Dangerous Height Surgery Trend: People Breaking Their Legs To Grow Taller Despite Warnings

Last Updated:September 11, 2025, 16:29 IST

Originally meant for medical reasons, leg-lengthening surgery is now done for cosmetic purposes, prompting warnings from Britain’s National Health Service and medical experts

NHS experts have cautioned that risking one’s life for a few extra inches is highly dangerous. (AI Generated)

In recent years, a dangerous trend of leg-lengthening surgery has emerged in many countries, including Britain, as people seek to increase their height. While many attempt to grow taller through exercise, diet, or height-enhancing products, these methods rarely yield significant results. Now, some are turning to an invasive and painful surgical procedure that deliberately breaks and extends the leg bones.

Originally developed for medical reasons, the surgery is increasingly being performed for cosmetic purposes, prompting warnings from Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) and medical experts.

According to a report by The Guardian, the popularity of leg-lengthening surgery is on the rise in countries such as Britain, partly influenced by media coverage, including the recent Hollywood film Materialists.

NHS experts have cautioned that risking one’s life for a few extra inches is highly dangerous. The surgery, called osteotomy, involves cutting the bone into two sections and attaching a device to gradually pull them apart, either externally with pins and wires or internally with screws.

Patients are unable to walk for several weeks, and the device must be adjusted multiple times daily to allow new bone to form in the gap. The entire process takes several months and is extremely painful. NHS Clinical Improvement Director and Orthopaedic Surgeon Prof. Tim Briggs said, “This is not a quick fix but a complex and invasive procedure that carries risks of long-term pain, infection, and disability. Anyone considering it for cosmetic reasons must fully understand the dangers.”

If the bones are extended too quickly, they may fail to join properly, become too weak to bear weight, or lead to fractures. Other complications include nerve damage, infection, permanent disability, and unequal leg lengths. Patients often require wheelchairs for months and are unable to work during recovery.

Initially, leg-lengthening surgery was reserved for patients with congenital defects or one leg shorter than the other. However, it has now become a cosmetic trend. China banned the procedure in 2006, but it is still being performed indiscriminately in countries such as Turkey, where the cost is around Rs 24 lakh, compared to over Rs 50 lakh in the UK.

Doctors strongly advise against undergoing the surgery for aesthetic purposes, warning that the risks far outweigh any potential height gain.

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Author: News18