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The Indian Basketball Player Superstar

satnam_singh_bhamara_imgBack in May of this year (2013) Sports Illustrated printed the piece about the NBA trying to expand into the Indian market which has untapped. The piece “Wanted: 1.2 Billion Basketball Fans” had stated that the current best option is a young 7 feet tall Punjabi kid named “SATNAM SINGH BHAMARA”. His actual numbers are supposed to be…

  • Height: 7′ 1½”
  • Wight: 300-pound
  • Shoe Size: 20 

The idea of trying to combine basketball with the culture and nation of India has been extremely seductive since the project with the NBA and basketball getting penetration into the Chinese market with Yao Ming was so successful. 10 years after Yao Ming opened the door between the market of China to basketball, people are now looking to get into the India market looking for another giant.

Many basketball and NBA executives would love to get more coverage in India but from what I see, I don’t think Satnam will be the first Indian basketball player who will play in the NBA or become even reasonable famous.

In general, the way that basketball works is that for any country to represent itself and get exposure to NBA, the first or first few players that gets drafted is a giant. The examples are many

When it comes to getting into basketball, and definitely playing professionally, the easiest attribute to have is to be tall to get recognized first.

Of all the sports in the world, only basketball and volleyball put such a huge emphasize towards height and length as absolute requirements on its professional athletes. Some other sports like football, the fighting arts, and rowing might prefer to have their athletes bigger, but not always. Of all the sports in the world today, besides the game of futbol or soccer, the biggest growing sport to take over the psyche of the developing world with its 5+ billion people would probably be basketball.

In a world that is now over 7 billion people in population, with the countries of China and India being the only two countries with a population over the 1 billion mark, the influence of the sport of basketball would be greatly expanded if the American created sport of basketball managed to reach these two major countries.

I propose that in even 20 years, the game of basketball will eclipse the game of soccer in popularity. I cite 4 primary reasons.

1. The game of soccer is resource intensive in terms of space and has many people so the team is emphasized. The game of basketball is not as resource intensive at least in terms of land required. When comparing the court size of the basketball court to say baseball, football, soccer, or hockey, the basketball court is small. Some sports like Volleyball do however have a smaller court.

2. Basketball also has the interesting feature of having only 5 players of a team at one time on the field. It means that the physical actions of any one player can be much more focused on and glorified if they perform at a much higher level. As the nations of the world in general grow richer and more well off, there will be overall less emphasize placed on the whole and teams and the individual’s accomplished will be focused on more. The individual’s achievements will be glorified more and this will make the sport of basketball, which has less people on the court, more attractive as more people in the developing world start to place more importance on the individual.

3. The game of basketball is faster (at least in terms of scoring) – In soccer, due to how big the field is, it is rare that a goal and point is scored. When a soccer player gets reasonably close to the goal, often people start to get excited but that excitement goes away because the actual point is not made due to the goalie blocking a shot or the player running towards the goal missing the shot.

In comparison, the game of basketball allows of people to score almost every second. The court is small enough that a person with enough strength and accuracy can throw a basketball from one side of the court to the other end and make a 3 point basketball. There have been instances were a 10 point lead can be reduced in less than 2 minutes of game play and teams can come out of big point deficits creating a type of drama which could be called “movie like”.

When we compare the score at the end of a game of a soccer game, it is usually something like 2-1, and sometimes when neither side scores a point in the regulation time, they have to go into kicking. With basketball, the scores of an average game between two players are around 80-100, which means that the direction of the game can change in a minute when a team that is 10 point behind can bounce back. This makes the game of basketball more exciting to watch.

4. The game of basketball focuses on humans that are much bigger in size – There is no doubt that size is something that people admire at a very visceral instinctual level. The truth is that humans have always looked for heros in their culture. When we read storied from any culture’s past, the main protagonist is almost always described as being bigger than average. Hercules, Gilgamesh, Miyamoto Musashi, Michael Jordan, etc. We secretly, unconscious want our heros to be bigger than the average person.

We as a species love the idea of heroes. It is true that at one level we might wish that the people we admire, our heroes, were just average people like us and the same size as us so that we might be able to relate to them better, but we also project from our minds the idea that our ‘heroes’ should be ‘larger than life’, and basically larger in height and stature so that we can literally ‘look up to them’.

Millions of people in the world admire and look up to Messi, who is considered the greatest soccer player today. However, I would guess that a 15 year old boy who is 5′ 8″ and manages to actually meet Messi, who is his hero face to face might be psychologically jolted and a little shocked to realize that his hero is actually shorter than him (being 5′ 7″). This might actually cause the image of the greatness of the guy to decrease in some of his fans who actually see him in real life.

This is why I think basketball will one day become larger than soccer. It is due to 4 main things…

  1. The size and space of the courts the game is played on is smaller.
  2. The individual’s accomplishments will be glorified more instead of the team, which will coincide with the overall way global society is shifting towards as people get richer.
  3. The game of basketball is much faster and things can change so fast in terms of who is winning. This creates drama.
  4. The game of basketball mainly puts larger than average humans in the game, allowing it easier for the commoner and non-athlete to turn the players into heroes.

Of course soccer is still going to create raving fans that are willing to riot, fight, and kill each other for. However, I think the overall global zeal for soccer will decrease as the decades go by. Basketball will go up in influence and popularity.

