LATN
Lengthening And Then Nailing
External fixator drives the distraction phase; once length is achieved, an internal nail is inserted and the frame removed.
How it works
LATN is a variant of LON. The external fixator is used only during the distraction phase; at the end, the patient returns to theatre, an intramedullary nail is placed, and the external frame is removed. Consolidation then occurs with the internal nail providing stability.
Schematic. Bone geometry and hardware placement are illustrative; consult your surgeon for procedure specifics.
At a glance
- Typical gain
- 5–8 cm
- Total recovery
- 16–28 weeks
- Distraction sites
- femur, tibia
- External hardware
- Yes
- Status
- Actively used
What this means for a patient
- ●Lower cost than fully-internal techniques
- ●Fixator time limited to distraction phase
Trade-offs and risks
- ●Two separate surgeries (fixator removal + nail insertion)
- ●Pin site care during distraction
15 verified clinics offering LATN
Paley Orthopedic & Spine Institute
Dr. Dror Paley, MD, FRCSC
Hospital for Special Surgery
Dr. Austin Fragomen, MD
LimbplastX Institute
Dr. Kevin Debiparshad, MD, FRCSC
Center of Anthropometric
Dr. Alexander Sergeyevich Barinov, Candidate of Medical Sciences (k.m.n.); 90+ scientific publications; 10 patents; dissertation 2003 on topographic-anatomical justification of operative height increase; Senior Researcher, Volgograd Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Height Increase Info
Dr. Vikram Khanna, MBBS, D.Orth, DNB, MNAMS
Donghoon Advanced Lengthening Reconstruction Institute
Dr. Donghoon Lee, MD, PhD (Yonsei University)
Reading on LATN
- Where is limb lengthening surgery cheapest? Five countries, ranked.
Turkey, India, Egypt, Russia, Iran: ranked by price, surgeon volume, and safety. Cheapest is not always safest. 44-clinic data.
- Internal nail vs external fixator: the fundamental choice in limb lengthening
Internal nail (PRECICE) vs external fixator (Ilizarov) vs hybrid (LON). Costs, complications, scars, and when each is the right call.
- PRECICE 2 vs LON: which limb lengthening method is actually better?
Side-by-side: PRECICE 2 vs LON for limb lengthening. Cost ($50–160k vs $22–45k), recovery, complications, scars. Which to pick.
This page is editorial reporting, not medical advice. Every patient anatomy is different — technique selection requires in-person consultation with a qualified surgeon.