Surgery – 1st stage
On the day of surgery, our team will accompany you to the hospital for preparation. After being admitted, you will be assigned to an advanced independent ward that gives you maximum privacy.
The hospital will provide a surgical gown for you to change, and then the nurse will perform preoperative preparations on your arm. After the preparation is done, our surgeon will visit you to comfort your mind. All equipments in the operating theater are sterilized to ensure that the operation is performed under completely sterile conditions.
When the operating theater is ready, the nurse will transfer you to the operating theater. The anesthesiologist will start the anesthesia procedure, such as placing an anesthesia tube on your back. The surgeon knows that you will feel nervous, so he will go near you to be with you before the anesthesia is completed making sure that you feel warm and have a peace of mind as the anesthesia starts to kick in. After you inhale the anesthetic gas, you will go to sleep and your condition will be monitored by a anesthesiologist throughout the surgery. The surgical team will thoroughly disinfect the surgical sites, after which the doctor will begin to perform an osteotomy. The osteotomy is crucial, and it is necessary to ensure that there is sufficient working length between the osteotomy surface and the adjacent screws.
The next step is reaming. The intramedullary nail will be inserted into the bone in an anterograde manner, and the two screws on the upper end of the intramedullary nail will be locked after completion. At the same time, the doctor will install a set of external fixators on the legs, and install 2 pins in the upper and lower sections to fix the frame and bones, ensuring that the bones can be lengthened properly.
Our team members will be there to monitor the entire procedure to ensure that everything goes smoothly in accordance with the strictest standards which provide the greatest protection to patients.
After a period of callus growth of about 10-12 days post-op, lengthening can begin. You will learn how to operate the external fixators which involves twisting some screws a few times a day. The process takes about 2 minutes. The standard daily lengthening is about 0.75-1mm. This can vary according to your physiological condition.
You will receive daily physiotherapy until the predetermined length is reached. The CT will then be taken for their surgeon to review your leg shape and proceed to an adjustment if necessary. We will then enter into the 2nd stage of the surgery which is the removal of the external fixators.
CT scan will taken before the removal of the external fixators to ensure the correct alignment of different axes.
Surgery– 2nd stage
The 2nd stage usually takes places about 2-3 months post-op when the lengthening is complete and our team members will also be with you throughout the procedure. The surgeon will first use a sophisticated device to determine the correct position for the locking screws to fixate the bone to the lower end of the nail. The surgeon will then confirm that your leg shape is correct. Upon completion, the two locking screws are locked in. The procedure only takes about 40 minutes with minimal pain. Again, our team members will be present throughout the entire process until the moment you wake up, so you can feel safe and assured.
This sophisticated device will assist the surgeon in locking the screws and adjusting your leg shape.
The mechanical axis, anatomic axis and tibiofemoral angle must be meticulously confirmed and adjusted before the external fixators can be removed.
