Laura Carter

Hello everyone, Leg Lengthening update! I’d like to report that leg lengthening is a wonderful thing. Not to say it’s a wonderful thing to need, but truly it is blessing that a leg discrepancy can be corrected. Dr. Rozbruch performed the surgery at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York to lengthen my son’s femur. I highly recommend this doctor and hospital, and the hospital staff are fantastic! It is, after all, the highest rated hospital in the United States. It may not be convenient to you -- we live outside of Washington DC so it was a trek for us – but it is well worth it. Dr. Rozbruch is a premier surgeon and pioneer in limb lengthening. As background – My son is 13 years old, was diagnosed with RSS as an infant, had a leg discrepancy of ¾ of inch at birth, the discrepancy increased slightly over time. His discrepancy is estimated to be 2.25 inches at adult height. The discrepancy is split in both the upper and lower half of the leg; i.e., 50% above and 50% below the knee. My son had his femur lengthened 1.25 inches and will address the lower half of his leg when he is closer to his adult height. Please do not misunderstand me – leg lengthening is not easy! Surgeries never are, the contraption (fixator) used to stabilize and lengthen the leg is awkward and needs care to avoid infections, and physical therapy is required for months. Nonetheless, we are grateful we opted to do it. I wanted to tell this community about our experience. I encourage anyone facing a leg length discrepancy to examine this option. My son’s discrepancy never seemed to bother him. He’s very active and into a lot of sports. His balance is good but he is a slow runner and he would complain of back pain when involved in active sports. As parents we need to consider the prolonged impact of a discrepancy on an adult frame. I know people with ½ inch discrepancies that do complain of back pain with prolonged standing or walking. To protect my son from a life time of pain, I am grateful for a fix. And my son will undoubtedly appreciate running faster. We had considered stopping the growth of the longer leg to even him out but would certainly have regretted it. After a life time trying to help him to grow how could I justify shortening him? His height never bothered him until now. Approaching high school he is now very focused on his height and fearful that he will not achieve the height he desires – taller than dad! Russell Silver kids tend to do very well with leg lengthening in part due to the benefits of growth hormone and it’s ability to speed healing. I am a proud mom of a triumphant RSS son!