TSR Investigates
A man who underwent the controversial “knee BL” leg-lengthening procedure — extending his height from 5’5 to 5’8 — provided updates for those curious after receiving a second surgery earlier this year.
Moses Gibson spoke exclusively with TSR Investigates’ Justin Carter after receiving the surgery from renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Shahab Mahboubian.
Gibson received his first surgery in 2016 after putting down a whopping $75,000. Within a few months, he grew from 5’5 to 5’8, he told Carter.
Now, after receiving his second surgery in April — and spending another $100,000 — Gibson says he’s currently wheelchair-bound as he heals from the most recent procedure.
He described the pain as a tightness, “but it’s not unbearable.”
“The more you walk, the faster the bone generates and hardens,” Gibson tells TSR Investigates. “The painful part was really just the first month because of all the trauma to your legs as they try to recover.”
Gibson said he even went back to playing soccer after his first surgery.
Furthermore, he expects to grow another two inches following his second surgery in April. Once he’s finished healing, he says, he will have grown from 5’5 to 5’10.
But bone-lengthening surgery is a risky procedure, orthopedic experts say. Mount Sinai reports that only about 4 out of 10 bone-lengthening surgeries are completely successful.
And even successful surgeries like Gibson’s come with risks. Limb lengthening puts patients at risk of nerve damage, muscle damage, joint contracture, dislocations, and arthritis, according to Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Taylor Reif tells TSR Investigates’ Justin Carter that he tells his patients to consider visiting a therapist or psychologist before undergoing surgery.
“We are at the cusp of it booming even further,” Dr. Reif said. “I think you need to be really aware of what you’re going to get out of this. It will not make you more successful. It may give you more confidence. The nuts and bolts of it are you might grow a few inches taller. We try not to overpromise what this procedure can do for people.”
Meanwhile, Atlanta-native Dynzell Sigers documented his transformation from 5’5” to 6’0 on TikTok following a trip to Turkey for the controversial surgery in Dec. 2022.
The former Navy medic said he got the procedure due to being rejected by women for his short stature.
He told Live Life Taller that he felt like a “new man” after the surgery.
“When I go on dates, sometimes the girls would wear heels. I would wear (certain) shoes to make me taller, and put stuff in my shoes to make me look taller,” he said.
Sigers got three inches added to his femur and two added to his tibia, he says.
The surgery involves repeatedly breaking the leg bones and inserting metal rods. The rods are lengthened over about 3-4 months with an electronic device placed on the leg.
The rods stretch up to one millimeter daily, and the bone eventually heals over them.
They are eventually removed after about a year following the surgery.
The procedure recently received the nickname “knee BL,” a play on the term BBL (Brazilian butt lifts), as previously reported by The Shade Room.
