Latest news with #PaleyInstitute
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The $200,000 height-enhancing surgery from 'Materialists' is real — and more common than you might think
In Celine Song's new romantic drama, Materialists, Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is perpetually on the hunt for a tall man. Not for herself, however — Lucy is a matchmaker, and her clients have height requirements they refuse to budge on. It's why, early in the film, Lucy says she understands why some men choose to go through with a $200,000 surgery that gives them up to 6 more inches of height: It adds to their value on the dating scene. Without spoiling too much, this surgery comes up for a second time in the film — a twist that reframes what it means to be a catch in today's dating market. But this height surgery isn't just a plot point. It's a real way some people are coping with body image issues around their stature. Dr. Dror Paley, founder of the Paley Orthopedic & Spine Institute's Stature Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., told Yahoo that he's done more than 25,000 limb lengthening surgeries over the course of his 38-year career. Most of these are done in order to correct imbalances in the body — if one leg is shorter than the other, for example. But on average, he said, he performs about 100 surgeries per year on patients who are just hoping to inch up in height. Paley explained that limb lengthening involves gradually pulling apart a broken bone (the tibia or the femur) so that new bone grows in the gap. Traditionally, this was done using external metal frames, but now, it's typical to use implantable devices with motors or magnets that go inside the bone and are controlled remotely and adjusted slowly over weeks. With each adjustment, the devices extend the bone — no more than 1 millimeter per day — and the body naturally generates new bone and soft tissue to fill in the space. Recovery is about five months long, Paley said, and physical therapy is required in order to get back functionality. Depending on the device used, some people may need a walker or crutches to move around initially. As an orthopedic surgeon, Paley corrects 'pain and disability,' not aesthetics, which is why he was initially concerned about being judged by others in his industry for the procedure. 'It's very odd for us to treat patients for cosmetic reasons,' Paley said. 'It took a long time to figure out what the plastic surgeons knew all along: that they were treating body image issues.' The price tag on such a procedure can vary but starts at around $80,000 to lengthen just the tibia, which can give a patient around 3 more inches of height, Paley said. But if a patient wants more height by lengthening the femur as well, that effectively doubles the cost of the surgery. With physical therapy and other recovery costs, Paley said that the $200,000 price quoted in Materialists is more or less accurate. But for many patients, that cost is more than worth it. Paley recalled one patient, a young man fresh out of law school who could barely look him in the eye during their initial appointment. Paley performed the limb lengthening surgery on him, adding 3 inches to his tibia. A decade later, Paley said the patient came back to thank him with a firm handshake. He told the doctor that due to the surgery, he found the confidence to pursue a career in TV writing — something that he said he never would have done had he not had the surgery. 'We're looking to change how patients feel about themselves,' Paley said of the surgery. 'It changes their life.' Alyson Curtis, a New York City-based mental health counselor specializing in body image issues, told Yahoo that she believes many straight men are 'suffering in silence' with body image issues, and that height tends to be a major insecurity for men on the shorter side. 'As a therapist, I fully validate that 'pretty privilege' is real, like no matter who you are,' she said. 'Our clients are swiping on the dating apps, and height is one of those metrics where you might not even be considered if you don't meet a certain requirement. And I think that the movie really accurately portrayed that.' Ultimately, Curtis explained, the society we live in is 'obviously patriarchal' and 'made by men.' 'Their definition of masculinity is to be big and powerful still, and height represents that,' she said, noting that at the same time, many men expect and desire women to be 'very small,' leading to women experiencing body image issues around thinness. (In Materialists, a client tells Lucy that he doesn't want any 'fatties,' while another insists on dating a woman with a BMI no greater than 20.) 'We do live in a world that prefers people in a certain body type, or a taller height, or whatever,' she said. While Curtis said she always validates her clients for feeling bad about the ways in which society judges us, she noted that these standards don't have to define who we are. 'It can be very tormenting to sort of always feel inferior. But is it enough to hate yourself for the rest of your life? Is it enough to undergo a really intense surgery that not everyone has the means to do anyway?' Instead, Curtis said, her work with patients comes from a place of finding acceptance in the things you can't or don't want to change. 'There are people in this world who want to change things about you, who are going to judge you — whether it's a personality attribute or even other features like the color of our skin,' she shared. 'There's so many things about us that people are going to reject that we just can't please everyone.'
