Latest Beauty Craze: Lets break some Legs

[abdulhakeem]

Why little Miss Li paid a man £1,600 to break her legs

By Richard Spencer in Beijing
23/09/2006

A year ago this month, Li Ping, an attractive 23-year-old from Beijing, split up with her boyfriend, checked into a clinic and paid doctors £1,600 to break her legs, just because she felt a little on the short side.

Over the next few weeks, the fractured ends of her tibias were braced, pinned and gradually screwed apart to extend the bones as they fused together again.

Miss Li was and remains an enthusiast for an extreme form of the current Asian fashion for cosmetic surgery - artificial leg extensions.

She is also an example of the dangers posed by an expanding and often unscrupulous private health care system in China, in which state-trained doctors can nowadays branch out for money with very little supervision or regulation.

Miss Li's legs failed to grow together properly. Despite the dramatic nature of the surgery, she was sent home in 20 days. Six months later she was in great pain and still unable to walk properly.

She is one of at least 10 cases of patients crippled by the same clinic, attached to the Fragrant Hills Hospital in western Beijing, which led to its being closed down this week and warnings from the ministry of health of the surgery's dangers.

But officials admit that though the clinic was not of the necessary standard to carry out the procedure, it may have done nothing illegal.

The transactions were arranged through a registered website, and the clinic did not fall under the ministry's supervision.

Leg extension surgery is a recognised form of treatment for severe cases of orthopaedic disorder such as dwarfism, with a few operations every year in the West.

But in China it has become a popular way to boost height for the short and even the not-so-short. Miss Li, who has been given a pseudonym at her request, was just over 5ft 1in before her operation, but wanted to grow two and a half inches.

Other women having the operation at the same time, she said, were over 5ft 4in, above the average woman's height in China.

Dr Xia Hetao, who runs Beijing's largest leg extension clinic and is now trying to repair the damage done to Miss Li and other victims, said that of his 150 patients a year, only five per cent suffered severe leg deformities.

Just under four in five could be called short, while for the other 17 per cent the treatment was purely cosmetic.

There is status attached to being taller in China, where height is seen as sign of wealth and Westernisation. Employers happily admit considering both looks and height important in applicants. As well as more obvious careers in the police and military, the Foreign Ministry has a minimum height requirement for recruits, as it does not want its diplomats to be looked down upon in negotiations.

But Miss Li, who was training as a pharmacist, had no career reason for her decision. "I just felt too short," she said at Dr Xia's Guangji Hospital, just before a new operation to readjust the angle at which her bones have grown back.

Xiangshan Hospital said that it had closed its leg extension clinic since the reports of injuries.

It did not explain why it allowed the hospital to be used by a web-based firm set up by an entrepreneur for operations carried out by surgeons with no specialist expertise.

The entrepreneur, Zhang Chunjiang, is now said to be in hiding. Thousands of women have been maimed in simpler forms of cosmetic surgery, including a case where breast implants made of a chemical that is banned in the west leaked into women's bodies and rotted flesh tissue.

Miss Li said she still did not regret having the operation.

She has been told that by next April she will be able to walk normally again – at her new height.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/23/ncosm223.xml

[abdulhakeem]

apparently its banned in china now, however i saw a docu recently about "short" women in russia who want to become "fashion" models and they are getting surgery for half (or even less) of the money. :o

Long legs to remain fantasy for petite Chinese

By Clifford Coonan in Beijing
Monday, 6 November 2006

China has banned the practice of leg-lengthening, a cosmetic surgery procedure popular among young professionals who believe height will help them to climb the career ladder, after a rash of botched operations has left patients disfigured.

Leg extension surgery looks like a procedure from the Middle Ages. A doctor breaks the patient's legs and inserts steel pins into the bones, just below the knees. The pins are attached to a metal frame and every day for months the patient tightens the knobs a small amount despite excruciating pain. By constantly forcing the ends of the broken bones apart before they can heal, more new bone comes to fill in the gaps.

"Leg-stretching surgery for the image conscious has been banned by China's health ministry after a spate of botched operations," the Xinhua news agency reported.

