Man pays Rs 55 lakh for surgery to increase height from 5'11" to 6'1"

A 28-year-old man from Dallas, Texas has set a new record by increasing his height through surgery. Alfonso Flores always wanted a few more inches as he wanted to be taller from the age of 12 but his family and friends had all warned him against the 'unnecessary' treatment.

Flores is a freelancer and pre-med student. "I know 5'11" is a great height, and many people would love to be that tall, but I wanted just a little more than that," he told FEMAIL in an interview.

He further added that he wanted to do it since he was 12.

"This is something that I've really wanted to do as far as I can remember since I was 12. I decided to go for 6'1" because I started off at a great height and wanted to retain as much of my athletic ability and range of motion as possible. I seem to have retained all of it because I am able to squat the same as before," Flores said.

He had to pay around $75,000 (around Rs 55 lakh) for the surgery, which was done by Harvard-trained orthopaedic surgeon Dr Kevin Debiparshad of The LimbplastX Institute in Las Vegas.

Flores underwent cosmetic limb-lengthening surgery. It is an elective procedure where the leg bones are cut to insert a device that slowly stretches them out to extend a person's height, explained Dr Debiparshad.

"It is an X-ray based surgery where I make four to six small incisions into the leg, allowing access to the hollow part of the bone, where I insert a device that responds to an external remote control that the patient controls at home,” he further added.

The surgeries start at $75,000 for a femur-lengthening procedure - which is what Alfonso got - and go up to $84,000 for a tibia-lengthening surgery. However, patients may also opt for add-ons that can raise the price to around $94,000 sates  Dr Debiparshad's website.