The challenge when doing any kind of lengthening is stretching the muscles as we lengthen the bone. Muscle tension causes the most discomfort and pain during the lengthening process, it can also put some pressure on surrounding nerves causing nerve pain, which can be very uncomfortable.

At CLLC we use Botox at the end of the procedure… Yes, the same Botox people use the make their wrinkles go away…. I should know, my twin sister is a plastic surgeon!

Botox functions the same way in your face as it does in your leg muscles. It causes a temporary partial paralysis of the muscle (usually lasting for about 3 months). In a small face muscle, if you put too much botox, you might have droopy eyelids or not be able to smile for a few months. In a big muscle like your quadriceps (front of thigh) or hamstrings (back of thigh) about 100 units of botox (which by the way could probably unwrinkled about 30-40 faces) will mostly just result in a less tense muscle during lengthening. Patients are still able to walk and are encouraged to continue to do so during the whole lengthening process.

We inject 100 units of botox per muscle group (quadriceps an hamstrings) in both legs for a total of 400 units of botox per patient! We use the porcupine technique to help inject the botox evenly in the large muscles. If you want to see more on this technique you can check out our website or Instagram.

Our patients have noticed the difference! Botox seriously helps decrease post-operative pain and pain during lengthening and helps our patients get the results they want. The good news is that the Botox wears off just in time…. It takes 3 months to get to 8 cm and that’s when the Botox we injected starts wearing off, allowing patients to start gaining their strength back. Most of our patients undergoing stature lengthening take only Tylenol during the lengthening process and we think that’s at least in part due to the use of Botox.