Daniel has been to see three specialists so far, two in the UK and one in Australia. All of the specialists have advised us that he will need to have surgery on his hip when he is about three years old. We won't know exactly what will need to be done until a little later when his hip has formed.
Two of the specialists are of the opinion that the length of his femur is too short for lengthening. An explanation of the lengthening process can be found on the side bar. They believe that the best treatment will be for Daniel to use a prosthesis. Possible amputation of his foot and fusion of his knee may be performed to get a better result from a prosthesis. The other specialist has not formed an opinion as yet.
There is one specialist in the USA who is apparently the leader in the field and is a strong advocate of leg lengthening. He has performed more than 5000 lengthenings since 1987 (Baltimore Sun, Jan 2005) and will perform leg lengthening when other specialists will not. Daniel has an appointment with this specialist in October.
We do not have to make a decision for a few years and in the meantime Daniel will need to be fitted for a prosthesis so that he can start walking. He has an appointment at the end of July to have his first prosthesis fitted. Stay tuned...
Posted By Kristen (Daniel's Mum)
Two of the specialists are of the opinion that the length of his femur is too short for lengthening. An explanation of the lengthening process can be found on the side bar. They believe that the best treatment will be for Daniel to use a prosthesis. Possible amputation of his foot and fusion of his knee may be performed to get a better result from a prosthesis. The other specialist has not formed an opinion as yet.
There is one specialist in the USA who is apparently the leader in the field and is a strong advocate of leg lengthening. He has performed more than 5000 lengthenings since 1987 (Baltimore Sun, Jan 2005) and will perform leg lengthening when other specialists will not. Daniel has an appointment with this specialist in October.
We do not have to make a decision for a few years and in the meantime Daniel will need to be fitted for a prosthesis so that he can start walking. He has an appointment at the end of July to have his first prosthesis fitted. Stay tuned...
Posted By Kristen (Daniel's Mum)
1 comment :
If you are interested in getting a 2nd (or 20th) opinion, there is also a doctor in New York who is very well-known for his work in limb-lengthening. He is also mentioned in that same article in the Baltimore Sun. You can see some of his "before and after" stories on his website: http://www.limblengthening.com/
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