People are paying $150,000 for painful 'leg-lengthening' operations

A US surgeon is performing excruciating 'leg-lengthening' procedures on people with height hang ups, à la Victor Frankenstein.

The surgery, which is billed as being seriously bloody painful, can cost up to $150,000 (£130,500) and involves the breaking of a person’s femur (ouch) and the insertion of metal nails that extend slowly over three months (double ouch).

Everyone from ‘self-conscious’ tech workers to actors, YouTube stars and news anchors have been booking in for the procedure, the price of which is dependent on how much taller patients want to go, according to reports.

Zoonar GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo

Speaking to GQ, Kevin Debiparshad, the head of the Nevada-based LimbplastX Institute, explained that aside from an initial up-front cost, patients can expect to fork out ‘thousands’ for follow-up treatments.  

Debiparshad quipped: “I joke that I could open a tech company. I got, like, 20 software engineers doing this procedure right now who are here in Vegas. 

“There was a girl yesterday from PayPal. I’ve got patients from Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft. I’ve had multiple patients from Microsoft.”

As for the intricacies of the surgery, patients can expect to have the femur in each of their legs broken by a doctor before extendable metal nails are inserted into their limbs. 

Over the next three months, these nails gradually extend by one millimetre a day, eventually adding several or so inches to the person’s height. 

The recovery process involves ‘relentless pain’ as the legs’ nerves, muscle and tissue stretch. Sounds like a walk in the park. 

Speaking to the outlet about his motivation for getting the surgery, a 23-year-old, Chicago-based software engineer named Alan said he opted for the op because he'd been ‘roasted’ about his height in the past. 

Mark Thomas / Alamy Stock Photo

It took Alan three months to recover from the procedure, and his height jumped from 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-9.

Bryan, another patient and a New York-based options trader, shared that he hoped to ‘improve his romantic life’ by undergoing the procedure. 

“A lot of times I would get rejected. I was, like, swinging 100 and, like, [connecting with] four or five,” he said. 

Although the standard operation only adds about three inches of height, patients can add six more inches to their frame if they’re willing to have surgical nails implanted in their tibias.

Debiparshad, who’s a Harvard-educated surgeon, said there has been no shortage of patients at the clinic despite the whole excruciating pain thing, with around 50 patients visit his office each month. 

“A lot of patients see it as an investment in themselves, and not necessarily romantically.

“Stature is such an important part, I think, of who you are and how you perceive the world and how the world perceives you. Being able to alter that is so impactful,” he explained. 

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