Student pays £36k to have his legs broken in surgery to become 3.7in taller
Irakli Archvadze, 36, had his femurs broken by a doctor in Turkey who installed metal frames to his legs on 14 February.
The PhD student, who thought his long arms were out of proportion with the rest of his body, had to use an Allen Key to gradually separate the broken bones 1mm every day for the next three months.
Video footage shared on Thursday (10 July) shows the 36-year-old stretching out his limbs at a new height of 5ft 10.7 inches.
The self-confessed 'short king' said the experience was 'proof' that he could do something 'really hard'.
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BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Israel bombards Gaza City as UK and allies urge action against 'famine unfolding'
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BreakingNews.ie
3 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
State ‘completely failed' boy (9) who died after waiting for scoliosis surgery
The State has 'completely failed' a nine-year-old-boy who died in July, Mary Lou McDonald has said. Harvey Morrison Sherratt, who suffered from scoliosis, died on July 29th. Advertisement His parents Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison learned last August that Harvey had been removed from Children Health Ireland's (CHI) scoliosis waiting list without their knowledge. After they publicly raised their son's case, Harvey, from Clondalkin, received spinal surgery last December after waiting for years. By then, his spinal curve had reached the point where it could not be fully corrected. While he spent years on a waiting list, his spinal curve caused his rib cage to twist around his lungs and heart, severely restricting his breathing. Advertisement Tánaiste Simon Harris made a pledge in 2017 as minister for health that no child would wait more than four months for scoliosis treatment. Harvey's parents have now called for his resignation. Sinn Féin president Ms McDonald said she raised the case with Mr Harris in the Dáil on September 18th, 2024. In a letter to Mr Harris, dated August 11th, Ms McDonald said: 'At that time, you assured me that you would meet with Harvey's parents, Gillian and Stephen, to discuss their son's urgent medical situation. Regrettably, and without explanation, that meeting never took place. Advertisement 'As you will recall, Harvey was suffering from spina bifida and life-threatening scoliosis. 'This young child moved the hearts of the nation when a video of him struggling to breathe was widely shared. 'His parents fought tirelessly to have him returned to the active waiting list after he was inexplicably and without notification removed from it.' Ms McDonald said that following Harvey's surgery last year, his improvement was remarkable. Advertisement 'His breathing improved, and he began eating solid food for the first time in six years,' she added. 'However, by the time these operations took place, the curvature of his spine was so severe that the outcome was tragically limited compared to what could have been achieved had timely intervention been provided, as per your own stated four-month target.' Tánaiste Simon Harris as health minister pledged in 2017 that no child would wait more than four months for scoliosis treatment. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Ms McDonald added: 'The State has completely failed this bravest, strongest and most courageous boy and his family, first by the intolerable delays in his treatment, and then by your failure to follow through on a commitment made directly to me, and by extension, to them. 'This inaction is both shameful and unacceptable. Advertisement 'His parents, Gillian and Stephen, demand and deserve an explanation from you as to why you did not take or make the time to meet them, as you promised. 'Considering their unimaginable loss, the least they are owed from you is an honest account of why this promise was broken, and I urge you to meet with them both even at this stage. Ireland Parents of boy who died with severe scoliosis pled... Read More 'Moreover, they will continue to campaign for all those other children who continue to wait on urgent surgery, and we too in Sinn Féin will continue to advocate for them and hold you and your Government to account in this regard.' On Monday, Mr Harris said that after Harvey's case was brought to his attention, he contacted that Department of Health and CHI. He said he sought additional clinical consultations that appropriate clinical care was given.
