What surgeon do I need to see to shorten my torso?

[keityp]

I have unnaturally short legs for my torso. Do you think there any surgeries to shorten your torso and thus reducing your height? I would like to reduce my height. A friend of mine had two vertebra's removed and now she's an inch shorter.Obviously there would be a market for it,cuz I know an awful lot of girls who have longer torso, shorter legs and wish they had the opposite. It's not like I do this only to make myself shorter, but to e well proportioned so I can look better, this surgery would be revolutionary AND very helpful to trans-girls that are very tall.

[crowcrow223]

It'd be hard to find a surgeon who would want to operate on your spine, high risk of making you disabled (probably), plus it'd cost a lot I assume. But if there's someone out there who'd do that, I wanna know haha

[Annabella]

Umm...
I don't know how to tell you this.. but I don't think anyone has vertebra removed for cosmetic reasons because your nervous system runs through there and even in the best of circumstances surgeons avoid touching the vertebra unless absolutely necessary (such as when you have a degenerative bone disease or cancer of the spine etc).

You would be risking paralysis or loss of sexual function, or in some cases even death.
Heels would be a far safer investment (not that I am discounting your dysphoria over your proportions, but I would hate to see something happen to you)

[Suziack]

People sometimes have spinal surgery to fuse their vertebrae in order to relieve pain. I've read that it often doesn't help, at all. Spinal surgery has a very long recovery time, with lots of pain, and the risk of permanent paralysis. When all is said and done, the surgeon goes home with a nice fat paycheck, and you go home with cut skin, nerves, muscles and ligaments. If I was living with fair quality of life, I wouldn't let a surgeon anywhere near my spine with a scalpel, and probably wouldn't do so even if I didn't have fair quality of life.

[Emily1996]

Just don't do it... The surgery is very invasive and it's only for people who have medical problems not fot cosmetic reasons... Just wear heels (I don't like heels too but it's ok if you don't want to wear heels), or just accept yourself, like really there are many girls with the same problem and it's ok... Perfection is a disease of a nation u_u

[Jessica Merriman]

In 28 years as a Paramedic I have never heard of a "torso" shortening surgery. It is unethical for many reasons and if you find someone to do it you will regret it. I don't even know any hospitals in the U.S. who would even consider it for a second. Some things just can't be changed.

[Myarkstir]

In 28 years as a Paramedic I have never heard of a "torso" shortening surgery. It is unethical for many reasons and if you find someone to do it you will regret it. I don't even know any hospitals in the U.S. who would even consider it for a second. Some things just can't be changed.

Good words of wisdom here

[Megan Joanne]

That's some scary sick thought there. 'Bout as bad as me thinking, what if there was a way to extend the width of my hip bones to give me a more womanly hourglass shape, or shave some off my shoulder blades, rip my arms off and readjust them so my shoulders aren't as wide. Way too invasive even if possible, the risks are too great for that much vanity. I have an athletic built, I'll make do with it, it could be worst as that's not really a bad thing. Bad enough I'll be taking risks when I get surgery down there be it testicle removal or full SRS. I want a tracheal shave too, but even that gives me pause that something could go wrong, such as surgeon takes too much off, ruins my voice, or other complication. I couldn't ever think of someone pulling a Mortal Kombat move on me with my spinal cord. Finish her!  No way! 

[Nicolette]

I have unnaturally short legs for my torso. Do you think there any surgeries to shorten your torso and thus reducing your height? I would like to reduce my height. A friend of mine had two vertebra's removed and now she's an inch shorter.Obviously there would be a market for it,cuz I know an awful lot of girls who have longer torso, shorter legs and wish they had the opposite. It's not like I do this only to make myself shorter, but to e well proportioned so I can look better, this surgery would be revolutionary AND very helpful to trans-girls that are very tall.

Perhaps, making your legs longer would be more practicable, though it would make you taller. Seriously, you would go through such extreme surgical procedures purely for vanity? Yes, the surgery would be 'revolutionary', but only in the sense that it would push the boundaries of extreme vanity and selfishness, and would do nothing to improve the human condition. It would only make it worse. The last I heard, Dr. Josef Heiter was performing some rather revolutionary surgeries.. This is the calibre of surgeon you'd be dealing with. Be careful what you wish for.