When we look at what happened to China, we see that basketball managed to completely take over the country due to the Chinese superstar basketball player Yao Ming influence. He was the one of the main reasons the NBA has been so popular in the country of over a billion people.

It might be also becasue basketball has been a part of Chinese athletics for much of its history in the last century, since Chairman Mao was very fond of the game, and even during the 1960-1970s when the Chinese Cultural Revolution was going on, when almost all other types of Western influences and ideas were suppressed and rejected by Mao and his ideology on self sufficiency, Mao still was fond of basketball and allowed this sport to continue on in the country. So another big reason why basketball managed to take over the Chinese psyche might be also because it has had a very long, undisrupted history in a country with over 1 billion people.

When we look at Yao Ming, he represents all of the reasons why I think people and nations will one day make basketball into the most popular sport in the world. His mythical size, his graceful movements, the speed of the game, and the small space that the game is played in all contributed to the game of basketball becoming so popular in China. Now, after a little more than a decade, 10 years after Yao was drafted into the NBA as the 1st round pick of the 2002 NBA Draft, he would go back to Shanghai, where he played before, and buy the team he used to play for. Yao Ming’s net worth is over 100 million USD as calculated by some sources. (source) Because of this, Yao Ming may have become the first true Chinese superstar in this century, beyond anything that other entertainers like actors, singers, and musicians can reach in terms of global popularity.

The interesting case of how basketball fever swept the country of China I am proposing will one day reach India as well, however it would not be as strong.

Now, what about India. There is a national India basketball team but why has basketball not caught on? – Would basketball one day manage to take over the indian psyche and create as loyal fans just like the other 1 billion + nation?

One of the things why it probably won’t happen, at least for a long time, is the game of Cricket. Cricket has taken over the south asian people’s psyche. For many south asians, cricket represents the absolute pinnacle of sports. People go crazy over cricket in Pakistan and India.

Just last month the New York Times wrote a piece showing just how big and passionate people are about cricket and the rivalry between Pakistan and India in the cricket world. The article was entitled “In India vs. Pakistan Cricket Match, Passions Unleashed”

I personally know absolutely nothing about cricket, so it would be a great disservice to say anything about the sport by a person who knows nothing about it. I will just talk about basketball.

So will India also one day catch the basketball bug and become basketball fanatics as much as they are crazy about cricket? I think they will, but first they have to find their own national hero to look up to. They need their own giant to cheer behind and root for. This person will be someone that they can related to but also root for.

Is there anyone in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh which has the size, speed, and skill in basketball right now to make the entire country of India turn their heads? Not yet.

Basketball is a game that requires first a lot of size. Like most countries based in the continent of Asia, the average people are not that big compared to say people who are ethnicity from Northern Europe. Only a few small regions in the country have ethnic groups of tribes where the people are big in stature. One area which seems to have produced quite a few extremely large Indians is the Punjabi region, which is the region of land that has been shared and disputed by Pakistan and India for decades.

  • Dalip Singh Rana (aka The Great Khali from WWE) – Height: 7′ 2″
  • Sim Bhullar (Canada based) – Height: 7′ 4″ – 7′ 5″
  • Tanveer Bhullar (Canada based) – Height: 7′ 2″ – 7′ 3″
  • Naseer Soomro (aka Naseer Ahmaad Soomro) from Pakistan – Height: 7′ 8.9″
  • Ijaz Ahmed (aka Ajaz Ahmed) from Pakistan – Height: 7′ 10″
  • Satnam Singh Bhamara – Height: 7′ 0″ – 7′ 1″
  • Karan Singh (Mother is Shweatlana Singh who claims she is 7′ 2″ but is actually around 6′ 8″ – 6′ 10″) – Height: was already 4′ 5″ at the age of 2
  • Jitendra Singh – Height: Claims to be 8′ 2″ or 7′ 8″ but is probably closer to 7′ 7″
  • Aurangzeb Khan – Height: Claims he is 8′ 0″ but is probably closer to 7′ 6″
  • Azad Khan Masood – Height: 7′ 5″
  • Dharmendra Pratap Singh – Height: 7′ 5″

I am sure that out of a country of billion + there a a few giants, 7 feet plus. After looking at the height and growth of both East Asians and South Asians I would say that it seems that South asians are in general slightly taller than East Asians.

However, currently the numbers don’t agree with my assessment and prediction. From the Wikipedia article on average human height based on countries,

  • Average Height Of Males In India: 1.663 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
  • Average Height Of Females In India: 1.526 m (5 ft 0 in)
  • Average Height Of Males In China: 1.721 m (5 ft 8 in)
  • Average Height Of Females In China: 1.601 m (5 ft 3 in)

Also…

  • Average Height Of Males in Pakistan:  Pakistan 169,3 (159196336), 167,0 (159196336)
  • Average Height Of Females in Pakistan:
  • Average Height Of Males in Japan: 1.707 m (5 ft 7 in)
  • Average Height Of Females in Japan: 1.580 m (5 ft 2 in)

From comparing the actual numbers from Wikipedia, it actually shows that the average height of both males and females are shorter in India compared to its neighbor country China. However, I am proposing that the reason there is a 2.5 inch of height discrepancy is due to the living conditions of India. From the plight of malnutrition and vitamin deficiency that is so common in India, children develop stunted growth and end up shorter than other places.