Telegraph
6 hours ago
- Telegraph
Flagship British project to boost global surgical standards under threat of closure
A flagship British project created to improve the safety of medical surgery around the world could shut down next year because of the government's aid cuts. The Global Surgery Unit (GSU), launched in 2017 by the Royal College of Surgeons, conducts large-scale studies across a network of 120 countries to find ways of making surgical care both more effective and accessible, particularly in developing countries. Every year more than four million people die from conditions that could be treated with surgical procedures – a greater number of deaths than HIV/Aids, malaria, and TB combined – yet it remains one of the most neglected components of global health. In recent years the GSU has conducted some of the biggest surgical research studies in history, and claims to be the largest global research network in science. In 2021 it set a Guinness World Record with a landmark study on the impact of Covid-19 on surgical patients that involved collaboration from over 15,000 scientists and researchers. But it could now be forced to close in June next year when its current funding runs out, said Professor Dion Morton, GSU co-lead and the Barling Chair of Surgery at the University of Birmingham, which co-created the unit. 'They've already funded us through to June 2026, they can't take that back – [but] if they could, they would,' he told The Telegraph. Prof Morton said the GSU 'has been run on a shoestring' since its launch, costing only around £20 million and focusing on a public health intervention that plays a vital role in nearly every area of medicine. Some 28 per cent of the global disease burden stems from conditions that are treatable with surgery – from infections and trauma wounds, to blindness and maternal health. Improving surgery is also a key component of the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which kills more than 1.1 million people around the world every year, including 35,000 in the UK alone. By preventing and managing infections, it helps to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use. The GSU, which involves 40,000 surgeons across 120 countries, conducts large-scale trials to tackle major global surgical challenges across many countries at the same time. The initiative has driven advancements in low-cost and practical interventions to improve surgical care in low-resource settings - innovations that are also feeding back into surgical practices in the UK. One of the GSU's landmark studies, known as the CHEETAH trial, conducted across three continents, found that simply changing gloves and instruments before wound closure prevents one in seven wound infections. This practice has now been adopted into routine practice in Britain and around the world. Another major initiative, the EAGLE trial, tested in 70 countries, introduced a standardised medical checklist to improve outcomes in bowel surgery. 'Global surgical care is probably the greatest world health challenge today and the one that we are currently failing to meet,' said Prof Morton. 'It is a fundamental part of the health system and if we're going to provide effective global health care and we must strengthen the whole system, it's not enough to just treat single conditions.' A 'bottom up approach' to transforming care Experts have warned that Labour's decision to slash its overseas aid budget by around £6 billion, including a 46 per cent drop in health related spending, could reverse vital progress in some of the world's most vulnerable regions. Shrinking development budgets means politicians are focusing on threats like single disease interventions, pandemics, and conflict. 'There's a tendency in global health to look backwards…but it's not actually treating the whole health system. It's not addressing the real need in the world. And I think that this is a mistake,' said Prof Morton. Last month, The Telegraph reported that the Fleming Fund, a major £265 million British programme designed to tackle AMR in the developing world, is being closed by Labour's aid cuts. Sir Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary, told The Telegraph that the move 'directly puts our national security at risk'. Prof Morton also challenged a common misconception that surgery is 'only a crisis treatment of last resort', adding that it 'is not simply something that's carried out in an operating theatre.' Some global health and development institutions have come under increasing scrutiny for perpetuating so called 'colonial power dynamics'. But Prof Morton said the GSU takes 'a bottom up approach to transforming care.' Instead of allowing Western high-income countries to dictate the agenda, the GSU prioritises collaboration with local surgeons and healthcare providers in poorer countries to co-create interventions tailored to their specific needs. 'In some respects, it bypasses the policy makers and allows the clinicians to improve the care for their patients, and that's the key element in the global surgery network that makes it different from anything else,' he added. The consequences of not having access to surgery are profound. It means that every year millions of people die from treatable conditions, such as hernia repair and obstructed labour, which is treated with basic procedures like caesarian sections. The burden falls heaviest on the world's poorest. Some 93 per cent of people in sub-Saharan Africa don't have access to basic surgical care. One survey suggests that 40 per cent of donated surgical equipment in poor countries is out of service. Yet, some surgeries can rank among the most cost-effective of all health interventions, such as cataract removal, which reverses blindness at a remarkably low cost. Research suggests expanding access to surgical care in poorer countries would boost the global economy by $80 billion annually. Training enough surgeons, anaesthetists and obstetricians remains a key challenge to widening access, with over 160 million patients unable to receive surgery each year. In higher income countries such as the UK, there are around 35 surgical specialists per 100,000 people, whereas in Bangladesh there are 1.7 per 100,000 people. Only 26 per cent of countries have met the Global Surgery 2030 goal to ensure everyone has access to essential surgery within two hours. Yet basic training can make a huge difference. Research shows that trained junior staff, such as clinical officers with around three years of experience, can perform caesarean sections just as safely as doctors. Prof Morton, who has an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to innovation in the NHS, warned that the UK's aid cuts will have profound global consequences. 'It will likely result in the suspension of national surgical obstetric and anaesthetic plans in most countries around the world,' he said.
