“Something terrible happened after I had surgery to make my legs longer told Elaine
Caution: The story of Elaine is a Detailed Medical Information may be upsetting to some readers.
A leg-lengthening treatment that went horribly wrong is commemorated by Elaine Foo’s thick, purple scars, which streak her legs.
The 49-year-old has spent her life savings on five surgeries and three bone transplants since 2016. In July, she resolved a lawsuit she filed against her surgeon, but she did not admit any wrongdoing.
Elaine experiences a metal nail penetrating a bone and describes feeling “roasted from the inside” on separate occasions.
“I made it through the trial of fire on my journey,” she declares.
Her doctor has maintained her innocence, claiming that she was informed about certain risks and that some of her problems were the result of her own carelessness.
Elaine has always despised her stature.
“At 12, I was taller than most girls,” according to her. “I was suddenly shorter than everyone when I was 14 years old. Time turned it into a crippling fixation. Goodness increases with height. Being taller is aesthetically pleasing. In my opinion, taller folks had more opportunities.
As an adult, the fixation became too much to bear.
Elaine thinks she suffered from body dysmorphia, a mental illness in which an individual constantly finds fault with their physical appearance regardless of how others see them. Devastating effects may result from the illness.
Elaine saw an article about a Chinese clinic that operated on patients to lengthen their leg bones when she was 25 years old. The graphic depiction of medieval-looking leg cages and the widespread spread of infection was present in the play. Even though it sounded terrifying, Elaine was interested.
“I know people will question the vanity of it,” according to her. “But when you face body dysmorphia, there’s no rational explanation for why you feel so overwhelmingly bad.”
Elaine found a private facility in London that offered the operation sixteen years later.
It was being supplied by orthopaedic physician Jean-Marc Guichet, who specialized in extending limbs and had developed his own tool for the job, the Guichet Nail. The fact that she could do surgery in London and recover at home was a hallelujah moment, she remembers thinking.
The potential problems were discussed openly by Dr. Guichet. Nerve damage, blood clots, and the likelihood that bones won’t fuse back together were all concerns, but I had prepared myself, was seeing a highly-paid physician, and I anticipated receiving adequate treatment. For a long time, my goal was to reach a height of 5 feet, 2 inches (1.57 meters).
Surgery, which would alter the course of her life, took place on July 25th and cost her over £50,000.
Private clinics all throughout the globe provide leg-lengthening operations, albeit they aren’t very prevalent. It can cost as much as £150,000 or more, depending on the location.
It felt like nothing had happened, so waking up was a thrilling experience. Feeling fine. But it begins after a half an hour. It was as if someone was grilling my legs said Elaine.
As if you were being cooked from the inside out. I yelled till 6 in the morning that first night, and I screamed until I fell asleep.
There will likely be some discomfort associated with this surgery. During the procedure, a metal rod is inserted into the leg after the bones are split in half.
The length of the metal rods is increased progressively in order to separate the two bone pieces. The patient’s height will be increased through this method. The space between the fractured bones should be filled in as the bones gradually mend.
Although the operation is complicated, it is merely the beginning of a lengthy process.
“The lengthening process takes about two or three months and then you have to wait at least twice that long before you’ve recovered reasonable function,” says Prof. Hamish Simpson, a former council member of the British Orthopaedic Association. “Living through it will consume the majority of individuals for at least a year.”
The process of Elaine’s lengthening started after her surgery.
Rotating her legs to set off the rod’s ratchet mechanism was an unpleasant routine she had to endure multiple times daily. This causes her legs to grow and her nails to extend. However, she claims that tragedy befell two weeks afterwards.A lot of discomfort had been building up in my left leg. Then, as I tore myself away from my bed one night, I felt a crunch like a Kit Kat and then excruciating agony.The results of Elaine’s scan validated her worst suspicions. The strongest bone in the human body—the femur—had been pierced by the nail in her left leg. Dr. Guichet calmed her, albeit she was distraught.
Just relax, he assured me. That’s all you have to do right now. Please be patient as it heals; once it has, we will resume the procedure.
While Elaine’s right leg was being lengthened, another operation would be planned to address her left leg, which would subsequently be lengthened to the same extent.
Elaine states that she was informed that the additional operation would cost thousands of pounds, but she was willing to spend that amount if it meant she could complete the procedure.
She had accomplished her 7-centimeter goal by September with her right leg. However, there was something amiss. Her spine was twisting and she was in continual agony due to the disparity between her right and left leg. Scans taken six weeks later revealed a concerning absence of bone growth in her right leg. The metal rod was effectively holding together two pieces of bone that made up her femur.
Dr. Guichet, who Elaine sought out for assistance, set up a second operation at the Milan facility where he was employed. They resumed Elaine’s left leg lengthening procedure in April 2017 and injected bone marrow into her right leg to encourage bone development there. More unpleasant news awaited Elaine when she woke up after the operation.
While Dr. Guichet was extracting the nail, she was informed by him that it had broken. “He was able to insert a nail from another patient,” she said. The additional expense, she says, was going to be substantial.
Elaine returned to London three days later, unable to move but eager to be home. By summer, she felt like the doctor-patient relationship had completely collapsed due to the deterioration of communication with Dr. Guichet.
After exhausting all other options, she finally saw an orthopaedic surgeon through the National Health Service (NHS) in July 2017.
Her doctor reportedly warned her that “this will not be a short journey.”
“I had to prepare myself for at least five years of treatment before healing fully,” according to her.
Elaine reports that she is still dealing with the emotional and physical fallout of her first operation, which was eight years ago. She claims to have PTSD and has a variety of mobility concerns.
From 2017 through 2020, I remained hidden from society. I was crippled, jobless, and living on my own.
However, she has started to find closure as of late. After four long years in court, Elaine’s action against Dr. Guichet was finally settled in July when he agreed to pay a “substantial” amount, but he still refused to admit fault.
The surgeon’s attorney argued that Dr. Guichet was not negligent and informed Ms. Foo about the possibility of a fracture and delayed bone healing before the surgery. He further claimed that the limited regeneration of bone on the right side was worsened by Foo’s undisclosed use of antidepressants and her intentional extension of her right leg nail beyond the agreed-upon length.
In court, he asserted that Ms. Foo had “frequently declined” to adhere to Guichet’s recommendations and had disregarded her physical therapy and rehabilitation.
All of these assertions are challenged by Elaine. She blames the doctor for her ordeal and claims the antidepressants had nothing to do with the side effects.
