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Dr Shahab Mahboubian performing limb lengthening surgeries for over 13 years.
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He said some of the reasons patients come to him are pressure from social media and family members.
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Still, Mahboubian said, he refuse to perform the operation on anyone who is not 100% ready for it.
Business is booming for limb lengthening surgeons such as Dr. Shahab Mahboubian, as an increasing number of people – often men who hope the procedure will help them climb the corporate ladder – seek surgery to get taller.
Mahboubian has been performing leg lengthening surgeries for more than 13 years and his Burbank, California practice has grown since he launched it more than two years ago – so the list of reasons patients come to him to lengthening a limb in cosmetics. .
He shared five of his most surprising ones with Insider.
1. The people closest to them make fun of them
Mahboubian said they have had a few men of average or even above average height come to him for limb lengthening surgery because many of the people they hang around are taller than them and often they make fun of their height. On the other hand, Mahboubian said, most of his female patients are much shorter than average — usually under 5 feet tall — and want to feel socially accepted.
After his patients are done with the surgery, he said, they no longer make fun of him for their height. “They gain so much confidence that they never have to think about their height.”
2. Their twins did the procedure
Mahboubian said he is working on five pairs of twin brothers and a pair of twin sisters – both fraternal and identical. “In some cases, a few people feel that they want to do cosmetic limb lengthening, but then the other twins feel that they are too short and too different.”
However, not all Mahboubian twin patients receive leg lengthening surgery because of their sibling. Some make a joint decision to undergo the procedure, he said, and do it at different times to help each other recover.
3. They are facing pa break from social media
Mahboubian said clients send him viral video clips all the time of people asking women for their favorite height in a man. “I think 95% of women say, ‘I want the one who is taller, or the one who is taller than me,'” he said. These posts, as well as the “short king” movement where women celebrate short men online, are influencing how Mahboubian patients see themselves.
“I think that’s a positive move, but the guys who are suffering the negativity don’t really believe it’s short,” Mahboubian said.
4. They have a girlfriend or wife who is much taller than them
When a man walks into Mahboubian’s office with a much taller wife or girlfriend, he automatically understands why they came to him. “I ask, ‘Do you feel insecure when you’re with her,’ and they reluctantly say ‘yes,'” Mahboubian said.
While these women are usually very supportive of their partner’s current height, they also support their boyfriend or husband’s decision to undergo the procedure, he said — deep down, they want their partner to be happy and that they feel normal.
5. His parents or family members are pushing them to get the surgery
When parents come in with their children, Mahboubian can tell the differences in their attitudes. Some parents want their children – most of whom are in their late teens or early 20s and have already grown – to have the surgery because they think it will make them more confident and successful in life, but Mahboubian does not work on inferiors. 16 and said he would never perform this procedure on a patient who is not 100% ready or happy with their height.
Mahboubian added that his job is to educate potential patients and their parents. “I talk to the patient and the parents, usually all in the same room,” said Mahboubian. “We have a nice discussion about what their goals are and who is benefiting from this.”
Read the original article on Business Insider