The operation costs some 100,000 yuan (£6,700) and it is often six months before the patient can walk without using a walking frame. Many can never run again.

From now on, leg extensions may be carried out by hospitals that conduct at least 400 orthopaedic operations a year and offer post-surgery care and rehabilitation, and only on strictly medical grounds, the ministry said.

Chinese people's increased sensitivity about their appearance has seen a rash of cosmetic surgery clinics springing up around the country, offering a huge array of different kinds of surgery. Many of the clinics are run by doctors who abandon poorly paid work in the state-run medical system to cash in on the appetite for nips, tucks and leg extensions.

The Chinese are generally not as tall as Europeans - the average Chinese woman is 5ft 2 in, while the average man is 5 ft 6 in. However, improved living standards mean Chinese people are getting taller - almost an inch taller than a decade ago - and one of the tallest basketball players in the world is China's NBA star, Yao Ming, at 7ft 5in.

Being tall has really only become an issue in China since the economic boom - the architect of the country's opening up, Deng Xiaoping, stood less than 5ft tall. But nowadays, many Chinese feel discriminated against in their jobs if they are not tall or good-looking enough. Men wear step heels, and television ads show the footwear with its inches-giving insoles.

And they can, indeed, be discriminated against - some job ads have height requirements, especially in the service industry.

The technique of leg-lengthening was conceived by Italians in 1905, but the Russians can take credit for developing the concept. Much of the breakthrough work was done by Doctor Gavril Ilizarov, who used bicycle spokes to heal fractured bones broken by gunshots. He later adapted this technique to lengthening limbs. It is now used all over the world but is rarely allowed for cosmetic reasons.

Tens of thousands of cases of botched plastic surgery are reported in China each year, according to Xinhua. Messed-up leg-lengthening operations by unauthorised beauty clinics leave patients both physically and psychologically scarred.

From now on, hospitals must tell patients about the risks, and only qualified personnel will be allowed to carry out the procedure.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/long-legs-to-remain-fantasy-for-petite-chinese-423134.html

[abdulhakeem]

Controversial and Grueling Procedure Lengthens Limbs, Risks Lives

Leg-Lengthening Procedure Can Cost Upwards of $120,000

By ANNE MARIE DORNING
Dec. 7, 2007

Imagine, if you will, a surgeon breaking your leg bones in four places, then attaching a steel scaffold frame to the outside of your limbs with metal pins jutting into your bones.

Every day for months you rotate screws attached to the pins in your legs. There are many moments of excruciating pain and the constant worry of infection. After that there is a grueling regimen of physical therapy. Now imagine, this was all completely voluntary — in fact, it was your idea.

It's called limb lengthening and for years the procedure was done almost exclusively to correct developmental deformities or repair damage to limbs after an accident. But more and more often the surgery is being done for cosmetic reasons to help people — primarily men — grow a little taller.

At 18 years old, Akash Shukla stood just 4 foot 11. "I would get carded all the time at PG-13 movies. It was really tough to find a date. I didn't know a single other guy who was my height and I was really insecure about it. I just felt like my height was really holding me back in many ways."

Shukla's story is a familiar one to Robert Rozbruch, the director of the Institute for Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction in New York. He estimates that between 5 percent to 10 percent of his patients come to him for cosmetic reasons, although he bristles at the suggestion that limb lengthening could be a new cosmetic frontier.

"Orthopedic surgeons don't do cosmetic surgery. It's not in our normal routine. We do this for a guy who is maybe [5 foot 2] or [5 foot 3] and well adjusted but being short is something that is very disturbing to them. When they walk into a room and they're [5 foot 2] they can't stand it. … When you talk to them you can feel the pain they go through," said Rozbruch.

And beauty buffs beware, this kind of cosmetic surgery isn't like a nose job or liposuction.

Patients in Rozbruch's practice must undergo hours of psychological testing to determine whether they are appropriate candidates for the procedure.

"We weed out the nuts, the ones who just think it would be kind of cool to be taller," said Rozbruch.

Psychologist Ellen Westrich works with Rozbruch in evaluating patients for surgery. Westrich describes a condition called short stature dysphoria where patients are deeply dissatisfied with their height.

