
Another of those who underwent the surgery is Alfonso Flores, who increased his height from 5ft 11ins to 6ft 1ins.
He said: "I know 5'11 is a great height, and many people would love to be that tall, but I wanted just a little more than that.
"This is something that I've really wanted to do as far as I can remember - since I was 12."