News

I had surgery to lengthen my legs and then it went horribly wrong

Published

8 months ago

August 11, 2024

Warning: This article contains medical details that readers may find distressing

Elaine Foo’s legs are streaked with thick, purple scars – each one a reminder of a leg-lengthening procedure which went badly wrong.

Since 2016, the 49-year-old has had five surgeries and three bone grafts, exhausted her life savings and brought a legal action against her surgeon, which was finally settled in July, with no admission of liability.

At one point, Elaine had a metal nail break through a bone and on another occasion, she says her legs felt like they were being “roasted from the inside”.

“My  journey has been a trial of fire – but I survived,” she says.

Her doctor consistently denied any negligence and says that some of the issues arose from complications she had been warned of, and others arose through her own actions.

Elaine Foo/Supplied

Elaine says having longer legs became an obsession, and believes she has body dysmorphia

Elaine always hated her height.

“At 12, I was taller than most girls,” she says. “By 14, I was suddenly shorter than everyone. Over time it became an obsession. Taller means better. Taller means more beautiful. I just felt that taller people had more chances.”

By adulthood the obsession was overwhelming.

Elaine believes she had body dysmorphia, a mental health condition where a person sees a flaw in their appearance no matter how others see them. The impact of the condition can be devastating.

At the age of 25, Elaine came across an article about a Chinese clinic where people were having surgery to make their leg bones longer. The piece contained grisly details of medieval-looking leg cages and rampant infection. It sounded nightmarish but left Elaine intrigued.

“I know people will question the vanity of it,” she says. “But when you face body dysmorphia, there’s no rational explanation for why you feel so overwhelmingly bad.”

Sixteen years later, Elaine discovered a private clinic offering the procedure in London. It was being provided by the orthopaedic surgeon Jean-Marc Guichet, a limb-lengthening specialist who had even created his own lengthening device – the Guichet Nail.

“That was really a hallelujah moment, because I could do it in London and could recover at home,” she recalls.

“Dr Guichet was open about the kinds of things that could go wrong. Nerve injuries, blood clots, the possibility of bones not fusing back together.

“But I’d done my research, was going to a very expensive doctor and I expected commensurate medical care. My dream was to grow from 5ft 2in (1.57m) to 5ft 5in (1.65m).”

On 25 July, at a cost of around £50,000, she went in for surgery and set in motion a process which would change her life.

Leg-lengthening procedures are relatively uncommon, but available at private clinics around the world. Depending on where it’s carried out, it can cost anything from £15,000 to upwards of £150,000.

Elaine Foo/Supplied

Elaine says she initially felt no pain after the operation

“Waking up was very exciting, because it felt like nothing happened. No pain. But 90 minutes later, it starts. It felt like someone was cooking my legs. Like being roasted from the inside. That first night I screamed until 6am, until I fell asleep screaming.”

With this procedure, some pain is to be expected. During the operation, the leg bones are broken in two and a metal rod is fitted inside.

The metal rods are gradually extended to increase their length and pull the two halves of bone apart. This process is meant to increase the patient’s height. The broken bones should gradually heal back together, to fill the gap in between.

The operation is complex, and it’s only the start of a long process.

“The lengthening process takes about two or three months and then you have at least double that time before you’ve recovered reasonable function,” warns Prof Hamish Simpson, former council member of the British Orthopaedic Association. “For most people, it’s going to take a year out of your life.”

Once surgery was over, Elaine’s lengthening process began. Several times a day she carried out an uncomfortable regime, rotating her legs to trigger the rod’s ratchet mechanism. This is what makes the nail lengthen and her legs grow. But two weeks later, she says disaster struck.

“I’d been feeling a lot of pain in my left leg. Then one night, while I was moving around in bed, I heard what sounded like a Kit Kat crunch, followed by severe pain.”

Elaine Foo/Supplied

The nail in Elaine’s left leg had broken through her femur

Elaine went in for a scan, which confirmed her fears. The nail in her left leg had broken through her femur – the thigh bone – the strongest bone in the human body. She was distraught, but she says she was reassured by Dr Guichet.

“He told me that all you need to do now is not worry. Wait for it to heal and once it’s healed, we’ll begin the process again.”

They would continue lengthening Elaine’s right leg, while scheduling another operation to deal with her left leg – which would eventually be lengthened the same amount as the right.

Elaine says she was told the extra operation would cost thousands of pounds, but was happy to pay if it meant she could see the process through.

By September, her right leg had reached its 7cm target. But things weren’t quite right. The discrepancy between her right and left leg was causing problems, curving her spine and leaving her in constant pain.