"This is an interesting group of patients. … They tend to be extremely successful at work or very focused on their studies. You've heard of the Napoleon complex. In a way, compensating for their height gives them a heightened sense of themselves. They may be very happy with their life but being short makes them very unhappy."

So unhappy, in fact, that they are willing to undergo a very lengthy and punishing procedure

Shukla started talking to his family and friends about having surgery three years ago.

"A lot of friends said, don't worry about your height be happy with what God gave you. But my dad always used to respond to people by saying if we're supposed to be happy with what God gave us then why dye your hair when you go gray."

Orthopedic surgeons use several different methods to lengthen legs but the most common involves breaking the bones and attaching a steel frame to the outside of the limbs. The patient is taught to turn the screws on the frame, essentially pulling their own leg bones apart about one millimeter a day.

The bone is a unique tissue in that it can regenerate itself. So when bones are separated, new tissue grows to fill in the gap. The existing muscle, nerves and arteries stretch as well. Doctors are able to add as much as three inches to a patient's height per treatment session. And the surgery is followed by intensive physical therapy.

The price tag is steep — about $120,000 — and it's not covered by insurance.

If all of this sounds a little "out there" or even a bit barbaric, consider this: Forty years ago the thought of sucking the fat out of a woman's thighs wasn't exactly mainstream either.

"As we become familiar with something, it becomes more acceptable and more routine. … This is safe and effective and it can make a big difference in someone's life," said Rozbruch.

Although he continues to have reservations about offering the surgery for cosmetic reasons, Rozbruch said he does so because like it or not "if you don't do it, they will go somewhere else." And that somewhere else can be China, Egypt, Greece, Russia or Iran where the surgery can be had for as little as $20,000 but the clinical standards can be less than ideal.

For a window into why someone would undergo such a punishing procedure, you don't have to look any further than the Web site Make Me Taller.

It's a forum for men and women who call themselves "stature seekers." Many of them have had the surgery and others are seeking help. There are online diaries and pictures that give other seekers a peek at what they're in for. The site has 1,800 members and gets about a 100,000 hits a month, according to the site administrator who described himself as a 37-year-old, graphic designer from Brighton, England. He calls himself MMT and wished to remain anonymous for this story.

In a typical post, a new member describes what it's like to consider leg lengthening.

"I'm also worried about family and friends finding out about my surgery and what they'll say … will they think I'm pathetic or desperate for going through months of pain, enduring seemingly horrendous contraptions attached to my legs and spending thousands of dollars for a few inches? and how can I disappear for about 8 months or so without seeming suspicious? or explain why I'm suddenly 3 inches taller?"

In an e-mail exchange, MMT said that he had his surgery a year ago in China. Before the operation he was 5 foot 8. After the leg-lengthening procedure, he measures 5 foot 11.

"I decided it would be a good investment for my business career and I also simply wanted to be taller … but it is more involved than a straightforward cosmetic procedure — the intention is to alter one's life, rather than just to improve ones' appearance."

Shukla is 21 years now and a student at New Jersey Institute of Technology. Post-procedure he stands 5 foot 2. Shukla said the surgery is "by far" the most painful thing he has ever experienced but "as hard as it was, as painful as it was I would do it again."

Why?

"I know it seems superficial but before the surgery I think that's all people saw was how short I was. Now I think they look at me and say, well, he's not tall but he's not that short either. It really helps with my confidence."

And what's a few broken bones compared to that.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/BeautySecrets/story?id=3948348&page=1

[prashantnew]

Thats crazy, I've broken my arm before (by accident) and my gosh it hurt! Can't believe anyone would willingly put themselves through that, all the pins and plates etc...