[stephaniec]

not to make fun of the issue , but how about some skull reduction

[Jenna Marie]

There *are* leg-lengthening surgeries already... but it's something like a year or more in a cast afterward, and incredibly brutal. I can't imagine anyone offering something as life-threateningly dangerous as torso shortening surgery. Speaking as someone who had major surgery that rearranged nerves and so on - it was scary as heck when all I was risking was genital sensation. There is NO WAY AT ALL I'd ever consider risking spinal nerves (as others have said, that way lies paralysis or death) purely for cosmetic reasons.

[HeatherR]

Like was said above, no surgeon with any reputation would go anywhere near your spinal cord in the name of vanity. 

[Sybil]

People sometimes have spinal surgery to fuse their vertebrae in order to relieve pain. I've read that it often doesn't help, at all. Spinal surgery has a very long recovery time, with lots of pain, and the risk of permanent paralysis. When all is said and done, the surgeon goes home with a nice fat paycheck, and you go home with cut skin, nerves, muscles and ligaments. If I was living with fair quality of life, I wouldn't let a surgeon anywhere near my spine with a scalpel, and probably wouldn't do so even if I didn't have fair quality of life.

I had a spinal fusion done 10 years ago on three of my thoracic vertebrae. I had 90* thoracic kyphosis that was corrected to 40* (top end of average). It was life-changing; the pain evaporated, and the aesthetic of my spine significantly improved.

However, I can pivot slightly less (not something I ever notice, tbh) and have a very visible scar running down the length of my spine. The procedure involved detaching the muscles and ligaments surrounding that area of the spine, placing bone chips between my vertebrae, and having titanium screwed along the length of my spine. It took three months to even walk at normal speeds, six months to feel normal, and a year to fully recover. The first month was horrible pain and discomfort; I could barely sleep, despite the percosets I was prescribed. I was extremely vulnerable during this time, and a single fall or poor motion had a high chance of being an extreme medical emergency.

Risks of surgery I believe were 10% infection, 5% paralysis, 1% death. I had none of those complications, thankfully, but the muscles surrounding my vertebrae (specifically, around my shoulder blades) are incapable of feeling to this day. At times, they tingle or very slightly burn. On the random plus side, having them touched or massaged feels like heaven.

As others have mentioned, it is a very, very serious surgery when the spine is involved. With that said, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Whatever it is you decide to do, keityp, I wish you the best of luck.

[Emily1996]

Sybill why did you get the surgery?

[Jessica Merriman]

Sybill why did you get the surgery?

Sounds like Degenerative Disc Disease or injury to that section. No way I bet it was elective at all.

[Sybil]

Sybill why did you get the surgery?

I think I said it in my post above, but I had 90* thoracic kyphosis (commonly referred to as roundback, some times hunchback). I was born with three of my vertebrae in a triangular shape, which lead to my spine curving an excessive amount.

The surgery was and was not elective. I had the option to forego it, but the (intense) pain would have persisted and there was a chance that my spine would have crushed my lungs much, much later in life.

[Kaylee Angelia]

not to make fun of the issue , but how about some skull reduction

I'm so sorry...but I'm with Stephaniec...plus I smell troll. Can we lock this thread please...? The OP had only made 2 posts when they posted this earlier with this being their  2nd post.

I apologize if the OP is legitimate but...

[Ms Grace]

Please leave moderation to the moderators. If you have a concern about any post you should use the "Report to moderator" link to let us know directly.

I do however believe there is nothing to add here, topic locked.

[keityp]

The only thing that I could find was this

http://www.realself.com/question/extreme-plastic-surgery-narrow-shoulders-rib-cage

I have a huge ribcage and manly broad shoulders I know that wearing a corset will help but I don't want to wait that much longer.The problem with my ribcage/shoulder width is that I have trouble finding clothes that fit I want to be a XS size(but right now I have to buy XL size(those are the sizes in my country)) I also suffer from Pectus Excavatum

I had a problem before with another question where an user called me troll but I'm NOT one I just want answers to my question(and definitely OUR questions since I'm sure I'm not the only one asking for this)

[Miyuki]

The ribcage/shoulder problem is a very common one, but unfortunately not one with a good universal solution. The best solutions I have been able to find are:

-corset training
-muscle loss
-fat redistribution to the hips (surgical or hormonal)
-surgical removal of the lower ribs
-dressing to hide the problem
-self-acceptance

In my case, I think I would look mostly okay with some corset training and fat redistribution, but I know there are cases where even that isn't enough. Sometimes you just have to figure out how to make the most of what you have.