I came across an photograph taken a few days after the frame was fitted and noticed the difference in the gaps between the rings before the lengthening had begun and now with it all finished.
I’ve taken a quick snap as close to the original as possible for direct comparison but it’s immediately obvious how much lengthening has been achieved in less than a month. You can also see a gap between one part of the frame/pin and the skin has appeared where before, the leg was so swollen that it was tight against the frame metalwork.
The red sections are the lengthening rods, compare before and after! The blue box highlights the area where the surgeons made the incision to break the bone, look how tight it was against the skin whereas now there is an inch or so gap!
All but two of the pins have stabilised so much now that they require just the daily cleansing, no dressings needed. Only one wire pin at the top of my thigh (and which goes straight through the leg exiting in my buttock) requires dressing still, mainly because the skin around it is being moved each time I sit or stand.
It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the human body can react and adapt to changes such as this, my leg has grown an inch, every muscle and nerve has had to stretch to accommodate the growth as has all the skin and tissue. And all this in less than 6 weeks.
I just hope the bone has been growing as well, two weeks to the next clinic and 1cm to grow till the bone ends meet. (Click the image below to view full size version).
I too have before & after pictures of my frame except doc changed struts half way in between because I ran outta rod but you can visually see how far apart the rings have got! Yes the Human body is amazing. The nerve running down to my big toe has probably stretch 5 inches overall with Clubfoot correct & lengthening. Reading stories about little people doing 7+ inches is fascinating!