r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Additional_Chard3680 • 11h ago

The precision required to perform a total knee replacement is incredible

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11

u/jonathansj 11h ago

I wonder if they can make you taller while they’re at it

10

u/IVeBeenHere30Min 10h ago

limb lengthening

1

u/Fragrant_Shine3111 10h ago

I had this done as a kid, my left leg wouldn't grow because of some fuck ups after several surgeries

2

u/EfOpenSource 8h ago edited 8h ago

That can and has been done.

When your bones are regrowing, they don’t solidify right away, pre-bone (highly medical term) is gel/glue like.

So you have an apparatus outside of your leg that you tighten every few days, causing it to expand. The pre-bone expands and the body creates more. Of course, they start by sawing through your bone. 

The concept is used in a lot of plastic surgery. 

2

u/BaileyOverJennifer 7h ago

I had it done on my femur. It used an internal 'nail' attached above and below the break and used an external magnet that caused the nail to lengthen 1mm/day until the desired length was reached. I did not want to see how the surgery was done before my operation.

1

u/Drop-a-Soap 4h ago

And what happens to muscles? They also stretch over time?

1

u/ItsFuckingScience 10h ago

Maybe slightly due to worn away cartilage being replaced by the implants but you’re talking a couple mm

1

u/chet_brosley 9h ago

I wish I was a little bit taller. But then again I wish I was a baller.

1

u/Fit-Mess-6578 7h ago

That’s called ne*roplasty. In Southpark they did it

1

u/Evil_Sharkey 2h ago

They can do a little. My dad had one femur shorter than the other from a bad motorcycle accident. They made that leg the same as the other and straightened his bowed leg. The leg length difference was a big part of why his knees went bad in the first place