Alhamdulilah am better now though :D

[Morris]

I saw a documentary about that - Rich Chinese Women having surgery to their eyes to make them rounder and more European looking. I can't understand it - I think they are beautiful looking anyway.:rubeyes:

Basically it comes down to the fetishisation of women by MEN, (sorry guys it's your fault ;)) Like there is an ideal physical type of woman that pleases men - so women everywhere - European women having breast surgery and getting tans, Black women get skin lightening and hair bleaching/straightening, Asian women 'correcting' their eyes - to be these mythical creatures. :(

[~Warda~]

:nervous:

Why would someone put themself through so much pain just to look a certain way???I dont understand people who have surgery purely for cosmetic reasons, its completely :wacko:

[bitter_sweet]

:wacko::wacko::wacko:

[bitter_sweet]

Thats crazy, I've broken my arm before (by accident) and my gosh it hurt! Can't believe anyone would willingly put themselves through that, all the pins and plates etc...

Alhamdulilah am better now though :D

iv broken my wrist thrice, both legs and, my arm...all during my football matches!:D

[susu12092]

Oh my. Thats just ridiculous. I can't understand. Why can't people just be happy the way Allah made them?? :(
Plus all that pain they go through...:torture:

[SD.]

Ah, the lengths some women would go to in order to impress men; from skin bleaching to limb stretching to plastic surgery to leg breaking. What next? Gluteus maximus shaping? or have they already done that?

[GuCcI]

oh boy :rolleyes:

[Lambo5688]

This is stupid.

[angel*]

:wacko: :wacko: sum people really need to more confident about how they look..
This is stupid.

i know.

[Spiff]

:nervous:

Why would someone put themself through so much pain just to look a certain way???I dont understand people who have surgery purely for cosmetic reasons, its completely :wacko:Perhaps, if you were very, very short, you would understand it.

[GuCcI]

Perhaps, if you were very, very short, you would understand it.

no :rolleyes: u just wear platform shoes :rolleyes:

[~Warda~]

Perhaps, if you were very, very short, you would understand it.

The woman at the begining was 5 ft 1'.....thats not very very short.:rolleyes:

[abdulhakeem]

for those who want to watch a german video about limb extension in kurgan, russia:

http://www.stern.de/wissenschaft/mensch/:Beinverl%E4ngerung-Knochen-Traumfigur/615965.html

[prashantnew]

iv broken my wrist thrice, both legs and, my arm...all during my football matches!:D

Football is a cruel mistress...Torn my ear and dislocated my knee, and as mentioned, snapped my arm...but I think you win!

But alhamdulilah we live to play again :)

[Reema]

i'm 5ft tall and couldnt be happier with my height:p

[Te'oma]

Football is a cruel mistress...Torn my ear and dislocated my knee, and as mentioned, snapped my arm...but I think you win!

But alhamdulilah we live to play again :)

just wait a few years for the arthritis to set in :p

People are daft to go to such lengths for cosmetic things. It's one thing if you are disfigured but it's rediculous to do these things just because you are insecure with your appearance. It's as bad as a report that I read about Asians using skin lightening creams and white people using fake tanning creams.

[Rosalie-Beauty]

i'm 5ft tall and couldnt be happier with my height:p

I'm pretty short myself, but it doesn't really bother me. Rather be short than tall, right?

oh well. :o

[ummbilal]

The woman at the begining was 5 ft 1'.....thats not very very short.:rolleyes:

in pakistan she would be considered very tall indeed...:p:evilb:

[ummbilal]

Allhumdulilah I am healthy and well my height doesnt really matter ...i'm neither short nor tall

[GuCcI]

I'm pretty short myself, but it doesn't really bother me. Rather be short than tall, right?

oh well. :o

why? *raise eyebrow*

[Rosalie-Beauty]

why? *raise eyebrow*

sorry GuCcI, I know your tall :o

But, what I meant was that I would rather be short than tall, 'cause then people would really find me intimidating. :o

Ah, it all works out in the end.

[GuCcI]

sorry GuCcI, I know your tall :o

But, what I meant was that I would rather be short than tall, 'cause then people would really find me intimidating. :o

Ah, it all works out in the end.


no tall ppl dont find short ppl intimidating. :nono: i can step over you :inlove:


i kidding :love:

[Ibn Sina]

Wierdos :wacko:

[Rosalie-Beauty]

no tall ppl dont find short ppl intimidating. :nono: i can step over you :inlove:


i kidding :love:

uhhh... I'm not intimidating 'cause I'm short. But that a different story :D:o