It is not that South Asians are inheritantly shorter than their Northern neighbors, just that they are lacking the right conditions for it. According to the Wikipedia article on average GDP for different countries in the world,

  • Average GDP per Capita of China: 6000+ USD per year
  • Average GDP per Capita of India: 1500+ USD per year

If we then look at say Japan compared to Bangladesh or Pakistan, we see a huge difference in wealth and quality of lifestyle between these continental neighbors.

  • Average GDP per capita of Bangladesh: 700- 850+ USD per year
  • Average GDP per capita of Pakistan: 1200-1300+ USD per year
  • Average GDP per capita of Japan: 46500+ USD year

The huge wealth difference between say Bangladesh and Japan is insane, where the GDP for Japan is around 50X.

The living cost of these south asian countries are just so low, and the people are just so much poorer. I suspect that if the people of India and Pakistan was given the type of amount of food and nutrition to reach their real height potential, it would be slightly higher than the Chinese. and If one country can produce a 7′ 6″ idiopathically giant like Yao Ming, India should be able to produce its own healthy giant which has the body suitable to play basketball.

However the question then becomes, even if a person has the natural gifts like height, arm wingspan length, jumping ability, and coordination needed to play professional basketball, would they wish to try to play professional basketball at the global level to represent their country like Yao? I am not sure since India has never been a traditionally homogenous nation unlike say China.

For most of its history, the country of India was not a complete nation. The nation is so diverse with at least a dozen official languages and each region of India has its own culture, way of living, and customs. If a person was to try to represent India as the first Indian Basketball Superstar, it would be hard. There will be people who will be very proud that he represents them as a group, but they might start to associate more over the city or section of India he comes from.

I am reminded of the curious case of Jeremy Lin, who is a 2nd generation Taiwanese American and how after he became extremely famous last year over the phenomenon known as Lin-Sanity, all types of subsect Asian communities stated that he was representing them. It did not matter how he wanted to defined himself, as asian, taiwanese, chinese, american, but that other people who admired him started to find ways to associate themselves with him, whether it was true or not.

I would rather believe that the next Asian basketball superstar is more likely to be from the Philippines than India. It seems that Yao Ming agrees with me. For a long time, the two basketball powerhouses from the Asian continent has been just the Philippines and China. From the history of the FIBA Asia Championship, it seems that the two countries of China and Philippines have won the most championships compared to their asian counterparts.

At this point, I would love to see an Indian basketball player in the NBA but I don’t think that the people of the country have the passion for basketball at this time. It is just not as attractive as cricket for this current generation. I will wait for the indian basketball player superstar.

Would Straightening And Correcting Bow Legs Lead To Height Increase?

The other day I was walking on the streets and noticed a person who walked by me in a posture that was crooked and had their leg extended out in an angle. My first guess was that the person was suffering from Celebral Palsy since I have met a few people in my life who had a abnormal gait pattern from having Cerebral Palsy. The way that this person was walking made me wonder just what other types of disorders and conditions might cause a person to walk in a slanted way causing their posture to be non-erect.

RicketsI thought back to the disorders I had learned when I was doing research on Vitamin D deficiency which can lead to rickets, a disorder which causes the limbs to develop abnormally leading to bones that are often curved inwards which lead to the other name for the condition, bow legs for toddlers and knock knees in young kids.

I am assuming that the curved nature of, say the femur, would mean that the bones are not completely straighten out, and than means that the skeletal structure is not as straight it should be resulting in lost height of upwards of even 4-5 inches.

I have not done any research on the condition of rickets except read what is written in Wikipedia. The Mayo Clinic website does not seem to help much either since the article on rickets is very short. It seems that rickets actually makes the bones softer and weaker in children that are still developing. The vitamin known as Vitamin D has the function of absorbing the elements of calcium and phosphorous from the gastrointestinal tract. The disorder however states that even if a child is afflicted with rickets, it might be reversed and the curvature of the bone is removed if the child can get enough vitamin D into their diet.

From the website by the National Institute Of Health (NIH) on the pathology/disorder known as rickets, it states that the absorption of calcium and phosphate minerals from the bone inorganic (and organic) matrix by the blood is caused by a drop in calcium and phosphorous levels in the blood. Since the blood is essentially the transportation system of the huma body transporting vital glucose, sugars, proteins, water, and minerals from one area of the body to the other, it is more physiological vital that the homeostasis of the blood is kept in balance as compared to the bone. This means that if the blood is missing certain minerals, it will take it from the bones.

It seems that Vitamin D is obtained either from food and produced by the skin which get sunlight. The people who get rickets are often the people to stay indoors too much, work indoors, or live in climates which don’t get a lot of sunlight. As for diet, the dietary causes for the development of rickets seem to be from being either lactose intolerant, being vegetarian, and not drinking enough milk or milk derived products (like cheese yogurt). From the NIH website it also suggest that supposeddly babies who are fed only breastmilk are most likely to get rickets since the milk from the mother does not have enough Vitamin D. Dark skinned babies have a higher chance of developing rickets.

Overall, the incidence of this disease is rare in developed nations since milk and vegetables both have enough Vitamin D. There is also a type of genetic disorder that leads kids to develop rickets since it causes the Liver from not being able to convert Vitamin D into its active form.

