Antalya, Turkey · Surgeon-led limb lengthening

Limb lengthening surgery in Antalya, Turkey

Height increase surgery performed by Op. Dr. Mesut Sançmış, Orthopaedics & Traumatology specialist, at MSM Clinic.

  • 6–8 cm from one bone segment, 12–14 cm across two
  • LON, Precice 2 and Fitbone — chosen from your X-rays, not a price list
  • 3–4 months in Antalya · remote review with your surgeon after you fly home
  • Published complication rates and a written aftercare policy

Get your treatment plan

Tell us where you are and where you want to be. Dr. Sançmış reviews your case personally and replies with a realistic range, a recommended method and a written quotation.

  • 4.9 on Google · 228 reviews
  • Ministry of Health · health tourism authorised
  • English-speaking care team
  • Written quotation before any deposit
  • Published complication rates
  • Direct flights from 20+ UK cities

Real patients, measured

Before and after, with the actual figures

Every case below is photographed under the same conditions, at the same distance, barefoot. The gain is the measured difference — not an estimate.

Results vary from person to person. The gain that can be achieved safely depends on your bone anatomy, age, general health, proportions and the method used, and is agreed in writing after X-ray assessment. The images above show individual outcomes and are not a prediction of your result. All photographs are unretouched, taken under standardised conditions and published with signed patient consent.

Op. Dr. Mesut Sançmış Orthopaedics & Traumatology · MSM Clinic, Antalya
Op. Dr. Mesut Sançmış, Orthopaedics and Traumatology specialist at MSM Clinic, Antalya

Who will actually operate on you

A clinic run by a surgeon, not an agency with a surgeon on contract

17 years in orthopaedics and traumatology,
since 2009

MSM is a working orthopaedics and traumatology clinic in Antalya. Op. Dr. Mesut Sançmış trained and practised at Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, spent six years as a consultant in Turkish state hospitals, and founded MSM Clinic in 2022. Limb lengthening sits alongside deformity correction, trauma and joint replacement here — the same discipline, the same techniques.

Your assessment, your operation, every fortnightly lengthening review, your removal surgery and your follow-up after you fly home are handled by that same surgeon. Nothing is passed to a coordinator to decide, and no case is handed off.

  • ◆ Orthopaedics & Traumatology specialist
  • ◆ In orthopaedics since 2009 · specialist since 2015
  • ◆ Ilizarov · TSF · intramedullary lengthening nails
  • ◆ Faculty member, Alanya University, since 2024
  • ◆ Peer-reviewed publications in orthopaedic journals
  • ◆ Ministry of Health health tourism authorisation
Op. Dr. Mesut Sançmış Orthopaedics & Traumatology · MSM Clinic, Antalya

In their own words

Patient video testimonials

Filmed at different points in recovery — including the difficult months, not only the finish line.

Independently verified

Patient reviews — Trustpilot & Google

4.0 Verified patient reviews
4.9 228 reviews · Antalya
4.9 Verified patient enquiries

How the bone actually grows

The procedure, stage by stage

Limb lengthening works by distraction osteogenesis: the bone is divided under controlled conditions, then separated by about 1 mm a day while your body fills the gap with new bone. Roughly 3 cm a month. The lengthened section is your own bone, not an implant.

Femoral lengthening

6–8 cm

Bilateral lengthening of the thigh bones. The most common route, and the one that adds the most height from a single operation.

BeforeAfter

Tibial lengthening

5–6 cm

Bilateral lengthening of the shin bones. A smaller gain, chosen when your proportions or femur anatomy make it the better fit.

BeforeAfter

Femur and tibia

10–12 cm

Both segments lengthened in a staged treatment, several weeks apart. The largest gain, and by some distance the longest recovery.

BeforeAfter
Stage 1

Assessment before you fly

Full-length standing X-rays, alignment and proportion analysis, bone maturity, blood work. Your safe maximum gain is set here and written into your plan.

From home · 1–3 weeks

Stage 2

Surgery

The osteotomy is performed and your device is fitted — internal nail, external fixator, or both, depending on the method agreed. Three to four nights as an inpatient.

Antalya · day 0

Stage 3

Latency

Seven days of rest before lengthening begins, so the soft tissue and blood supply around the cut can settle. Walker training and pain management start immediately.

Antalya · days 1–7

Stage 4

Distraction

About 1 mm a day, adjusted to how your bone is responding. Daily physiotherapy. X-ray review every two weeks — if consolidation lags, the rate is slowed or paused.

