Tibial lengthening, 4.5 cm gained
A cll lon case at the Dr. Donghoon institute (DALRI), Korea, 4.5 cm of bone lengthened (168.5 → 173 cm tall · LON · 60 months post-op), with 12 before and after radiographs.
- Category
- CLL LON
- Gained
- 4.5 cm
- Height
- 168.5 → 173 cm
- Follow-up
- 60 months
Drag the handle to compare before and after (arrow keys work too). Before and after cll lon, case 16140967, image 2, Dr. Donghoon institute (DALRI)
About this case
This patient was treated in the height increase (limb lengthening) group (cll lon) at the Dr. Donghoon institute (DALRI) in Seoul.
Height measured 168.5 cm before surgery and 173 cm once distraction was complete — a gain of 4.5 cm, as recorded by the hospital itself rather than estimated by us.
The series on this page contains 12 images, in the order the hospital published them.
Technique and segment
LON (Lengthening Over Nail) combines an external frame with an intramedullary nail, so the frame stays on only during the distraction phase and comes off once the target length is reached, while the nail carries the load through consolidation.
Tibial lengthening runs through the calf and Achilles complex, which tightens quickly, so physiotherapy during distraction focuses on ankle range; the safe gain per segment is usually smaller than in the femur.
Timeline and how to read the radiographs
At the standard rate of about 0.75 mm per day, the 4.5 cm gained here corresponds to roughly 60 days of distraction — about 2 months — before the consolidation phase begins.
This series was taken 60 months after surgery. The regenerate is fully consolidated, and this is the window in which hardware removal is considered.
Daily physiotherapy through the distraction phase is the single strongest predictor of the result: patients who stop stretching run into joint stiffness far more often than into problems with the bone itself.
All images are published by the Dr. Donghoon institute (DALRI) and shown with permission. Individual results vary; these cases are not a guarantee of outcome.
