Reality TV Star Battles Health Complications After Extreme Leg-Lengthening Surgeries

A German TV star, Thresia Fischer, who has undergone extreme surgeries in order to lengthen her legs to extreme lengths, now fights for her life with health-changing complications that have affected her modeling career. The 32-year-old star of Germany’s Next Top Model spent more than € 150,400 ($162,340) between 2016 and 2022 on medical procedures to stretch 1.70 meters to 1.84 meters tall.

This ambitious pursuit of added height has come at a cost for Fischer. She recently had to withdraw from the German version of Battle of the Reality Stars with painful bone infections. Having gone to Thailand to film, Fischer’s physical condition immediately put her participation in jeopardy in the fifth season, which started airing on RTL2 last month.

In an interview with Bunte last April, Fischer explained, “I had periostitis, I had terrible pain in my left lower leg.” She said the reason for this condition is multiple operations – she has already undergone five on her left leg. Periostitis or the inflammation of the connective tissue enveloping the bone is usually chronic and often difficult to differentiate from stress fractures or shin splints.

The series of surgeries Fischer had undertaken involved breaking her thigh and shin bones before stabilizing them with metal rods. This aggressive approach brought two bouts of bone infection. Fischer admitted to relying on painkillers to “stay afloat” but tried to avoid putting too much weight on her most painful leg.

The star of the TV series has extremely reduced mobility, which hinders her from doing some of the simplest things for filming a reality show. “When I had to run a little or be faster – it’s just strange to run with metal in your legs,” Fischer commented.

Adding to her concerns, a recent health check revealed that the fibula bone in one of her legs hadn’t grown as intended. Fischer is more than eager now for that day when the metal support rods would be taken out, stating, “I’m longing for that day when these rods finally come out.”

Though limb lengthening surgery is most used to treat such medical conditions as skeletal dysplasia, along with bone growth issues, serious risks are associated with it. Dr. James Kasser, an orthopedic surgeon in the Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, sorts the record right on such procedures.

The case of Fischer serves as the most appropriate anecdote on the dangers of extreme cosmetic surgery. Her case comes to show, in further navigation of her decision, just how important careful consideration for long-term effects can be regarding elective medical procedures.

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