Plavt wrote:Groan......where do you get this tripe? Those people I know who have broken bones in accidents get a little shorter not taller and once again your body cannot produce new bones, might as well believe the world is flat.
indeed the body CAN produce new bones, if thats what we could call it.
those who become shorter after accidents might have had loss of bone during the fracture or had mal-union during healing, causing a decrease in height or length of the bone.
In the procedure for lengthening one's bones, the bones have to be broken first, followed by application of a device like an external fixator, held on by pins stuck to the proximal and distal parts of the now broken bone. However, the bone would not be pulled apart by 2cm immediately, as the "new" bone cannot grow fast enough.
Usually, the bone would be set apart by about only 1mm. And everyday, the patient has to turn the external fixator by him or herself, causing the bone to be pulled apart further (one full turn = 1mm further apart). Additionally, the full turn will be done over the day, by 4 quarterly turns.
So if you want to grow 5cm, that would be 50days. However, this doesn't mean that you'd be free of the device after that immediately. Xrays will be taken to assess the bone growth/union, and the external fixator will still be there to act as a support. It only means that the patient stops turning the knob after 50days.
If eventually union is still not ideal, a bone graft will probably be done, harvesting usually from your hip bone...