A Colombian man has spent a staggering £140,000 on an excruciating leg-lengthening surgery.
Yeferson Cossio, who boasts over 28 million followers on TikTok, underwent the painful procedure to add six inches to his height, taking him from 5-foot-8 to six feet tall.
In a video shared with his fans, the social media star admitted he undertook the six-month treatment purely for “aesthetic” reasons.
He confessed: “I’m not a dwarf, nor am I the tallest,” and “Yes, my legs are pretty but I hate them … I am self-conscious like almost all human beings with some parts of my body and I have a couple hundred million pesos to use here to change it.”
The brutal operation involves breaking bones and inserting metal rods.
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The patient’s bones are broken to fit an external device along with the metal rod, which gradually lengthens a gap multiple times per day, stretching the patient in the process.
The Hospital for Special Surgery explained that the body “continues to produce new tissue in the gap” created by the external device, and this continues “until the desired length of bone has been generated”.
To increase his height by six inches, Cossio had to endure a painful leg-lengthening process for 152 days, with bones being separated by one millimetre per day, as reported by the New York Post.
Patients also need physiotherapy to learn how to use their new legs properly and avoid developing back pain or an unusual walk.
Cossio revealed: “Two years ago, I had an issue with my legs that I don’t really want to talk about because it’s very personal … But one of the things that had the most impact on me was to do with leg stretching.”
The social media star also shared a story about why he previously had leg problems, claiming a drug dealer broke his legs after discovering Cossio had been seeing his girlfriend.
His surgeon reassured in the video that Cossio would have no issues with walking, exercising, or jumping once he fully recovered from the surgery and completed his physio programme.
The star seemed happy with the significant changes, adding that he doesn’t plan on going any further.
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