Be BRAVE for Limb Lengthening

Hello, my name is Brittany Russell and I have created a non-profit organization called be Brave. At be Brave we stride to deliver hope to children undergoing Limb Lengthening procedures. Limb Lengthening is a series of surgeries used to treat children who have achondroplasia and children who have legs/arms of unequal lengths, involving several surgeries, along recovery period and a number of risks. At be Brave, we provide care baskets to the children who have just undergone a Limb Lengthening procedure and are staying at the Hackerman-Patz House, a home away from home, located on the campus of Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.

I myself have undergone Limb Lengthening so I know first hand the pain and suffering that is involved. Though through all of the pain and suffering, the end result, which in my case was a gain in my height of 12 inches, was worth every bit of the pain and suffering and I would go through it all again in a heartbeat.

Beginning in September of this year, be Brave will be hosting a yearly basket auction to raise enough money to provide care baskets for a year to the children coming in and out of the Hackerman-Patz House. The care baskets will be filled with items to help keep the children's minds off of the pain, and put a smile on their faces.

Let me tell you a little more about the Limb Lengthening. The limb lengthening process works by gradually growing new bone and soft tissues (skin, muscle, nerves, blood vessels, etc). This new growth is called tissue regeneration.

Bone and soft tissue regenerate when they are distracted (pulled apart) at a very slow rate of approximately 1 mm per day. If the rate of distraction is faster than this, bone may fail to form between the two ends of the bone that are being pulled apart. Then, soft tissues, such as muscle, may experience contracture (get too tight) or nerves may become paralyzed. If the rate of distraction is too slow, premature consolidation may occur (the bone may consolidate too soon), preventing the lengthening device from further pulling it apart.

There are many different lengthening devices used. The most common are external fixators, which are devices that attach to the bone by means of thin wires or thicker pins that have a screw threading at their attachment to the bone.

There are two phases of lengthening until the bone is fully healed: the distraction phase and the consolidation phase. The distraction phase is the lengthening phase. After the desired length is obtained, the newly regenerated bone is still very weak because of lack of calcium within it. The hardening and calcification of this new bone is called the consolidation phase.

It most commonly takes up to 3 years from start to finish, but what is 3 years compared to a life time of changes...........