Tourists are travelling to Turkey for a new extreme form of cosmetic surgery to make them as much as six inches taller. Brits are among tourists paying for holiday packages which include the operation where surgeons saw through patients' legs before separating the segments over months to extend them as new bone mass grows in the gap.
The NHS warned Brits against undergoing the "painful" procedure, stating it carries a high risk of serious complications such as infection, nerve damage, and even "permanent disability." The Mirror was granted access to the Wannabetaller clinic in Istanbul, now a major global centre for the operation, where men revealed how they felt that being taller would improve their self-esteem.
Risks and Warnings
Prof Tim Briggs, an orthopaedic surgeon and NHS England's national director for clinical improvement and elective recovery, told the Mirror: "Surgery of this kind is not a quick fix solution and carries significant risks including death, so should not go ahead for the sake of gaining or losing a few extra inches. Patients going ahead with this gruelling surgery face months of extremely painful treatment, with the added risk of potential infection, nerve damage, blood clots and even permanent disability, and should only be considered where there is a genuine clinical need. Anyone considering this surgery for cosmetic reasons abroad should think very carefully about the long recovery and the risks, and I would advise against it."
The Procedure and Patient Experiences
Leg-lengthening surgery, known as distraction osteogenesis, breaks the femur or tibia bones, or both, and gradually separates the segments, allowing new bone to grow in the gap. The most common lengthening over nail (LON) technique involves drilling out a hollow space inside the leg bone and inserting an extendable nail attached to a metal frame outside the leg. The initial two-and-a-half-hour operation separates the bones by half a centimetre, and patients then turn a screw on the external frame to separate the bones by a further one millimetre every day. This causes pain as muscle and nerves are also stretched.
Hundreds of tourists travel to Istanbul for the operation as part of a three-month stay, which can also include a minibus tour of the city before surgery. The Wannabetaller clinic offers the procedure for £20,000, tempting many men desperate to be taller to take the risk. The clinic operates at BHT Clinic, a large private hospital in Istanbul, and has carried out the procedure around 800 times.
Patient Stories
Bertrand Darmanin, a 23-year-old construction worker from France, learned about the operation on TikTok. He said: "I felt I was too short at 1.7 metres tall and wanted to reach 1.8m. So I would feel better about myself and be more confident." Another patient, Robert, an engineer in his 50s from Oregon, USA, had undergone the operation two weeks earlier, paying around £25,000. He said: "It's always bothered me. I'm 5ft 2ins and I just want to be average height, like 5ft 6in or 5ft 7ins. I felt it was worth the risk so in the end I will have better confidence in myself."
Lead surgeon Dr Yunus Oc noted that most patients are male, often driven by teasing about height during school and difficulties in finding a girlfriend. He said: "When we add 8cm or 9cm they feel more good." Dr Oc started conducting leg lengthening for cosmetic reasons four years ago and has performed it on 270 men and 12 women. He advises a maximum of 15cm lengthening, with an average increase of 8cm.
Safety Measures and Complications
Dr Oc insisted he is upfront with patients about potential complications. He stated that none of his patients have experienced broken bones after surgery, and X-rays are taken every six weeks to monitor bone growth. Nerves being stretched can cause pain, burning, or itching, and blood clots are guarded against with blood-thinning drugs. However, the NHS warns that bones separated too quickly may not mend, or tissue may be too fragile to bear weight, and legs can end up different lengths.
Despite the risks, cosmetic surgery tourists continue to arrive in Istanbul, driven by low self-esteem. The basic procedure costs £20,000, with a full package including hospital stay, three-month hotel stay, and physiotherapy costing up to £8,000 extra.
