I just had surgery to make me shorter!
There is so little information out there about this procedure, so I wanted to take the time to write up my experience with the hope that it can help others understand it better and decide whether it’s right for them.
Overall it’s been a challenging surgery to recover from but I’m thrilled to be shorter. It’s so cool seeing people I know and not feeling like I’m towering over them in the way I used to. My partner is a great example. They are 5’4” and the perspective change with someone I know so well is really dramatic.The actual height difference is not huge. I hoped to get a 2.5” reduction which is the most the doctor does, because greater amounts of height reduction result in very week legs and more a more challenging recovery. I ended up with a reduction of 1 3/4"... less than I hoped but still enough to make a significant difference.
The surgery was done by Dr Kevin Debiparshad, and expert in cosmetic limb length surgery. He does far more limb lengthening procedures (a few hundred per year, vs a few per year for shortening) but the mechanism is largely the same.The procedure involved making an incision in the side of the upper leg and removing a piece of the femur. A second incision is made at the top of the femur, near the hip. From there, a metal rod is inserted down the length of the bone to stabilize it. Four more tiny incision on the side of the leg are made to insert screws which secure the bone to the rod.
The surgery went very smoothly and there were no complications. Shortly after being transferred to a hospital room, a physical therapist stopped by to get me up on my feet. Yes, the same day! In my case, the drugs made me dizzy and so I wasn’t able to do more than getting into a standing position and taking a couple small side steps and getting back in bed.That was the beginning of twice daily physical therapy which lasted for the entire hospital stay. The physical therapists, and really everyone at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, were amazing. They see a lot of Dr D’s patients and are prepared to help people start walking again, though shortening patients are much less common than lengthening patients, and shortening is a more challenging initial recovery.
The challenging part of this surgery is that because your bones are now shorter and your muscles are not, your muscles now have to contract a LOT in order to move your joints. That makes it extremely difficult to get up to standing position from sitting or to walk at all. At first you are largely lifting yourself up to a standing position using the walker and the strength of your arms. Originally I was told to expect a 2 day hospital stay, but for me it took 4 days before I could reliably get myself up to a standing position from a normal height chair.
I was also worried about transferring between a wheelchair and car seat, so the physical therapists helped me understand and simulate that before I was ready to go. It tuned out that was not as hard as I thought it would be, because it’s sometimes more of a “scoot” from wheelchair to car vs standing and then sitting like when getting up to walk.
Once I finally felt confident with that, I was discharged and Dr Debiparshad allowed my partner to drive me immediately back to my home in California to continue recovering. He normally likes patients to stay in the area and do daily physical therapy at his office (which is included in the cost of surgery) for two weeks, but in my case I just have a much better configuration at home and a better support system, so driving home right away made more sense.
Since being home I’ve been progressing quickly. So far I’ve been able to walk, with a walker, about 1000ft in a day. When using the walker I’m no longer leaning so heavily on it and instead using it more for balance. I’ve also been out to some appointments and found that Lyft has been great for that. As long as you can get into the car from the whellchair, Lyft drivers will fold the whellchair and put it in the back of their car. The drivers I've had so far have been very helpful and accomodating.
People should know that while this surgery isn’t as scary or crazy as some people make it out to be, it’s also no joke. I’ve gone though a lot surgery in the past including FFS twice, BBL, tummy tuck, and GRS. I would describe this as having a level of pain that is tolerable but on par for any of those. It impacts initial mobility more than any of them, however, and it requires more active post-op recovery work than even GRS.
All that said, however, after just a week I didn’t have a lot of pain and my ability to take care of myself and get around was already pretty decent. Assuming recovery continues at this rate, it’s well worth it to me and I’m glad I went through it. I’m really looking forward to being able to navigate steps and start driving, as the disability is manageable but definitely still frustrating
I would also definitely recommend Dr Debiparshad and his staff. The only issue I’ve had is that replies to emails are often slow, sometimes taking a week or requiring follow-ups to ask questions two or three times. Ultimately I always got the answers I needed and I don’t think that’s particularly atypical of a surgeon’s office. Apart from that, everyone has been super nice and helpful though. Because Dr Debiparshad does so many of these surgeries (mostly lengthening, but the process is similar) and has excellent credentials and experience I really felt I was in great hands.He took the time to answer every question I had, and did a second consultation when more questions came to mind that his staff couldn't answer.
Not everyone tall experiences height dysphoria, and for those of us who do it still may not be worth the considerable cost and recovery involved. For me, though, this was a constant annoyance that made me feel out of place relative to the vast majority of women. I’m very glad I did it. I was 5’11 3/4” before surgery, and so far measured myself at 5’10” after. I’m unsure if there is any additional “settling” of any type that will affect my final height but it’s something I’m planning to ask at my two week post-op appointment tomorrow morning!
Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to answer them below.