So if a kid was suffering from bow legs, would they end up shorter than if they were not?

I suspect that it would be the case. Due to how at least the leg bones align together, vertically,  a misalignment or curvature of any of the long bones would cause the the distance between the hip joint epiphysis and the distal end of the tibia to be decreased. The effect on the overall height would be decreased subsequently.

So the obvious question asked then by a concerned parent would be “would straightening and correcting bow legs (or knock knees) lead to a height increase?”

It would but not as much as some people might think. For most children who suffer from rickets, the curvature that results is not as serious as some may think it is. While some people might get an image of a kid who has their legs splayed out like a spider, the actual more likely result is a noticeable curvature in the knees, at least for people in the developed countries.

When the curvature is fixed through a better diet with the necessary amount of Vitamin D, the curvature is supposed to go away since it seems that there is some type of feedback loop mechanism between the growth plates and the length of the bones. From studies I have read, if one leg is longer than another, the growth plates of the shorter leg actually sort of go through an elevated level of longitudinal growth to compensate for the difference, through a phenomena known as “catch-up growth”. Inversely, if surgeons tried to stretch out one growth plate of a limb to make it grow thicker and faster than normal, it triggers a mechanism in the other growth plates of the same limb to grow at a much slower rate, to compensate for the difference that were externally induced.

Rickets XrayThe amount of increase in height ultimate is usually just up to 1 inch for the least severe types of knock knees and bow legs. 2 inches of height increase from any type of bow leg correction means that there was a more severe level of deformity. 3-4 inch of increase in height from bow leg correction usually implies that the legs had even more serious curvature and problems.

Of course I am assuming that what we are talking about is a surgical method of bow leg correction, where certain surgical method of osteotomy or bone bridging is created to align the sides of the bone to be at even level. When I am talking about bow leg or knock knee correction, I am referring to children with open growth plates which have their growth surgically manipulated to have even growth on both sides of the long bones in their lower limbs.

Let’s also remember that because the child does not have enough vitamin D, the amount of osteogenic material or deposition at the bottom of the growth plate would be much less. Remember that endochondral ossification, the actual process in which bones get longer and get formed longitudinally is the result of a cartilage AND bone tissue process. The bone tissue process is where new bones is formed where cartilage used to be. If there is not enough Vitamin D, there might be a lot of calcium in the blood that is waiting to be absorbed, but they can’t get carried by the Vitamin to the ossification region, then the bone area would not get longer, since there is no mineral building block available in the diaphyseal region to be used for the additional bone volume formation.

Plus, even if the growth plate has the highest number of of chondrocytes and have good proliferation rates and hypertrophy to be big, if there is no calcium being transported to the calcification region, the cartilage would not turn into bone tissue, and due to the loading on the cartilage, it can’t get longer so the long bones stay the same length which is just stunted growth.

 

 

Tall Vietnamese People Called Long Legs Dinh Trang Village Suggest That Insular Gigantism Is Possible For Humans

Sometimes I just get the mood on reporting strange groups of people who tend to have extremely tall stature to show just how varied the human race can be.

Source: http://www.xaluan.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=586071

Translated by Google Chrome…

At least 3 of the river bottom, Threshold, Chau Giang Dinh Trang village for generations (Lam Ha commune, Phu Ly, Ha Nam) called “giant village” because there are many prominent persons, including you have excellent volleyball players Ngo Van Cong (1.92 m) and Ngo Van Kieu (1.96 m). village of the giants …Nguyen Quoc Toan at 1.82 meters tall

Dinh Trang village is surrounded by the Pearl River peaceful, with more than 272 households with 1,300 people. Number of male and female youth aged 15 to 25 with about 250 people, 70% of height 1.70 m or more.

Truong Dinh Tuyen – Dinh Trang village chiefs – said, from time immemorial, Dinh Trang villagers had tall stature prominent than the other villages.

According to estimates by the village cadres, the average height of women here is 1.70 m, 1.80 m and men’s. According to the village head to his foot family of athletes and Ngo Van Ngo Van Kieu, we are not surprised from the height of the family crowded command “giant” is. Reportedly, his family Ngo Van Cong height outstanding from previous lives, 1.8 m high grandmother, grandfather height 1.82 m.

His family Ngo Van Cong were listed among the highest in the village, parents were approximately 1.8 m, other than him and his brother Ngo Van Kieu birth Ca-1977 – 1.9 m high, second brother Ngo Van Canh-born in 1979 – About LinkBacks shrinkage is 1.85 m. He tells briefly of them have more than 20 people on a 1.80 m high, and 1.70 m high number of people or more, incalculable.

Specifically Trinh Van Dat – in charge of the rural elderly and the patriarch Cheng – did not hide his pride: “Throughout history, go, Dinh Trang village youth to also significantly higher. They Trinh my house, there are also very high. ”

So what is the point of this post?

This shows that like the type of insular gigantism (and insular dwarfism) phenomena seen in other mammals, humans can go through insular gigantism too. In isolated locations like small villages and islands where most humans haven’t reached yet, it is possible that over multiple generations, the entire height of a small group of people can be raised to something that is beyond what the rest of people in that ethnicity can reach.

