Kim Sung-eun Anchor (hereinafter referred to as Anchor): The other name for today's protagonist in <Meeting That Person> is Daddy-Long-Legs. He is a person who shares various stories about height with books such as <Grow the Growth Plate> and <Height Surgery and Complications>. Let's meet Professor Song Hae-ryong from the Department of Orthopedics at Korea University Guro Hospital. Hello, Professor?

☎ Professor Song Hae-ryong, Department of Orthopedics, Korea University Guro Hospital (hereinafter referred to as Song Hae-ryong): Yes, hello.

Anchor: You published <Height Surgery and Complications> in March and have now re-published it as an e-book? What is the reason for publishing it as an e-book?

Song Hae-ryong: Since the general public doesn't buy books often, I published it as an e-book so that Koreans living abroad and others can easily access it. I also divided the entire book into five parts so that people can select and view each part, allowing more people to share this information.

Anchor: Most books related to height are mostly about how to grow taller. However, when I read your book, it contains various stories from philosophical reflections on height to height surgery. What stories did you want to tell through the book?

Song Hae-ryong: My major is surgery to increase the height of patients with congenital dwarfism whose height is 120Cm or 130Cm because it is inconvenient for them to live their daily lives. So, they increase their height by 20-30Cm, and these people also need to lengthen their arms. However, this surgery is being performed a lot in private hospitals for general people, patients who are shorter than average, so there are quite a few complications. So, I wanted to raise awareness about those parts, so I published that book. If people who do not have major problems with their activities even if they are short undergo height surgery, there are various complications. However, if they just get past that period before marriage, they get married and have babies, so they don't have time to worry about height. Before that, height surgery is becoming more popular from a cosmetic point of view, so I published the book to give them information so that they don't regret it if they know the complications before surgery.

Anchor: I heard that your nickname is Daddy-Long-Legs. You have a cool nickname. Do you like it?

Song Hae-ryong: I don't like it. Because my height is 163.5Cm, I am also short. The word Daddy-Long-Legs is not right for me. However, the general public calls me Daddy-Long-Legs for easy calling.

Anchor: I know that patients with short stature call you Daddy-Long-Legs?

Song Hae-ryong: That's an affectionate name.

Anchor: In particular, you also founded the Korean Short Stature Association LPK. How did this group get formed?

Song Hae-ryong: 12 years ago, our KBS human theater featured the story of 4 short brothers, and at that time, I operated on the youngest of the 4 brothers, and at that time, we formed the surgery scene and the short people's group, and we appeared in the human theater in 20 episodes. And since then, short people have been formed all over the country, and we have summer camp and winter camp twice a year for 12 years, and about 200 people meet to exchange information. However, this group is not just normal people, but a group of patients with genetic problems that make them short. 100-130cm, so parents gather to share information about problems when raising babies and preparations for surgery. So, now there is a website and it is moving actively. This year, on September 1st, Samsung will invite us to Everland in Yongin for a 2-day, 1-night event.

Anchor: Then I am curious if there was a reason why you became interested in height, and furthermore, height surgery?

Song Hae-ryong: My detailed major in orthopedics is pediatric orthopedics. So, there are patients who are born with short stature and patients who are born secondarily due to the influence of their parents, so I mainly see patients with congenital malformations. I have been treating patients with short limbs for 30 years. As a result, patients with congenital short stature were neglected in Korea, and one of the reasons for organizing an organization 12 years ago was that Korean society has a lot of discriminatory and wrong prejudices about short people. So, short people are mainly called dwarfs instead of short stature, and it is known that they mainly work in entertainment establishments. But now, our LPK short people's group includes oriental doctors, professionals working at Samsung, and professors.

Anchor: Patients with dwarfism are normal in every part except that their bodies do not grow. It seems that society sees many parts with prejudice.

Song Hae-ryong: That's right.

Anchor: I am curious about who is receiving height surgery. Do most people have height surgery because of short stature?

Song Hae-ryong: Yes, most of the people who come to me are very short, 120cm, 130cm tall. And a small number of normal people are less than 10%, men are less than 150cm or less than 160cm, and women are less than 140cm, so those patients increase their height by 5-8cm. Patients with general diseases increase by about 20cm.

Anchor: It's not that they have dwarfism, but it seems that Korea has a great interest in height, so they have surgery. So, parents are also very interested. I wonder if they can grow taller if the growth plate is open, or if I am short, can my child grow a lot? There are many people who have these concerns. I think parents will be more interested in their children's height before the vacation. Don't children grow a lot during vacation?

Song Hae-ryong: That's right. Usually, you have to sleep well, don't do a lot of computers at night, and growth hormones mainly come out in the early morning, so go to bed early at night, and there are stretching exercises that help with height. You have to exercise hard, eat a balanced diet, so I have created a website. If you go in and see, I have written down the exercises and information in detail. So, I think you can refer to it.

Anchor: What website should I go to?

Song Hae-ryong: You can go to www.lpkos.co.kr.

Anchor: But what points would you say if you have to change your thoughts about height?

Song Hae-ryong: Many ordinary people come to me to have height surgery, and they say that they can solve everything if they are just taller, but in fact, even after height surgery, if they don't develop their abilities, it's the same. So, don't be too obsessed with height, and before height surgery, if you develop your skills and your inner height is great, you don't have to have height surgery at all to live your daily life without any problems. So, I think it's good to change that awareness, and that's what I can recommend.

Anchor: You said to increase your inner height as the last word. So far, we have talked with Professor Song Hae-ryong, who wrote <Height Surgery and Complications>. Thank you, Professor.

[Source]

Interview and broadcast on YTN Radio "Meeting That Person. Daddy-Long-Legs of Patients with Short Stature, Professor Song Hae-ryong". 2012.06.22

Link : http://www.ytnradio.kr/program/?f=2&id=19705&s_mcd=0201&s_hcd=09