This sounds made up but seems legit, if Daily Mail is to be believed. This connection was reported by Juno News (formerly True North) but their story is behind a paywall https://www.junonews.com/p/exclusive-liberal-candidate-had-leg
The Liberal candidate for Calgary Confederation was profiled in 2011 by a U.K. outlet after he had a controversial cosmetic surgery where he had his leg bones broken by doctors so he could be four inches taller.
Thomas Keeper, the Liberal candidate for Calgary Confederation explained the reasoning behind the decision to undergo the operation in an interview with the Daily Mail.
From 2012: https://archive.is/YSWi3
But Thomas Keeper, 36, disagrees. A Canadian estate agent, he was 5ft 6in and had the operation two years ago to make him 5ft 10in. After his operation, he met Maggie, 26, who is 5ft 8in, via an internet dating site. By the time they met in person, he was 2in taller than her. They are now married and Maggie gave birth to their first child before Christmas.
‘When I told my wife about the operation she said she would never have been interested in a guy shorter than her,’ says Thomas.
‘Being short is a pain because the world treats you differently. ‘Look at the way people mock Tom Cruise and Nicolas Sarkozy.’
https://liberal.ca/nomination-notices/acclamation-notice-calgary-confederation-2025/
I’m pleased to share that Thomas Keeper has been acclaimed as the Liberal Candidate for Calgary Confederation in the next federal election, and will continue building on our hard work to keep Canada moving forward.
This feels like one of those stories that isn't true but is spread randomly to "legitimize" these types of surgeries, like all the penis enlarging ones.
Because everything I've heard about these surgeries is that you live in horrific pain for a very long time and end up looking extremely fucking goofy because of your off body proportions. The kind of goofy that just being tall doesn't beat in women's eyes. Especially if you are still only 5'10, which is still manlet status and a woman won't 180 her opinion on you because you are eye level with her in heels.
If these types of surgeries actually worked this well, we'd hear about it constantly. It would be the talk of every town and there would be businesses cropping up to give you payday loans to pay for it, like there is for all sorts of other cosmetic surgeries. Doctor's would be bragging about being the 6" guy instead of the 4" one. And since its as simple as just snapping your fucking bones, it can't be restricted to just the ultra rich either like certain transplants are.
I feel for the short kings of the world because they do get pretty unfairly treated, but these types of stories are meant to literally prey on them and their insecurity to mangle and deform them for a lot of money and almost no improvement on their life.
huh. I can't decide if you're right or not. And I was just working on proportions and stuff, so yeah I had a think about this.
In art and sculpting, basically nobody first learns or uses the more 'realistic'(and average looking) 7.5 head system, because of a few reasons. It's far more difficult for one, with all the landmarks falling at weird spots, but the 8 head system in addition to looking better has everything just fit nicely while also being plausible, it might not be the average but it's still well within the realm of possible, it's 'idealised'. But then to make something look extra heroic, people will go further and into an 8.5 or even 9 head system if pushing for a Greek god body, and the way you do that (at least when going to 8.5) is 90% in the shins. Just take an 8 head-scale body and extend that part of the leg down and it all just works, makes them look better even. And if you consider 6 foot the norm, the amount that going to an 8.5 head system from 8 heads stretches things is 4.5 inches I think. But the surgery does it in the femur first from what I'm reading here, and then the shins for some extra if needed? Or it's a choice between the two with different pros and cons according to this other website.
I wonder if perhaps there are certain people who it would fit, people who are already disproportionate in that their lower legs are actually a touch short, but that if this were a selection criteria this would exclude a lot of people from the profitable surgery. Or perhaps the limit of it still looking natural is lower, let's say you can get a mere 2 inches without it looking disproportionate, but the people who feel they need this surgery are so short that 2 inches won't help anything so invariably they shoot for more. Or they're going for the femur for mechanical/health reasons so it just doesn't look good as compared to the tibia/fibula. Or its the 'no makeup/good plastic surgery' effect where when done right and done subtly, we don't notice, it's only the bad disproportionate ones that we see and blame. Or in live 3d and with full texture, as compared to some static art or sculpture, it does look weird to have those proportions. Or perhaps it is that although 90% of the stretching is done in the lower legs in art, there are still some minor adjustments elsewhere, but you simply can't do that bone break and stretch surgery on all parts of 4 limbs, all that trouble 4 times over for just minor adjustments, hardly seems worth it. E: (or it's a gait/movement thing, they look normal when sat or stood still but it has affected their movement and their balance to make it awkward and unnatural)
Or some combination.
The underlying physiology is sound, it's just breaking the tibia/fibula and applying an external fixation that can apply traction externally, basically creating gaps for the bone to heal into. It just sounds a really dumb idea and there's no way to hide it because you're in the braces for such a long time.
They do work but they really are only used by really short guys to become average guys. And average guys are invisible so that's probably why you don't see ads for it.
Although I bet if you do a few google searches for it you'll start seeing some targeted ads.
That still doesn't fix the proportion problem, nor the multitude of other long term issues that breaking bones can leave behind.
I don't doubt the logic is there for how it works, but I doubt that anyone who has it will become anything beyond a notable circus freak that's just also a few inches taller. The same way that a man can get breast implants, FFS, and a rotpocket but its not magic that just works that simple to make you a woman.
Which is why I call doubt on this story, his wife would absolutely have known without him having to tell her a short two years after he had the surgery, when he was probably still learning to walk again.
If the proportion of extending the shins looks weird, just spend another 50k to do the thighs bruh. short people usually have average size torso but short limbs, extensions probably make the proportion closer to the ideal form. The reason this isn't popular is probably because it's expensive, painful and takes a long time to heal for the average short guys. and if they have the resources for the surgery, they likely have the resources to woo girls who put financial success on higher priority than height.
Humans are usually 1:1 wingspan to height, so you better add arm lengthening surgery to that too.
People have a lot of instinctual noticing when judging people that they can't consciously think about. Like nobody really thinks about symmetry when talking about hot chicks, but we all notice it and it bothers us if it isn't right. Even a slight variation in that proportion will set off those bells in people's head.
Its why there is that certain short phase of teenager mid puberty that is so off putting. When they have that gangly look about them because their body isn't all growing in at the same rate.
I know the surgery exists, and I can believe guys are stupid enough to get it. What I call doubt on is that someone would just not notice you had it because it just worked so well that you just effortlessly pass as a naturally taller guy.