It gives more credibility to the writings in the Christian Bible of groups of villages and people in human past which managed to end up much taller than others. I propose that there were giants in the human species past which resulted from certain villages with the height gene being isolated from other shorter groups and tribes of people. I am not proposing to go through with something like eugenics but if we wanted to create a group of giants, this story is good evidence that we could through specific mating selection based on stature.

 

A Family Of Giants Of Extremely Tall Stature In Bac Lieu Southern Vietnam

I was actually doing research for another post related to the Korean giant that I saw recently when I encountered a very interesting article from a post on a forum

source #1: http://www.eastbound88.com/showthread.php/15281-Family-of-giants-in-Bac-Lieu-southern-Vietnam

source #2: http://haysao.net/chuyen-la/mot-gia-dinh-co-toan-phu-nu-cao-tren-2-met.html

source #3: http://www.xaluan.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=624625

It seems that there is a family of native vietnamese in some village in south vietnam which has extremely tall stature for nearly all of its family members.

From the actual article...

Mrs. Tran Thi Lang, 62 who is oldest child in her family is 2 meters tall. She said her father was a very tall man who was over 2.20 meters tall. Her father married her mother (who is of average height) and gave birth to 8 children who all grew up to be very tall (around 2 meters and up). Her tallest brother was over 2.20 meters tall, but he didn’t live long due to sickness. Her second tallest brother is 2.17m tall and still alive.

Mrs. Tran Thi Lang herself married an average man and has 8 children of which 4 are tall like her, the other 4 are of normal height like their father.

….Mrs. Tran Thi Lang’s second tallest brother, Nguyen Van Trinh who is 2.17 meters tall, standing with his wife.

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A 7 Feet Tall Korean Man Walks Through The Busan International Ferry Terminal Going To Japan

This is a story of something that I saw today which surprised me a lot. It was rather shocking but interesting to see how varied and special the human race may be. Just something I wanted to get out of my head and into writing for others to read. I find it a slightly interesting story. Sometimes I write about height just to write about height, because it is something that fascinates me. It is what allows me to continue to do this type of work, with such a level of determination and intensity bordering along the lines of obsession.

I have been in Seoul, South Korea for over a year now trying to start a cosmetic business with only relative success. Recently I decided to take a trip to it’s neighboring country, Japan for a nice vacation to rest my weary brain and just escape the crowded, hot and humid Seoul atmosphere. I did it last year in the winter where I would visit the city of Hakata, Fukuoka and Kumamoto. It was the first time I had ever purposely gone to Japan for anything since I usually fly through Narita Airport to go to Seoul or somewhere else in Asia. I was amazed at how clean, wonderful, quiet, and tranquil the country was from only being there for 2 days. It was an amazing experience and I promised myself that I would go back as much as I can. So I wanted to go back and enjoy the scenery, food, and environment again.

To go to the 2nd largest city in South Korea from its largest city, the easiest way I think is through taking the KTC Train route. It took me a little less than 3 hours to go from Seoul Station, Seoul to the Train Station in Busan. I am taking the ferry which will go from the Busan port to one of Japan’s ports. The whole process is rather straight forward but it is important to note that there is usually only 1-2 ferries that go to any of the specific Japanese ports each day, and some ferries only come every other day. I was late today and actually missed the ferry going to Japan today so i am writing this story at a local Guest House.

So What Happened?

I remember getting to the Busan International Ferry Terminal today and just casually glancing out the window of the Shuttle Bus. My eye caught the image of a middle aged man who was strolling towards the entrance to the ferry cruise. At first, I was thought that this extremely thin man was clumsily walking on stilts. This man was thin, very thin. His head was also disproportionately small compared to his body. The way that he walked suggested that he had very long legs because his gait was so large, so I thought that he was standing on stilts. I watched in amusement as he walked so awkwardly but his lower legs were covered by the hood of a car blocking my view. I kept watching him walking through the entrance of the ferry terminal until his lower leg portion became visible. He was not standing on stilts.

It was shocking to say the least. I didn’t expect to see such an outlier or person of this stature in a place like this. In general, the ethnicity of koreans are a very homogenous group of people. Most people were around the same height, same size. This man was multiple standard deviations away from the norm. His head clearly passed the top of the doorway, which I would later check and find to be 7 feet tall.

He would bend his head down to walk through the doorway to the cruise ferry and I was left wondering who was this guy who looked like he was over 7′ 3″? Could it be possible that in such a well tabulated and documented country like South Korea that there is still an unknown giant that has not been discovered yet? It is hard for me to believe because even in countries that are much less well tabulated and organized like China and India, most of the people with extremely tall stature are all discovered. How is it that in such a modernized developed nation has such a tall man not been noticed yet?

Maybe it is just me with my height obsession but this guy I would guess was at least 7 feet tall and at most 7′ 4″ in height. His build was so slight. His appearance was so out of place.

This guy is not Hong Man Choi (2.18 meters), Ha Seung Jin (2.23 meters), or Kim Young-Hyun (2.17 meters) . Ri Myung Hun is of course on the other side of the DMZ. I’ve been in Seoul, South Korea for over 1 year and the tallest I’ve seen of korean guys are around the 6′ 9″ – 6′ 10″ range. Still quite tall, but no giants, at least defined by me. This guy was older than them. He was thin, with very long legs, which looked unreal. 

