Short Persons Support: FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Short Persons Support receives about 100 queries a month. Most of the questions are similar. To help you find the information you need without having to wait for us to reply, we have developed the FAQ. Please read this list before contacting us with a question.

Becoming Taller
Cosmetic Leg Lengthening

Where is the best place to have Cosmetic Leg Lengthening surgery?
Is there a hospital in my country that performs Cosmetic Leg Lengthening?
How much taller can I become?
Am I too tall for this operation?
Is surgery covered by health insurance?
Who's Who

Why isn't so and so in the Who's Who?
Why isn't Napoleon in the Who's Who?
Other

Am I short? What is legally short?
Why can't I get the Height Analyzer or Personals Analyzer to work?

Becoming Taller

I am a little over 20 years old and have stopped growing. Which is the best product or exercise for me to use to become taller?
There are a number of Scam Height Increase companies that sell lotions, potions, pills and books to make a body grow. They are *ALL*, every single one of them, frauds.. We list many reasons why you should not believe in these claims.

I am in my mid to late teens and I am not as tall as I would like to be. How can I become taller?
The most important factor in determining final height is genetics. Your height depends mostly on the height of your parents. There are steps that you can take to influence your growth potential:

Eat healthy foods. Fast foods should be the exception, not the rule.
Get a good nights sleep.
Get plenty of exercise. Without exercise, nutrition goes into building weight instead of height.
Don't Smoke and don't take illicit drugs!! If possible, stay away from people who do. Second hand smoke has been linked with reduced growth.

But please don't expect too much. Depending on how close you are to puberty, these steps may have little or no effect on your height. Still, they will help you remain healthy so they are worth the effort.

Will Human Growth Hormones help me become taller and if so, which ones should I take?
Human Growth Hormone (HGH) can only be used to increase height when taken by injection is only effective before a child reaches puberty. In fact, they should ideally be started about the age of eight. The cost ranges between $20,000 and $40,000 a year and may not be covered by Health Insurance. Over the counter Human Growth Hormones available in pill or liquid form can have no effect on height. Taken orally, the hormones are broken down by stomach acids before they can enter the bloodstream.

I was scammed by one of the internet companies that sell height increasing products. How can I get my money back?
First don't expect too much from the product's guarantee. They are often not honored. If you paid by credit card, contact the bank that issued your credit card and file a dispute. This will generate a chargeback to the company. If a company gets too many chargebacks, the credit card company can leverage a fine or even cancel their account.
If you paid by check and the check hasn't cleared, immediately contact your bank and stop payment on it. If the check has cleared or you paid by cash, there's not much that can be done.

Cosmetic Leg Lengthening

Where is the best place to have Cosmetic Leg Lengthening surgery?
Opinions differ but the best place to have Cosmetic Leg Lengthening surgery is probably the LifeBridge International Center for Limb Lengthening (ICLL) in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Lengthening Over Nails and the newer Intramedullary Skeletal Kinetic Distractor techniques were developed by the two doctors who practice there. However, at $80,000 they are also the most expensive.
We do not have enough specific knowledge about the other facilities but have received some input from readers who have had the procedure.

Four people reported good to excellent experiences following surgery by Dr. Yasser Elbatrawy in Egypt. They report that the procedure was performed in an operating theatre with modern medical equipment and that staff are friendly and helpful.
Two people reported moderate experiences by Dr. Maurizio A. Catagni in Italy.
Two people reported catastrophic experiences and serious complications by Dr. Veklich Vitaliy in Ukraine

Is there a hospital in my country that performs Cosmetic Leg Lengthening?
A list of all hospitals that perform Cosmetic Leg Lengthening is available. This list is organized by country. Costs are included where they are known.

How much taller can I become?
The maximum amount of height increase is about 3 inches or 7 to 8cm with surgery on the lower legs. Additional surgery on the upper legs is highly discouraged because it makes the patient appear significantly disproportional.

Am I too tall for this operation?
Because of the controversy surrounding the need for this drastic procedure, in the United States, Cosmetic Leg Lengthening surgery is typically available for men 5' 9" and under and women 5' 3" and under. Facilities in countries other than the United States will operate on taller people.

Is surgery covered by health insurance?
In the United States, Cosmetic Leg Lengthening is never covered by health insurance companies. The patient usually must pay the full amount in advance for the surgery. The surgery may be covered in other countries but only for citizens of that country. Leg lengthening is typically covered by insurance to correct leg length differences of 6cm or more.

Who's Who

Why isn't so and so on the Who's Who list
There are a few reasons why a short person may not have made it onto the Who's Who list. To keep the list manageable, we had to place a cut off somewhere and decided to use one Standard Deviation (see Limits). At the time the list was established, the best estimates were 5' 5½" for men and 5' ¾" for women. Since then, new data on average human heights has become available. Some time in the future we plan to reevaluate these limits and may raise them.
A short person may also may not be on the list because we could not find any source for his or her height. Some of these people are on the Pending list. Some people are not famous enough for the list, especially actors with only a few credits to their names. Those whose exposure increases over time will be added. Finally, we might just not be aware of the person. So, if you know of someone famous who is shorter than our limits and you have a source for their height, please contact us and we'll consider adding them.

Why isn't Napoleon in the Who's Who?
Contrary to popular belief, Napoleon Bonaparte was not very short for a Frenchman of his period. His height was commonly reported in 19th Century French feet and inches - 5' 2". That equates to 5' 6" on the English scale that we use today. 5' 6" would have been just below average. The English, who were enemies of France at the time (and through most of history) used this computational error to disparage Napoleon. And it stuck. Napoleon was also often seen in the company of his soldiers who tended to be tall, making him look short by comparison.

Other

Am I short? What is legally short?
There is no absolute definition of short. Short is a relative measure. A person who is short in Denmark might be considered tall in Thailand. People who are of average height would be considered short in Hollywood.
Our Who's Who uses the math term one standard deviation to define the upper limit for inclusion. This is not to say that people below the limit are short and people above are not. It's just a convenient demarcation so we are not challenged to include half the well-known population.
Little People of America (LPA) defines a dwarf to be a person 4' 10" or smaller.

Why can't I get the Height Analyzer or Personals Analyzer to work?
Both of these applications pop up a small window and run an interactive Java application within that window. If nothing happens when you press one of the links, then you probably have a pop up blocker running. Most blockers also incorporate lists of sites that they allow so you should be able to add shortsupport.org to that list and then run it.
If you do see a new window but nothing happens, then you may not have the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed or it is not enabled. If you are using a Windows P.C., the easiest thing to do is visit www.java.com. Click on the green "Free Java Download" button in the upper left corner of the screen and it will guide you through the rest of the process.
Running Java on a MAC OS system is more problematic. MAC OS users should be running MAC OS X. Earlier releases of MAC OS do not fully support the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). For more information, see Apple's Java for MAX OS X page.