Al Etihad
03-05-2025
- Health
- Al Etihad
Eminent physicians to offer treatment, consultations in Abu Dhabi in May
3 May 2025 12:00 SAMIHAH ZAMAN (ABU DHABI)The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), the emirate's health regulator, has announced a list of eminent physicians who are scheduled to offer treatment and consultations in Abu Dhabi this month (May).The doctors will head to Abu Dhabi as part of the DoH Visiting Physicians Programme, providing care and support in wide range of medical specialties – including oncology, paediatric haematology and orthopaedic surgery – across Abu Dhabi's healthcare facilities.'The DoH welcomes top-tier doctors from around the world to the Emirate during May, offering exceptional healthcare services through the Visiting Physicians Programme,' the DoH announced. Visiting Physicians Among the doctors headed to Abu Dhabi as part of the programme is Dr. Denise Adams, Paediatric Haematologist-Oncologist, and Director of the Comprehensive Vascular Anomalies Programme at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. An expert in rare tumours and vascular treatment, Dr. Adams will be available at the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City between May 19 and cancer expert, Dr. Leslie Lehmann, International Medical Director for Haematology/Oncology/Bone Marrow Transplant at the Dana Farber and Boston Children's Hospital, ranked the top children's hospital in the US, will see patients at the Yas Clinic Khalifa City between May 20 and the field of orthopaedic medicine, Dr. Austin T. Fragomen, Consultant Orthopaedics and Limb Lengthening Surgeon at HSS Hospital New York, the top ranked orthopaedic hospital in the US, will offer services at the Healthpoint Hospital between May 19 and 23. Dr. Fragomen specialises in skeletal reconstruction, deformity correction, bone lengthening surgery, fracture care, and minimally invasive limb the Paley Institute – another of the top orthopaedic care centres in the US – Dr. Dror Paley, Medical Director of the Division of Critical Care at the St. Mary Hospital, Paley Institute, and Prof. Munjed Al Muderis, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at St. Mary Hospital, Paley Institute, West Palm Beach, will head down to Burjeel Medical City in Abu Dhabi. The two physicians specialise in advanced orthopaedic care and surgery, including limb lengthening, amputation care, limb reconstruction, deformity correction, and bone cancer treatment. Dr. Paley will be available between May 25 to 30, whereas Prof. Al Muderis will visit between May 21 to Paul Geelen, provider of eye implants and prosthetic eyes at the Artificial Eye Services Hospital in Perth, Australia, will see patients at Abu Dhabi's Moorfield Eye Hospital between May 11 and can directly contact the respective hospitals to book appointments, the DoH has urged. Programme MilestonesAs of December 2024, a total of 3,277 patients with rare and complex medical conditions have received care in Abu Dhabi from 37 visiting experts as part of the Visiting Physician Programme. Launched by the DoH in 2021, the programme aims to provide exceptional healthcare services by partnering with leading global health organisations. It has seen the completion of 372 successful surgeries in the emirate, including the first dorsal rhizotomy surgery, which is used in the treatment of children with cerebral palsy. According to the DoH, the top five specialties offered by visiting practitioners in 2024 include paediatric haematology for bone marrow transplants; plastic surgery for lymphedema and brachial plexus, adult orthopaedic surgeries for complex ankle, foot, shoulder, hand and scoliosis, paediatric orthopaedic care for limb lengthening and limb deformities, and the 1,985 patients who sought treatment through the programme in 2024, 94% were successfully treated and did not need to travel abroad for treatment, the DoH has revealed. In addition to the provision of consultative services, the programme has allowed for knowledge transfer, the enhancement of local expertise and post-surgical rehabilitation care, and the improvement of healthcare outcomes throughout Abu Dhabi.
