A man who used to be 5ft 7ins tall now stands at 5ft 10ins tall after undergoing leg lengthening surgery.
In January 2022, the 26-year-old man identified simply as Alex, underwent leg-lengthening surgery to increase his height by three inches.
He chose to undergo the painful procedure after years of teasing and jokes about his height.
He says he now feels “incredible” after growing taller, but blames society for normalising mocking “short kings”.
He told NBC: “My goal was never to be tall. It’s to be in a place where no one comments on my height.”
Alex, who suffered from short stature dysphoria, a body image anxiety, was so distressed about his height that he would walk the streets crying.
Alex with his surgeon before
Despite only being two inches shorter than the average height for a man in the US, he was desperate to “put an end” to distasteful teasing.
After initially dismissing the operation as “insane”, Alex finally decided to take the plunge last year.
The procedure was originally meant only to correct discrepancy in the legs, but some men, like Alex, are now going under the knife for cosmetic reasons.
Alex with his surgeon now
Alex’s surgeon, Dr Shahab Mahboubian, of the Height Lengthening Institute in Burbank, California, said: “I even have 60 [to] 65-year-old guys that have come to me to undergo the procedure because it just doesn’t stop.
“The ‘short’ jokes keep going on and they feel inferior.”
Alex spent a total of $100,000 and four gruelling hours in theatre.
He added: “If all it is, is pain and money, alright.”
But limbs don’t magically grow overnight. Dr Mahboubian explained that each thigh bone is sawn into and a rod is inserted inside. Over the next three to four months, the rods are lengthened by up to 1mm per day, via an external remote control.
As new bone slowly grows over the rods, physical therapy is also required four to five times a week.
Alex had to relearn how to walk properly and used a walker as he regained mobility.
Finally, a year later, the rods were removed in an hour long operation.
It’s been two months since Alex’s second operation and he said he no longer has concerns about his height.
“The recovery is behind me and I feel incredible,” he said.
He added that no one should “feel the need” to have the procedure, and blamed society at large for mocking short men.
A number of men are resorting to surgery to increase their height (read here).
Videos showing men who have undergone the leg lengthening surgery have been shared on Twitter, with people referring to it as the “BBL” for men.
See below.
The real men’s BBL pic.twitter.com/5dnD2xs0Xd
— Are You Fucking Dead Ass? (@I_Exude_Sarcasm) April 18, 2023
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