Antalya · weeks 2–14

Stage 5

Consolidation & removal

The new bone hardens. The external fixator comes off when the X-ray says so, never by calendar date. Most patients walk unaided around month five or six.

Antalya, then home · months 4–6

Stage 6

Strength and return

Full weight-bearing, gym and swimming from around month six to eight. Running and impact sport only on clearance, typically after twelve months. Optional nail removal.

Home · months 6–12

The part most clinics leave out

This is a major orthopaedic operation and it carries real risk. Below are complication rates published in the orthopaedic literature — including the ones that are inconvenient for us — and what we do about each. If any clinic tells you this procedure is safe or risk-free, that is the moment to walk away.

  • Pin-site infection up to ~52% femur (external fixator) Supervised daily pin care throughout the Antalya phase and a defined antibiotic protocol. This risk is the main reason we may steer you to a fully internal method even though it costs you more.
  • Delayed healing or non-union ~6–8% X-ray review every two weeks. Lengthening is slowed or stopped the moment new bone formation falls behind the schedule.
  • Nerve injury ~3–30% reported across studies Rate control, same-day response to any change in sensation, and a stretching protocol from day one. Most are temporary when caught early — which depends entirely on being monitored.
  • Joint stiffness & muscle contracture ~19% Daily physiotherapy is compulsory and included in the package. It is not an upsell and it is not optional.
  • Re-fracture after device removal ~13% (external fixator) Removal is timed by radiographic consolidation, protected weight-bearing afterwards, and a staged return to load.
  • Blood clots uncommon, serious Prophylaxis protocol, mobilisation from day one to three, and screening before you are cleared to fly.

Rates are drawn from published reviews of lower-limb lengthening outcomes and vary by method, segment and centre. Fully internal lengthening nails report materially lower rates than external fixators. Your individual risk is discussed with the surgeon before consent, not after.

For international patients

Our international guest services

You will be in Antalya for three to four months on crutches. Everything below exists to make that period ordinary rather than difficult.

Private transfer from Antalya airport to MSM Clinic

You land, we take it from there

Antalya has direct flights from more than twenty UK and European cities, so there is no connection to manage on crutches. Every transfer during your stay is arranged for you.

  • Private airport transfer, wheelchair-accessible vehicles
  • Door-to-door transport for every clinic and physiotherapy appointment
  • Flight guidance from your nearest airport
  • Fit-to-fly assessment before you travel home

Find out what is actually achievable for you

Send your height and your target. Dr. Sançmış reviews your case himself and replies with a realistic range, a recommended method and a written quotation — usually within four hours.

No sales callsNo obligationConfidentialAdults 18+

Transparent pricing

What is included, and what the difference actually pays for

Your figure is confirmed after X-ray assessment and issued in writing, all-inclusive, with the exclusions listed in the same document — before you are asked for anything.

United Kingdom · United States

Private self-pay
  • ✕ Among the most expensive markets in the world for this operation
  • ✕ Not available on the NHS for cosmetic indication; not covered by US insurance
  • ✕ Physiotherapy sessions frequently capped, then billed per session
  • ✕ Removal surgery often quoted separately
  • ✕ Long waits for a consultation slot

MSM Clinic · Antalya

All-inclusive, confirmed after assessment
  • ✓ Same implant systems: Precice 2, Fitbone, LON
  • ✓ Daily physiotherapy throughout the Antalya phase, included
  • ✓ Fixator removal surgery included in every package
  • ✓ All lengthening-phase X-rays and reviews included
  • ✓ Written quotation before any deposit — the quote is what you pay
Method
Gain, femur
External device
Walking unaided
Time in Antalya
LON — combined
up to 8–10 cm
2–3 months
~6–8 months
3–4 months
Fitbone — motorised
up to 8.5 cm
None
~5–6 months
3 months
Precice 2 — magnetic
up to 8.5 cm
None
~5–6 months
3 months
Quadrilateral — two segments
12–15 cm total
One segment only
~8–10 months
7–9 months

Every package covers surgery, implants, hospital stay, pre-operative testing, all lengthening-phase imaging, daily physiotherapy, fixator removal surgery and transfers. Flights, accommodation beyond the standard allowance, a companion's costs and imaging in your home country are not included and are listed as exclusions in your written quotation. Your figure is confirmed after X-ray assessment and issued in writing.

Answered properly

The questions everyone asks

Six to eight centimetres from a single bone segment. Up to ten from the femur with the combined LON method. Twelve to fifteen is possible across two segments in a staged treatment, but it is a much longer and more demanding process.

