Stigmas around plastic surgery for men have begun to decrease in recent years and it has become a way for men to reach their physical goals. In 2020 men were reportedly turning to techniques like Botox, fillers, and laser treatments in an effort to get ahead in their careers.
Currently, self-conscious tech workers are taking extreme measures to increase their height by undergoing a radical and expensive cosmetic surgical procedure to grow three to six inches.
A Las Vegas cosmetic surgeon Kevin Debiparshad, the head of the Nevada-based LimbplastX Institute informs that many of his patients belong to the tech industry, such as software developers from Google Microsoft, Amazon, and Met.
Dr Kevin, who specialises in limb lengthening procedures said his customers are willing to pay $70,000 to $150,000, depending on how many inches they want to “grow,” as well as thousands of dollars more in follow-up costs, GQ reported.
Dr Kevin is quoted as saying, “I joke that I could open a tech company.”
He adds, “I got, like, 20 software engineers doing this procedure right now who are here in Vegas. There was a girl yesterday from PayPal. I’ve got patients from Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft. I’ve had multiple patients from Microsoft.”
According to GQ, here’s how it works - The doctor breaks the femurs, or thigh bones of patients, and inserts metal nails into them that can be adjusted.
The nails are then extended a tiny bit every day for three months with a magnetic remote control. The nails are gradually extended over the next three months by one millimeter a day – eventually making the patient taller.
According to GQ’s report the, surgery involves a lengthy recovery process that includes “relentless” pain that stretches the nerves, muscle and, tissue of the legs to an “almost excruciating degree.”
Healing is slow and it could take months to slowly lengthen the bones. One software engineer reportedly spent the first three months after his surgery alone in his apartment and ordered food home during that time to go from 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-9.
This surgery is done under general anaesthesia, allowing patients to sleep and have pain-free surgery, informs the integrated health care system, Mount Sinai.
However, given that it is an invasive procedure Healthline reportedly said that there could be risks and side effects of this procedure.
The side effects could include allergic reactions to the anesthesia, bleeding, and infections in the pin sites. The cosmetic procedure is also not recommended for athletes since it could decrease their ability, Dr Kevin explains.
On the other hand, speaking about the popularity of this surgical procedure, the Harvard-educated surgeon said patient counts have effectively doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Kevin claims up to 50 patients per month visit his offices.
However, the patients are just not limited to the tech sector. Dr Kevin has performed the procedure on CEOs, actors, physicians, a nurse, a YouTube star, and even a news anchor, GQ informs. And though his clientele comprises mostly of men – women too have reportedly come to him for the procedure.
“A lot of patients see it as an investment in themselves, and not necessarily romantically,” Dr Kevin said. “Stature is such an important part, I think, of who you are and how you perceive the world and how the world perceives you. Being able to alter that is so impactful,” he concludes.