Elaine Foo/Supplied

Six weeks later, scans of her right leg showed an alarming lack of bone growth. Her femur was essentially two bits of bone held together by the metal rod.

Elaine turned to Dr Guichet for help, who scheduled another operation at a clinic he worked at in Milan. In April 2017, they restarted the lengthening process in Elaine’s left leg, while also injecting bone marrow into the right leg – to stimulate bone growth there. After the operation, Elaine woke to more bad news.

“Dr Guichet told me the nail had broken while he was taking it out,” she says. “He had a nail from another patient which he was able to insert.” She adds that this was going to cost even more money.

Three days later, hardly able to move, but desperate to be home, Elaine returned to London. She says communication with Dr Guichet had soured and feels that by summer the doctor-patient relationship had broken down.

Elaine Foo/Supplied

Elaine’s right leg showed a lack of bone growth, requiring further treatment

She didn’t know where else to turn and by July 2017 she managed to see a specialist orthopaedic surgeon on the NHS.

She says the specialist told her “this will not be a short journey.”

“I had to prepare myself for at least five years of treatment before healing fully,” she says.

Eight years on from the initial surgery Elaine says she is still recovering from her mental and physical scars. She has a range of mobility issues and says she suffers from PTSD.

“From 2017 to 2020 I hid from the world. I was single, unemployed, penniless and disabled.”

But recently she’s begun to get closure. A four-year legal battle was finally settled in July when  Dr Guichet agreed to pay Elaine a “substantial” sum to settle her claim against him – without any admission of liability.

Watch: Leg-lengthening – the people having surgery to be a bit taller

The surgeon’s lawyer denied any negligence on Dr Guichet’s part, telling the court: “Dr Guichet’s case is that there was no negligence, that the fracture and delayed bone healing were unfortunate non-negligent complications that Ms Foo was warned of before surgery, and that the limited right-sided bone regeneration was aggravated by Ms Foo’s undisclosed use of anti-depressants and by her deliberately extending the nail in her right leg beyond the agreed length.”

He also claimed in court that Ms Foo had “frequently declined” to follow Guichet’s advice and had neglected her rehabilitation and physiotherapy.

Elaine contests all of these claims. She says the anti-depressants were not linked to the complications and holds the doctor responsible for what happened to her.

Elaine assumed she was safe because she was paying so much. But she has paid more than just a financial price.

“I lost the best years of my life. I know people like to hear the word regret and if someone asked me today, would you have done it, if you knew you were going to go through all this? I would say a definite, ‘No, thank you very much’.”

Source: BBC

News

Plateau 51: Mutfwang mourns, says “we failed you”, begs affected community

Published

33 minutes ago

April 15, 2025

ADMIN

Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State has apologised to the people of Bassa Local Government Area (LGA) for the failure of government and security agencies to protect lives and properties.

Fifty-one persons were gunned down early Monday in the Zikke community of the LGA, with houses razed and many displaced about two weeks after a similar attack led to the killing of scores of persons in Bokkos Local Government Area.

Less than two days after the most recent assault, Governor Mutfwang apologised for the government’s inability to protect the people.

The governor said this on Tuesday at the palace of the Paramount Ruler in Miango.

“I will tell you the truth: I have been crying since yesterday because I had trusted God that all the arrangements were put in place, that this will not happen again. We have made investments in security,” he said.

But like all human arrangements, sometimes they fail. I want to admit that on Sunday night into Monday morning, we failed you. Please, forgive me.”

He urged the people not to relent in their efforts to secure their communities and ensure that they complement security agencies’ efforts by providing vital information for intelligence gathering and expose the antics of the criminals.

Governor Mutfwang, in the company of security chiefs and members of the state executive council, was in Zikke community to commiserate with the people on the death of over fifty persons killed in Monday’s attacks.

The Paramount Ruler of Irigwe land, Ronku Aka, who is the Brangwe of Irigwe, urged the government to come to the aid of the communities with the provision of social amenities in the area.

The governor and the entourage also went to see some of the families who lost their loved ones in the attack. The victims have been buried just as members of the community demanded action to stem the rising wave of insecurity in the state.

Plateau State has been a hotbed of attacks, but the renewed spate of attacks adds a fresh layer of twist to the decades-long crisis rocking the North-Central state.

After the most recent assaults, President Bola Tinubu ordered security agencies to fish out the masterminds, describing the attacks as condemnable.

While experts have linked the lingering Plateau crisis to farmers-herders tussle for resources, Governor Muftwang said it was sponsored and genocidal.

According to him, over 64 communities in the state have been taken over by gunmen.

News

Court reserves verdict in Ganduje, seven others alleged financial infractions case

Published

39 minutes ago

April 15, 2025

ADMIN

The Kano State High Court on Tuesday reserved ruling in the high-profile case involving the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and seven others, who are facing an eight-count charge bordering on bribery, misappropriation, and diversion of public funds.