So I guess for me at least, this story will go down as the story of the unknown, super skinny giant who left korea and went to japan on a cruise ferry. This story will probably eventually go down a an anecdote.

It is interesting that I would find this person because I remember well 2 years ago seeing one of the biggest women I’ve ever seen coming out of a Subway Station. She had the body and face similar to Kang Jianhua and I would have guessed that she was over 6′ 6″.

A Complete Guide To Limb Lengthening Surgery

Limb Lengthening SurgeryUpdate: Today is Nov. 27,103. This post was originally supposed to be published within the few days after July 6th of this year. I am still not done with this post. When the Complete Guide is finished, it will probably be the size of a 150+ page book. This is all free. A guide like this has to be created. However this post/guide is only maybe 5% complete.

I plan to slowly edit just this one post over the next month or two months (with the monthly updates on my own journey documented below this seminal post_. This is something that a few people have asked me to do. So I will try my best to make this guide the best that can be found on the internet, at least the ones written in English. I do hope that the people who frequent the Make Me Taller Forum come by and help contribute to the cause and provide valuable information on how to make this post better. There are plenty of blog dairies written on the forum from people who did go through the the limb-lengthening surgery journey. Thank You Guys – Michael.

Recently, someone wrote a comment on the website asking that I create a specific section dedicated to giving very useful information on the details of limb lengthening surgery. They informed me that even though they are a member of the website MakeMeTaller.org, which is a website focused on growing taller mainly through limb lengthening surgery, they felt that the information on the website was disorganized which might have made them a little confused.

I have written quite a few posts before looking at the advantages & disadvantages of going through with limb lengthening surgery, looking a the possible reasons why a person would say yes or no to the surgery, and even writing a detailed post on what happens during callotasis aka callus distraction, for an external fixator, based on a YouTube video I watched where these two orthopedic surgeons performed deformity correction surgery on the leg of someone.

Now, some people might wonder whether I am qualified to write a complete section or guide on limb lengthening surgery. I am not trained as a physician or surgeon. I only got Bs in my college level Biology and Biochemistry courses. Would I know enough about an obscure, relatively new surgical procedure to actually be somewhat of an authority on this subject? Maybe not.

I know that there are thousands of medical students and surgeons who know and understand the process of distraction osteogenesis better than me. Even the people who are regular posters and readers on the MakeMeTaller.org forum might be more qualified and know more about it than me. However, I am going to try to do my best on looking at all the considerations, details, costs, medical clinics, facilities, etc. that are related to limb lengthening surgery.

Note: Some of this information is already posted and available and is taken directly from the Resources section.

Note: I am human so I can be fallible. If I state that a listing below is valid or legitimate does not mean that it really is. Please be careful when making any form of decision that involves a medical procedure as big as surgery. I would advise one to consult one’s personal doctor first before going through with anything as big as limb/leg lengthening surgery. However, it is your life so you can do whatever you want. If you over the age of 18, you are a full adult in the eyes of the USA government legal system so you are fully responsible for any actions you take. I can only give you the information as cleanly and truthfully as I can. 

Please be careful. To get a more complete listing of Hospitals and Clinics around the world who does the limb lengthening Surgery, please refer to the Short Support website located HERE.

Orthopaedic Surgeons & Medical Clinics which performs Limb Lengthening Surgery

Based in Australia

1. Center For Limb Lengthening & Reconstruction 

Founder: Dr. Minoo Patel – Personal Profile Webpage

  • Education: MBBS, MS, FRACS, Ph. D   – NOTE: He does NOT have a medical degree AND on his personal profile page it states that he is STILL in the process of obtaining his Ph. D.
  • E-mail: info@limblengthening.com.au
  • Website: www.limblengthening.com.au
  • Tel: (61) 3 9429 8084
  • Fax: (61) 3 9429 4045
  • Address:  Suite 5.7, The Epworth Centre, 32 Erin Street, Richmond, VIC 3121, Australia

Based in China (People’s Republic)

1. Beijing Institute of External Skeletal Fixation Technology – Based off of Beijing, China. Full name is Beijing Institute of External Skeletal Fixation Technology. From the website, the institute/ clinic seems to be legitimate, however I have not gone into detail in analysis and review on the doctors and surgeons available.

  • Main Surgeon: Dr. Hetao Xia     Articles written about him Link 1, Link 2
  • Contact #: 86-10-68283645
  • Address: Beijing Institute of External Skeletal Fixation Technology , Wandimingyuan 2-402, Haidian District, Xisihuan MiddleRoad, No.39, Beijing, 100039, China 

Based in Germany

1. Prof. Dr. Augustin Betz, Founder and head surgeon of the Betz institute, Original Website (In German): Betz Institute

  • Phone #: +49 (0) 175 7815 512 ,
  • Email: info@betzinstitute.com
  • Address:  Betz institute, Heeresstr. 49 , 66822 Lebach, Germany
  • Directions: We are located 2 hours outside of Frankfurt, Germany, near the border of Luxembourg and France. The nearest airports are Luxembourg airport, Frankfurt Main, Frankfurt Hahn and Saarbrücken airport.

Description: Professor and/or Dr. Betz is internationally known for his approach to complicated orthopedic procedures in which he has pioneered minimally invasive techniques for over 20 years making him one of the most experienced limb lengthening and reconstructive orthopedic surgeons in the world.

