There is absolutely no way this will be available for cosmetic leg lengthening in 6-12 months. It won't even be available to us in the next 6-12 years in all likelyhood. Personally, I'd rather be taller now than wait around for medical technology to find a better way to become taller.
Plastic surgery knows hardly any limits in making women as beautiful as they can afford. Even the most undistinguished clinics can provide their clients with breasts of any size and hourglass waists. However, long legs have until recently remained beyond their wildest dreams - until Russian surgeons invented a stem cell technique and tested it on sheep.
Until recently,
the Ilizarov frame was the only option to lengthen or reshape limb bones, as well as to treat complex and open bone fractures. However, any woman whose self-esteem is impaired by not having legs up to her neck will soon be offered a different way. That path is not paved with roses either, but even high technology cannot cancel the old truth about beauty knowing no pain.
Specialists from the Cell Technology Center at Russia's Veterinary Academy have completed a four-year experiment to extend bone tissue. They have tested their method on a hundred sheep, implanting in their hind leg bones a porous implant (matrix) impregnated with stem cells taken from the animal earlier. In fact a sheep's legs have comparable structure and bear a similar load to human ones.
The experiment has successfully led to the implant's biodegradation and replacement with absolutely natural living bone tissue.
"
This technique will help lengthen limb bones by up to 8 cm, and only because muscles and skin cannot be stretched further," said project leader Alexander Teplyashin.
In addition to fulfilling many women's wildest dreams, the new technique will be widely used in disaster medicine. It will help treat survivors with problem bone fractures who would have otherwise faced limb amputation.
"It will become possible to replace the fractured part of any bone, even the skull, with a stem cell matrix," Teplyashin said.
Dr Davud Dervishov, head of the Academy's immunology department, shares his colleague's enthusiasm.
The project is now pending official approval of clinical tests. So hopefully, the women looking with envy at models on glossy covers won't have to wait long. Give me one reason why this wouldn't be available for cosmetic reason. They approved the ilizarov technique for cosmetic use and this is probably much safer.
I have to agree that it will be hard to be available in 6-12 months ( But they are already working 5 years on it by now. ).
Besides I am not "hoping" for this to become available soon. I am curious about the process as it isn't clear for me. And I am still very young so I am not in a hurry :).
So if anyone knows more, I would love to hear it.
