A man who felt insecure about his height decided to take matters into his own hands and get taller. He achieved this by spending between $50,000 and $175,000 on lower limb lengthening surgery. The Colombian influencer, Yeferson Cossio, 29, shared clips of the procedure on Instagram and explained why he decided to have the procedure, which he described as "the most painful operation."
The operation involves cutting the person's bones, inserting metal rods, and slowly lengthening the rods using an external remote control.
The rods are lengthened up to 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) per day, so the process takes months. It doesn't end there, as those who have the procedure also need months of physical therapy.
Limb lengthening surgery is typically used to correct things like skeletal dysplasia, bone growth issues and bone length differences, notes Cleveland Clinic. However, Dr. Shahab Mahboubian, a surgeon at the Height Lengthening Institute, told NBC News that getting the procedure done for cosmetic reasons is becoming more common.
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Though the surgery is becoming more common among men with body image issues and height insecurities, doctors warn that it should not be thought of as a quick or simple way to get taller. People who have the procedure for cosmetic reasons typically do so because of intense and distressing height dysphoria.
In Yeferson's case, he admitted that although he was not super tall prior to the procedure, he was not extremely short either. But he wasn't happy with how his legs looked and felt compelled to do something about it.
“Two years ago, I had an issue with my legs that I don’t really want to talk about because it’s very personal," he explained. "But one of the things that had the most impact on me was to do with leg stretching. I looked into it, met with some people, and found that, yes, it exists. I got it into my head that I wanted to do it."
In the video the influencer shared, his surgeon told him that after going through the healing process, he would be able to walk and exercise again.
Before the surgery, the influencer stood at around 5'8". He had the procedure done to become 6 feet tall. He admitted that he had it done for “aesthetic” reasons.
“Yes, my legs are pretty but I hate them … I am self-conscious like almost all human beings with some parts of my body and I have a couple hundred million pesos to use here to change it," Yeferson shared in his video.
Yeferson received negative — and harsh — comments on his video, with some social media users telling him that things like surgery can't fix the "emptiness" a person feels on the inside. Others were supportive, but scared of the procedure. "My legs hurt just thinking about the pain," one person wrote on Instagram.
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