Dr. Betz specializes in the following:

  • Limb Lengthening /corrections (legs, arms, hands and feet)
  • Development of innovative implants in the sector of corrective and reconstructive limb surgery
  • Research and development of innovative endoprosthetics
  • Specialized training courses for colleagues involved in reconstr- uctive surgical techniques
  • Green surgery®

Based in India

1. Chandak Hospital & Research Institute, Recognized for the treatment of Central and State Government Employees & their Family

Description: Dr. Abhay Chandak has developed one of India’s prestigious centres for Reconstructive Orthopedics Surgeries, using the Ilizarov technique. He has a pioneering role in popularizing Ilizarov Ring Fixator Surgery, in Northern India.This technique has revolutionized the Orthopaedic treatment, the world over. Chandak Hospital has now emerged as one of the most advanced Ilizarov Center of the country, equipped with latest instrumentation and latest medical gadgetry, where severely complicated cases from across the country are being treated successfully. The hospital prides over performing the Ilizarov surgery in approximately 800 patients in about ten years. The center specializes in the personalized care of these patients and has succeeded consistently in giving rewarding results, carving a special niche. Copyright © 2011 chandakhospitalgwalior.com

  • Phone #: 0751-2324131, 2410998
  • Email: info@drchandak.com
  • Address: 14, Hospital Road, Gwalior, 474009, Chandak Hospital And Research Institute Hospital Road, Gwalior-9 Madhya Pradesh, India

2. International Deformity & Lengthening Institute

Description: One of Asia’s largest and most experienced Centre for Reconstructive Orthopaedics using the Ilizarov Techniques. Over the last 20 years, more than 2200 operations on more than 1800 patients have been done using the Ilizarov Techniques at this Centre.All aspects of Ilizarov Techniques: such as Limb Lengthening, Deformity Correction ,Treatment of Problem fractures , NonUnions, Bone gaps , Poliomyelitis, Foot Deformities,Hip Reconstructions, Vascular Disease and Arthritis of the Knee have been extensively practiced. The Rationale for High Tibial Osteotomy has been practised here to perfection.We have great experience in Extensive Limb Lengthening for increase of height in Dwarfs

Director: Dr. Milind Chaudhary MS (Orth) is a pioneer in the field of Ilizarov Techniques in India. He was chiefly instrumental in introducing Ilizarov Techniques in India in 1989. Over the last decade, he has performed some of the most difficult and intricate surgeries using the Ilizarov Techniques, has perfected its routine applications and has introduced several new operations using this system.

Dr. Milind Chaudhary, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Age : 50 years
Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai – Director,
Centre for Ilizarov Techniques
Chaudhary Hospital, Akola.
Tele/Fax : (0724) 2435398, 2441895, 2439265.

Centre for Ilizarov Techniques, Chaudhary Trust Hospital

  • Address: Civil Lines, Akola 444 001, Maharashtra. India.
  • Phone : 0091-724-2435398
  • Fax: 0091-724-2439265
  • Mail: limblength@gmail.com

3. Center For Joint Replacement And Advanced Orthopaedics,   Website: OrthopedicsIndia.com

Dr. S.V. Santpure –  Consultant orthopaedic surgeon

  • Education: M.S.(Ortho), Fellowship, Baltimore (USA),
  • Location: Room no 36 (Monday/Wednesday/Friday) – 11.30 to 14.00 hrs
  • Kamalnayan Bajaj Hospital
  • Address: Beed Bypass Road, Aurangabad – 431 005 , Maharashtra State, India.
  • Phone: +91-9325211654
  • E-Mail: sshivkr@hotmail.com, svsantpure@gmail.com

Based in Russia

1. The Centre Of Anthropometrical (Orthopaedical) Cosmetology And Correction, Dr.Yegorov’s group

  • Contact #: +7 8442 38 39 27 (call from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM (GMT +03:00))
  • E-mail: info@rucosm.com
  • Skype name: volga-volga6
  • Address: 17 Socialisticheskaya str., stage 7 , Volgograd, Russia

2. Ilizarov’s Traumatology and Orthopaedics, Russian Scientific Center for Restorative Traumatology and Orthopaedics

Note: I am slightly suspicious of the hospital/ clinic since the website does not seem to give an address of the center. Just be cautious.

3. Russian Ilizarov Scientific Center For Restorative Traumatology and Orthopaedics

The Federal State-Financed Institution Russian Ilizarov Scientific Center for Restorative Traumatology and Orthopaedics of RF Ministry of healthcare and social development is situated in the capital of Kurgan region.

Since the 1st of October 2010 Gubin Alexander Vadimovich, M.D., is the head of the Federal State Institution Russian Ilizarov scientific centre for Restorative Traumatology and Orthopaedics of the RF Ministry of healthcare and social development.