Your safe maximum is set by your bone anatomy, your proportions and your age — not by what you would like. It is agreed after full-length X-rays and written into your plan before you travel.

Yes, particularly in the first ten days and during the distraction phase. It is managed, not absent. Patients consistently describe the muscle and tendon tightness as harder than the bone itself, and the fixator months of the LON method as the hardest part of the whole process.

Fully internal methods — Precice 2 and Fitbone — are meaningfully less painful because there is nothing outside the leg. That is a large part of what you are paying the difference for.

Nerve injury is a recognised complication of limb lengthening, reported across studies in a wide range. The great majority are temporary sensory changes that resolve when the lengthening rate is reduced promptly — which depends entirely on being monitored closely and responding the same day.

Permanent nerve injury is rare but it is not impossible, and no clinic anywhere can promise you otherwise. Anyone who tells you this operation is risk-free is not being straight with you.

Three to four months for a single-segment lengthening. That covers surgery, the full distraction phase, and enough of the consolidation phase to fly safely.

Full recovery runs nine to twelve months, but most of it happens at home with fortnightly remote X-ray review. You are not in Antalya for a year.

You get a named contact with a defined response time, and your imaging is reviewed by the surgeon who operated. Your GP or local orthopaedic team receives a full handover pack in English — operative notes, implant details, imaging and protocol — so they can act without guessing.

What is covered financially, and for how long, is set out in writing in your treatment agreement before you pay a deposit. Ask every clinic you are considering for that document. The answer tells you a great deal.

They can, if the gain is pushed too far. Lengthening the legs does not change your torso, so an excessive gain produces a visibly altered torso-to-leg ratio.

Proportion analysis is part of the pre-operative assessment, and it is one of the main reasons we may recommend a smaller gain than you asked for, or recommend the femur over the tibia.

Most patients return to full activity. Walking unaided typically returns around month five or six, gym and swimming around month seven to eight, and running and impact sport after about twelve months — on radiographic clearance, not on how you feel.

Feeling ready at month seven is common. Being ready at month seven is not.

LON is the most affordable route to the largest single-stage gain, but it means an external frame on your leg for two to three months and a higher infection risk. Precice 2 is the most comfortable and the most expensive, with nothing outside the leg. Fitbone is fully internal with a higher load capacity, which suits heavier or more athletic patients.

The choice is made from your bone canal diameter, your target gain, your build and your budget — in that order.

Skeletal growth must be complete, which in practice means eighteen at the very earliest. The usual range is twenty to forty-five. Beyond that, bone healing slows and each case is assessed individually.

We do not accept patients under eighteen for cosmetic lengthening under any circumstances.

Yes. The lengthened section consolidates into your own new bone tissue and becomes a permanent part of your skeleton. Once healing is complete it does not reverse.

The implants are the same, and the surgical technique is the same. What differs is the cost of an operating theatre, a hospital bed, a physiotherapist and four months of accommodation in Antalya rather than London or Manhattan.

Price alone is a poor way to choose. Compare the surgeon's experience with your specific method, the complication protocol, and what is written down about aftercare — then compare the number.

Fixator removal is part of the treatment and included in every package. Nail removal is optional, usually performed twelve to eighteen months afterwards, and whether it is included is stated explicitly in your written quotation rather than left ambiguous.

From enquiry to Antalya

A simple three-step start

1

Send your details

Your height, your target and how to reach you. If you already have X-rays, send them; if not, we tell you exactly which views to ask for at your local imaging centre.

2

Speak to the surgeon

A video consultation with Dr. Sançmış. You leave it with a realistic gain range, a recommended method, the risks that apply to your case and a written quotation.

3

Travel to Antalya

Flights, transfers, accommodation and your physiotherapy schedule are arranged before you land. You arrive with the whole four months already mapped out.

Why Antalya

Recover in Antalya, on the Mediterranean coast

A look at Antalya and the clinic, before you decide.

  • Sea, sun and a flat seafrontA level coastal promenade to walk on, in one of the warmest cities in the Mediterranean.
  • Everything ten minutes awayClinic, physiotherapy and your apartment within the same few streets. No commute on crutches.
  • Somewhere your family will enjoyOld town, harbour, beaches and mountains — visitors get a holiday, not a hospital trip.
  • Direct flightsAntalya (AYT) connects directly to more than twenty UK and European cities.

Randevu / Bilgi Al

Lütfen Formu Eksiksiz Doldurun