Height increase surgery also known as cosmetic limb lengthening surgey is a complex process that has traditionally been performed primarily on children to correct disproportional leg lengths. It has also been an option for people with dwarfism to gain additional height. Unbelievably, there is still a huge number of people who think that limb lengthening is impossible. If you are one of those people, know this.

Limb lengthening surgery has been performed successfully for about 50 years in Kurgan, Russia. After witnessing many World War II veterans who had leg fractures that had not healed (non-unions), Gavriil A. Ilizarov developed the concept in 1951.

What Gavriil developed first was an external fixation frame that was placed around the leg. With the knowledge that compression of the fracture would help stimulate bone healing, he built a frame that had this capacity. Gavriil instructed a patient to gradually compress the non-union by turning a rod. But the patient turned it the wrong way that caused fracture distraction. Gavriil was surprised to witness the formation of new bone in the gap between the bone ends. This initiated the research work and it came to the conclusion that limb lengthening was possible, effective, and safe.

Gavriil and his medical associates performed thousands of limb lengthening procedures in Kurgan, Russia. But Russian politics made communication and education with the Western world very difficult. Eventually, Italian surgeons started performing and improving the procedure in the early 1980s and a large center soon developed in Lecco, Italy. It was in 1988 that the first cosmetic limb lengthening case was performed in United States. Initially, there were mush skepticisms from U.S. orthopaedic community, but the surgery has proven to be quite an effective procedure.

The limb lengthening and deformity correction process works on the principle of distraction osteogenesis (bone development). This revolutionary concept reverses the long-held belief that bone cannot be regenerated.

In this process, a bone that has been cut during surgery can be gradually distracted (pulled apart), leading to new bone formation (osteogenesis) at the site of the lengthening. Bone segments can be lengthened by 15 to 100 percent this way.

Limb lengthening surgery faculties utilize a variety of techniques, including the use of monolateral (one-sided) and circular external fixation devices, to correct angular deformities as well as limb length discrepancies.