Contact Information

  • International department +7 (3522) 45-47-58.
  • Communication in English, French, German, Japanese
  • Postal address: 640014, Russia, Kurgan, M.Ulyanova street, 6.
  • Phone number: +7 (3522) 45-47-47
  • Fax: +7 (3522) 45-40-60
  • 24-hour Call Centre: +7 (3522) 234-264
  • The Head Office: office@ilizarov.ru
  • The International Office: inter@ilizarov.ru
  • The Hightech medical aid committee: vmp@ilizarov.ru
  • The Official web-site: www.ilizarov.ru

Based in Turkey

1. Yerevan Center of Limb Lengthening & Reconstruction – www.ycllr.org

  • Address:
  • Contact #:
  • Email:

Based in USA

1. Dror Paley, MD, FRCSC, Medical Director – Paley Advanced Limb Lengthening Institute, Advanced Orthopedic Institute at St. Mary’s Medical Center

  • Contact #: Office – (561) 844-5255   Fax – (561) 844-5245
  • Email address: dpaley@lengthening.us
  • Address:  901 45th Street – Kimmel Building , West Palm Beach, FL 33407 , 877-765-4637 (Toll Free)

Description: Board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon and is nationally and internationally recognized for his expertise in deformity correction and limb lengthening. (Note: I highly recommend Dr. Paley for his credentials, exposure, and experience.)

2. Dr. Amar Sarin, Orthopaedic Consultant and Restorative Surgeon

  • Address: Clinic Address: A-136, Super Mart 1 , DLF Phase 4, Gurgaon, India
  • Practice Location: B L Kapur Mqemorial Hospital, Action Cancer Institute, Nova Surgical Center

Description: Dr. Sarin has worked at Institute for Invalids & Reconstructive Surgeries Ukraine Region, Vinnitssa Medical Institute Hospital Vinnitssa U.S.S.R. for Reconstructive Surgeries, Rehabilitative Surgeries and Illizarov Technique of Bone remodeling. In 20 years he has performed more than 3000 Ilizarov surgeries.

3. Dr. Shahab Mahboubain, DO, MPH.

Southern California Ortho Association    10640 Riverside Dr  , North Hollywood, CA 91602    Telephone: (818) 755-6500 (Office)

  • Office Location 1: 9025 Wilshire Blvd Suite 202   , Beverly Hills, CA 90211         
  • Telephone: (800) 788-1416 (Office)
  • Office Location 2: 16133 Ventura Blvd Suite 370   , Encino, CA 91436                  
  •  Telephone: (818) 379-9991 (Office)

4. International Center for Limb Lengthening , Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics, Kernan Hospital,  Center Website: Life Bridge Health

  • Phone #: 410-601-8700 or 1-800-221-8425
  • Location: Baltimore, Maryland
  • Webpage: Profile Description

Director: John E. Herzernberg, M.D. (also Director at Pediatric Orthopedics at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore)

Note: I am not sure if this place actually offers it’s services for limb lenghening for the purpose of cosmetic reasons for short stature people. 

Medical Facilities & Clinics which offer the cosmetic surgery service of Limb Lengthening Surgery

Based in China (People’s Republic)

Based in Germany

Based in India

Based in Russia

Based in Turkey

Based in USA

Types of Limb Lengthening Surgery

Limb lengthening surgery is divided into two main types based on where the metal fixators are placed relative to the actual bone material. They are either 1. Internal or 2. External. The original way devised by Ilizarov in his 30 years of orthopedic research was external and that was the main focus for most of the early years of the surgery. Then surgeons realized that instead of putting the metal fixators outside which was considered unsightly and scary, it was possible to insert the metal fixators, which went from cylindrical wires into a single thick rod which was implanted into the inter medullary cavity which is in the middle of every long bone.

External Methods

Internal Methods

The Issue Of Weight Loading & Why It Is Important

From reading the posts made by the various members of the MakeMeTaller.org forum community, it seems that there is this issue of loading that is raised quite a bit. Obviously if people are talking

Cost Of Limb Lengthening Surgery

The cost of surgery varies a lot based on the country it is performed in and how well known and respected the surgeon is. The total cost for a one time

Amount of Maximum Length expected in one leg segment for each surgery

The general consensus made by most people is that the standard way the internal method allows for is only 7-8 cms. The reason why the leg or limb can not be extended any further is because

Recovery & Physical Therapy

The Issue Of Pain

Complications With The Surgery & Recovery Stage

Biography of The Original Limb Lengthening Surgery Innovator, Gavriil Ilizarov

(source is taken from Russian Ilizarov Orthopaedic Center website)

Gavriil IlizarovGavriil Abramovich Ilizarov (1921-1992) – GAVRIIL ABRAMOVICH ILIZAROV was born on the 15th of June 1921 in the town of Belovezh (Belorus).

He graduated from the Crimean Medical Institute in 1944 that was based in Kazakhstan during the World War II and was sent to the Kurganskaya region to work at the hospitals in the Polovinski and Kosulinski districts. In 1950, he was appointed to work as orthopaedic surgeon at the Kurgan regional hospital.

In 1951, G.A. Ilizarov proposed his own device for bone fracture consolidation and received the USSR author’s certificate No. 98471 dated 09.06.52, and that was the start of his long-time work that resulted in the development of a new scientific and practical trend in the field of bone surgery that later was called compression distraction osteosynthesis. His scientific thesisCompression osteosynthesis with the author’s apparatus in 1968 was evaluated as the thesis worth of the degree of Doctor of Medical Sciences (MD)

Books & Resources About Limb Lengthening Surgery

The links for the books below are with the Amazon Associate Affiliate program.

Measure of a Man – Akash Shukla

Principles of Deformity Correction – Dror Paley

Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Surgery – S. Robert Rozbruch, Svetlana Ilizarov