To obtain the dream height of 1.80 m, a Colombian influencer did not hesitate to undergo leg lengthening, an extremely painful bone procedure, which today seems to be detrimental to his well-being.
“I have been in excruciating pain for four months and can only sleep two hours a night.” In a long Instagram video noted by the Daily Mail, Yeferson Cossio, a 29-year-old influencer, testifies about his ordeal day after day after undergoing “the most painful procedure in the world”. But Yeferson Cossio is not sick, and wanted this procedure to lengthen his legs by 6 cm.
Stretch bones to gain 1 mm per day
Thus, Yeferson Cossio, a Colombian star with 11 million followers who clearly takes care of his appearance, wanted to go from 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet, that is to say from 1.76 m to 1.82 m for reasons “which are personal to him” he mentions. Wish granted 4 months ago, by cosmetic surgeons in Bogota. But the intervention, costing 160,000 euros, is perilous and, above all, very painful. It involves cutting the leg bone, then inserting telescopic magnetic rods and screws into each end. Via a remote control, the rods stretch the bones, allowing you to gain 1 millimeter per day, at the cost of intense sensations.
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“I want this to end.”
Currently, the process seems to be coming to an end. But Yeferson Cossio testifies to his limits on the networks. The pain is so excruciating that it “constantly interrupts his sleep, and that he can now only sleep “about two hours (each night), maximum”.
“I’m very nervous, I want this to be over. Maybe there will come a time when my body collapses and I won’t be able to deal with the pain or anything.”
A new surgery to remove the rods is expected to be scheduled for January 25. But Yefferson Cossio will not be at the end of his adventure since he will then have to begin rehabilitation where he will relearn how to walk, jog and run. A very long journey for a few centimeters.
A dangerous aesthetic drift
Extremely major surgery was originally reserved for people with severe growth retardation, or suffering from significant asymmetry following a malformation. But it is clear that the technique is being deployed for aesthetic purposes, in Turkey, but also in India or here in South America where the number of men undergoing cosmetic limb lengthening surgery has doubled over the last three years only. Being taller would thus be a guarantee of higher income, better education and better marriage potential.
A drift that Dr. Eric Plotkine, an orthopedic surgeon and member of our expert committee, had strongly criticized in a previous article.
“Having your legs lengthened for aesthetic reasons is truly a scandal. Not only is it a very dangerous surgery for the patient. Moreover, because of the risk and the length of the procedure, a lengthening is not should only be discussed in cases of large congenital inequalities in leg length, or in cases of dwarfism.
Catherine Bergeret-Galley, the president of the French Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, also mentioned the risks in an article in Le Parisien about a model who underwent the same procedure. : “The risk with these operations is that the limbs, vessels, nerves, muscles and ligaments do not follow suit. It’s not trivial, it’s an extremely heavy operation.”
But if this procedure is so dangerous and so painful, why do some surgeons accept the request of patients without any pathology or malformation? “Simply for the money” Dr Plotkine replied to us last May.