The case, instituted by the Kano State Government, lists Ganduje, his wife Hafsat Umar, Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited as defendants.

When the case came up for hearing, the legal teams for all defendants presented various preliminary objections challenging the jurisdiction of the court and filed applications for extension of time.

Leading the defence for Ganduje, his wife, and Umar, Offiong Offiong (SAN) told the court: “We filed our preliminary objection dated November 18, 2024, supported by a 28-paragraph affidavit and a written address. We also filed a reply on point of law dated April 4, 2025. We urge the court to grant our application.”

On the other hand, the prosecution led by Adeola Adedipe, SAN, maintained that the defence applications lacked merit.

“The state’s reply to the preliminary objection is dated October 22, 2024. It is backed by a seven-paragraph counter affidavit and a written address with supporting documents,” Adedipe said.

“We urge the court to dismiss the applications in their entirety.”

Counsel to the 3rd and 7th defendants, Adekunle Taiye-Falola, filed a similar preliminary objection dated October 18, 2024.

In response to the complainant’s counter affidavit, we submitted a further and better affidavit dated December 12, 2024, along with a reply on point of law. We respectfully urge the court to grant the application,” he said.

Sunusi Musa, SAN, representing the 5th defendant, filed his own objection with similar supporting documents.

“We are seeking not just a grant of our application, but also substantial costs against the complainant,” Musa added.

Ashafa Yusuf, counsel to the 6th respondent, noted: “Our notice of preliminary objection was dated September 9, 2024. We filed a further and better affidavit on February 17, 2025, and a reply on point of law. We request the court to grant our reliefs.

For the 8th defendant, counsel Faruk Asekome also filed a preliminary objection and followed up with a further affidavit and legal reply dated February 13, 2025.

“We have complied fully with the procedural requirements, and we ask the court to grant the application,” he said.

Presiding over the case, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu granted the applications for an extension of time. She, however, reserved ruling on the preliminary objections.

“Ruling on the notices of preliminary objection is hereby reserved. A new date will be communicated to all parties in due course,” Justice Adamu-Aliyu stated.

The court’s eventual decision on jurisdiction is expected to determine whether the trial will proceed or be dismissed at this stage.

News

Reps Minority Caucus decries incessant tanker fire explosions, call for decisive actions to avert future occurrences

Published

3 hours ago

April 15, 2025

ADMIN

Following the twin tanker fire explosions which occurred last weekend in Ibadan, Oyo state, and Akwanga, Nasarawa state, the Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives expressed shock and sadness over the unfortunate incidents.

The Reps Minority Caucus made this disclosure in a statement jointly signed by leaders of the caucus: Rep. O.K Chinda
(Minority Leader) Rt. Hon. Dr. Ali Isa J.C (Minority Whip) Rt. Hon. Aliyu Madaki (Deputy Minority Leader) Rt. Hon. George Ozodinobi
(Deputy Minority Whip) on Monday stating that:

“Thankfully, no lives were lost at the two avoidable incidents. But it is painful that an unspecified number of vehicles, shops, motorcycles, and other properties worth hundreds of million naira were lost; particularly at the Ibadan incident.

“It is more worrisome that this is coming at a time that the economic hardship is approaching it’s zenith in Nigeria.

The Caucus recalls that after the January tanker fire explosion in Niger state, where lives of Nigerians and humongous properties were lost, it called on the Federal Government for necessary actions.

“Happily, the government resolved to ban fuel tankers with capacities exceeding 60,000 litres of petroleum motor spirit (popularly called petrol) from operating on Nigerian roads with effect from March 1, 2025.

“However, it is disheartening that, from reports across the country, many fuel tankers are yet to comply with the directive. More ludicrous is that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) responsible for enforcing the regulation is yet to comply with the presidential directive; about six weeks after the kick-off date.

Apparently disturbed about the frequency of tanker explosions across the country; almost becoming permanent fixtures on challenges bedeviling Nigeria, and the damaging effects on our people, the environment, and national development, the Caucus strongly calls for deliberate and decisive actions to stem the same by the bud.

” We call on the federal government for more pro-active measures that will not only avert future occurrences but stop tanker explosions in the country.

“From reports, the Ibadan incident happened as the driver encountered difficulties navigating deteriorated portions of the Toll Gate end of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

“Given the deplorable state of this road, and similar others, the Caucus urges the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to carry out immediate rehabilitation works on these roads.

“The Caucus shall initiate, collaborate, and pursue every legislative action that will secure the safety of our people, and properties; which is the main purpose of government.