Amputating Leg Bone ‘Surgery to Grow Taller’…Side Effects Surge

More and more young people are undergoing so-called "surgery to grow taller," which involves intentionally fracturing leg bones to increase height. The problem is that the surgery costs tens of millions of won, and can leave serious disabilities. Reporter Kim Won-jang reports.

<리포트>One orthopedic clinic in Seoul, known as a 'surgery to grow taller hospital.'<녹취> Orthopedic clinic counselor: "(The increase in height) is only about 5~6cm, but if the calf is long, others will feel it's more than 10cm." Lower limb lengthening, commonly known as surgery to grow taller, involves cutting the tibia, inserting a steel rod inside the bone, attaching an external fixation device around the leg, and gradually lengthening the leg. The hospital warns of side effects in advance. <녹취> Orthopedic clinic counselor (voice disguised): "You may develop equinus, nerve damage, etc..." In fact, as the number of surgeries increases, patients are suffering from serious side effects. A man in his 30s whose severed bone has not grown for nearly a year. A man in his 20s with necrosis of the pelvic bone. A housewife in her 30s whose steel rod suddenly broke, breaking her ankle bone. <인터뷰> Mr. Jung (housewife/voice disguised): "Even if I have revision surgery, I will be disabled in the future. I have to limp." Nevertheless, roughly 600 young people a year go under the knife to increase their height. <인터뷰> Song Hae-ryong (Professor, Korea University Guro Hospital): "If you can't treat these complications, you can ruin a patient's life." A surgical procedure developed to correct dwarfism or deformed legs is being transformed into a surgery to grow taller, increasing side effects. KBS News Kim Won-jang.

[출처]

KBS 1 TV [KBS News 9] "Amputating Leg Bone ‘Surgery to Grow Taller’…Side Effects Surge" Broadcast August 30, 2013

KBS 1 TV [KBS News 9] amputating leg bone "operation to be taller" series of side effects. Aug 30, 2013

Link : http://news.kbs.co.kr/news/NewsView.do?SEARCH_NEWS_CODE=2716265&ref=A