A self-confessed ‘short king’ endured three months of gruelling bone stretching to increase his height – but he says the excruciating procedure was all worth it for the extra three inches
A 36-year-old man who ‘stopped growing’ at the age of 15 has forked out a whopping £36,000 for gruelling limb-lengthening surgery – and it’s not for the faint-hearted.
A self-confessed ‘short king’, Irakli Archvadze stood at 5ft 7in tall before the operation and felt his arms were “too long” for his body.
He always felt “uncomfortable” about his stature, particularly when trying to date taller women, and wore insoles to give himself some extra height. One YouTube video showing the height surgery was all it took for Irakli to fly to Turkey for the procedure.
On February 14, the PhD student from Tbilisi, Georgia, took drastic measures and had surgery to break both of his legs and increase his height by 3.7 inches. Surgerons at the clinic in Istanbul broke his femurs and fitted metal frames to his legs.
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And if that wasn’t brutal enough, Irakli spent the next three months using an Allen key to gradually prize apart the broken bones by 1mm a day, to allow new bone to grow in the gap.
For Irakli, the excruciating pain was all worth it. The surgery saw him gain 3.7 inches, bringing his height to 5ft 10.7in. He explained: “People don’t understand how us short kings feel. With my height, I felt like part of my puzzle was missing and I found this part, through the surgery, and now I feel accomplished so my puzzle is complete.
“It’s easier to get things from the kitchen cupboard and I will see if I can see better at concerts now!”
The PhD student admitted he was often “too shy” to approach women who were taller than him, fearing he’d get rejected. But now he’s more confident than ever.
Recalling the moment he came across the surgery online, Irakli said: “It was a real shock for me, because I was like, ‘Wow, is it really true? Is it Photoshop or is it fake?’ I didn’t believe it at first so I decided to visit the clinic, Live Life Taller, in Istanbul.”
In August 2024, he went to the clinic to meet the doctors and spoke with patients, and he felt it was a “respectable place” and decided to book in for the surgery.
Irakli revealed he only told two friends and his sister about the operation. His sister was shocked at first but supportive, but his friends warned they would never consider the surgery – even if they were offered a million dollars.
When the time came for surgery earlier this year, Irakli quit his call centre job to focus on recovery. He claims he “wasn’t nervous at all” having developed a “warrior mindset” by listening to positive podcasts for months.
During the surgery, the student said he was put under general anaesthetic and the surgeon broke his femurs into two parts, before attaching metal frames, called external fixators, to his legs.
These metal frames sit outside the leg and are held in place by metal pins that go through the skin and into the bone on both sides of the break.
They have rods and screws that can be adjusted to move the bone gradually. When the pins pierce the skin, they leave small open wounds, which are cleaned every day to stop them getting infected.
Just five days after the operation, Irakli started using an Allen key to turn the screws on the fixators every day – a vital part of the leg lengthening process. It gently pulled the two ends of his broken bone apart by about 1mm each day, allowing new bone to grow.
“I stretched as much as possible and I woke up five times per night, stretched in the bed and went back to sleep, and I went to the gym almost every day,” Irakli explained.
“I used a walker to get around. There was some intense pain but I prepared myself mentally so it was okay, and I had painkillers too.
“Pain is inevitable in this process but I looked at the pain as progress – fear is an obstacle to a progress. Therefore, I pushed myself not to give up and to go forward.”
The man has intensive physiotherapy three times a week for three months as part of his recovery at a rehabilitaton centre. The total cost of the whole ordeal came to around £36,190, but he says it was worth every penny.
Since the start of this month, Irakli has been able to walk without a walker or crutches. “It felt amazing, I’m really satisfied with my height now and I achieved what I dreamed of,” he said.
“I don’t get as nervous any more, I feel relaxed. I became stronger mentally and physically. I feel better about my proportions now, my arm span is still a little bit longer than my height but I feel really happy, especially with sneakers on.”
When he came home from Turkey, his pals “clapped” in celebration when they saw his height for the first time.
“Everybody was shocked with my height and right now I’m taller or at the same height as my friends,” he beamed.
“I feel like I’ve got more respect from my friends now because once you go through a challenge, and once you win your battle, you are a strong person and I proved to them that I can do something that’s really hard.”
While Irakli would encourage others to get leg lengthening surgery, he shared one warning: “Be patient, it takes time – think tomorrow will be better than yesterday, and you will be a better person than you were yesterday, and then it will be easier. In the end, we all want to be the best version of ourselves.”
The NHS states that if you are thinking about having a cosmetic procedure, it’s vital to do your research as they all have risks. Cosmetic surgery is not routinely provided on the NHS.