Yeferson Cossio, 29, made headlines after reportedly spending $175,000 on what has been described as the "most painful surgery ever" to transform his 5-foot-8 frame and achieve a stature up to 6 feet.
According to Cossio, this decision to undergo such an extreme procedure was due to his self-consciousness about his legs.
“I’m not a dwarf, nor am I the tallest,” Cossio said in Spanish in a video posted to Instagram.
“Yes, my legs are pretty but I hate them … I am self-conscious like almost all human beings, with some parts of my body and I have a couple hundred million pesos to use here to change it.”
The social media influencer, with a substantial following of over 28 million on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, revealed that he estimates spending between 200 million and 700 million Colombian pesos for the treatment.
The excruciating and intense surgery that the Colombian man underwent involved a process known as limb lengthening.
This procedure includes breaking the patient's bones, inserting a metal rod, and utilizing an external device to extend the gap multiple times a day.
The body responds to this gap by generating new tissue, resulting in the desired bone length.
According to the Hospital for Special Surgery, specialists typically separate the bones by one millimeter daily, this meant enduring the painful process of lengthening his legs for a total of 152 days, equivalent to approximately 6 months, until he achieved his new height of 6 feet.
Patients receive physical therapy treatments for the following several months to help them become used to walking on their new legs.
“Two years ago, I had an issue with my legs that I don’t want to talk about because it’s very personal … But one of the things that had the most impact on me was to do with leg stretching,” Cossio said.
After the recovery, Cossio's doctor gave him assurances in the Instagram video that he would be able to do his regular activities, such as walking, working out, and jumping.
Cossio told his fans he had no intention of having surgery again to increase his height, expressing satisfaction with his current stature.
