What Is the Best Age for Limb Lengthening Surgery?

Limb-lengthening surgery gradually makes your leg or arm bone(s) longer, treating bone length differences, skeletal dysplasia, short stature, and much more. However, there’s an ideal age to complete this surgery to maximize the results.

See Dr. Stephen Wallace, at Summit Orthopaedics in Lake Oswego, Oregon, for an evaluation to determine if limb lengthening surgery is right for you or your child.

Conditions may warrant limb lengthening surgery

Your Summit Orthopaedics surgeon may recommend limb lengthening surgery to help treat the following conditions:

• Cerebral palsy complications 
• Bone tumor on a growth plate
• Growth plate fractures
• Limb length differences
• Bone irregularities
• Skeletal dysplasia, such as dwarfism, that interferes with bone growth
• Osteomyelitis (bone marrow infection)
• Hemihypertrophy, a condition causing one side of the body to grow more
• Short stature

Some people choose to undergo limb lengthening surgery for cosmetic reasons to add several inches (sometimes more) to their overall height.

Best age for limb lengthening surgery

While some older adults undergo limb-lengthening surgery, the best age to do so is during childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood, when the body has a greater capacity to form new bone tissue.

During limb lengthening surgery, your provider surgically cuts your bone and inserts a limb-lengthening device. Over time, your body gradually forms new bone to fill in the gap between the two severed bone segments, increasing the overall length of the affected bone.

Until about age 25, the body typically adds more new bone than it breaks down, so bone density often increases during this time frame. However, bone density tends to stay the same between ages 25 and 50. After age 50, bone breakdown commonly outpaces bone formation, leading to decreases in bone tissue in many older adults. 

Maximizing new bone formation after limb lengthening surgery

Regardless of the age you or your child completes bone lengthening surgery, it’s vital to take the proper steps to ensure effective healing and optimal results.

Follow all post-procedure instructions after heading home from the hospital. Healing often takes several months. Adjust your bone lengthening device as instructed to gradually lengthen bone segments over time.

It’s vital to avoid exercise until given the OK, gradually increasing home exercises and physical therapy as directed by your surgeon.

It’s also helpful to eat a well-balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, protein, whole grains, and calcium-rich foods. Take bone-strengthening dietary supplements if asked to and follow up with your Summit Orthopaedics provider to ensure effective healing or complete additional surgical procedures if necessary.

To learn more about bone-lengthening surgery at Summit Orthopaedics and find out if it’s right for you or your child, contact us today by phone or book an appointment online.