Guest guest Posted August 8, 2001 Report Share Posted August 8, 2001 Yes, Marty, you are right. The majority of children with dwarfisms are unfortunately placed in orphanages. The limb lengthening debate has been around for many, many years. There are articles and debates on this included in the Basic Life Science Book, Human Achondroplasia; A Mutlidisciplinary Approach dated 1988. I know during the Symposium in Rome, Italy (1986) Dr. Ilizarov (who began using this procedure of limb-lenthening in dwarfisms) was asked by others at the symposium to bring forth patients he had done this procedure on. He could not produce patients as he said he had lost contact with them. Several of the physicians from this conference search the country while there. They did come up with patients that had this procedure done prior to the symposium. Unfortunately, these patients were all confined to wheelchairs as they were unable to walk. Granted this was a very new procedure and along with new technology comes trials and errors. Technology does advance, but residual outcome, can be 10-20 years or more down the road. No one can speculate total outcome from advances in treatments that are new. I am trying to just give a report here. Only facts that were relayed from various physicians at the conference. So please no bashing for just relaying information. Thank you. Trudy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 8, 2001 Report Share Posted August 8, 2001 >As for long term effects, I am not sure how long term you are looking for, >but the Ilizarov technique had been used in Russia for over thirty years >before Dr. Paley started in Canada and then Baltimore. Yes, but for what conditions? Given that the tendency in Russia is to slap people like us in orphanages and institutions (at least that's my understanding) I would not be too quick to assume that " 30 years " to mean the limb lengthening procedure in the dwarf population. The Illizarov technique is of tremendous value for instances of correcting limb/digit deformities and equalizing limb length, but honestly the long-term effects of EXTENSIVE limb lengthening for dwarves is not known and that is SCARY!!! -marty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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