Luca Trombino

I can not even begin to tell you about the wonderful experience we have had with Dr. Rozbruch and HSS over the years we have been working with them!

My son Luca had an almost 3” discrepancy, and we followed his discrepancy from birth. We were never sure we would do anything about it because Luca is autistic, and we weren’t sure how any sort of surgery or procedure would work with him.

We had yearly checkups here in Syracuse until he was 11, and at that point our doctor here told us it was time to shorten his longer leg. This was a completely unexpected bomb that was dropped on us, and I knew it was time to talk to Dr. Rozbruch; I came across his name from just googling "pain-free leg lengthening" years before.

Within 30 minutes of my email to him explaining that we needed someone to help us navigate through a leg lengthening procedure with a more patient and realistic bedside manner for Luca, he replied telling me he would be happy and eager to help, and we set up an appointment.

Dr. Rozbruch did a more comprehensive and thorough exam than we had ever had, and we were told that before a lengthening could happen, we had to fix his knock knees. We were never even told he was knock-kneed!

Each step we took to get us through the entire lengthening process was done in such a relaxed, but forthright way. As Luca matured and started to understand more and more what was happening, he became more accepting. Dr. Rozbruch also always made sure to include Luca in every conversation and to answer any questions he had, which made Luca feel like he was a part of the process and that he had a say in each procedure.

We had an implant put in his shorter leg in June 2020, and it was Luca’s 1st ever hospital stay. He was super nervous, but we worked him through it, and HSS was absolutely incredible! Any fear we had with worrying about staff not understanding autism was quickly erased. Everyone worked with us with patience and made our hospital stay super comfortable.

From that first procedure to the rod in Luca’s leg being removed we had 5 surgeries. Never in a million years would I have thought Luca would be able to endure everything he did, but because Dr. Rozbruch walked him through each step, Luca started to want the end result of almost equal legs. That made the actual lengthening a lot easier.

Although the lengthening process wasn’t always easy, it was never painful for Luca. That was the biggest selling point for us. When Luca came out of that surgery he was in a lot of pain for about an hour, maybe, but that was it! For the next 4 months, we lengthened with Luca in a walker/wheelchair with little to no pain. It was absolutely incredible!

I feel that Luca and Dr. Rozbruch formed a trusting and comfortable relationship. He took a much more invested interest in him than just a run of the mill doctor/patient relationship, and Dr. Rozbruch is such an expert that he makes his job look easy! It's a big, scary decision for sure, but when I ask Luca about it, he says he is so glad we did it!