He’s looking for a leg up in the dating world.
A pint-sized Minnesota man has splurged more than $170,000 on two leg-lengthening surgeries in a bid to make himself more attractive to women.
Moses Gibson, 41, says he long struggled to get a girlfriend due to his 5-foot-5 frame, initially turning to medication and a “spiritual healer” to try to increase his height.
“I just didn’t feel good about myself,” Gibson told Kennedy News and Media, saying he was subjected to “heightism.”
“I was unhappy about it most of the time,” he candidly continued. “It was my self-confidence in general, and with the ladies. It affected my dating life. I used to put things in my shoes to gain a little bit of height, but it wasn’t very much.”
A desperate Gibson began taking pills he procured over the internet that promised to make him taller.
He also began talking with a spiritual healer who told him he could increase his height if he properly put his mind to it.
But when the medication and magical thinking both failed to produce added inches on a height chart, Gibson realized a pricey and painful leg-lengthening surgery was his last resort.
The self-described “go-getter” saved $75,000 for the surgery over the course of three years, working as a software engineer by day and an Uber driver by night in order to make the money.
Gibson underwent the procedure in 2016, which added 3 inches to his height, taking him to 5-foot-8.
“After the first procedure, I was happy with it to some extent, but it was always in my mind that I wanted to do a second one to complete it.” the Minnesota native explained. “I’m a high achiever. I’ve got the money and I can finish the journey. “
In March of this year, Gibson forked up $98,000 more for a second surgery, which he hopes will add an additional 2 inches to his stature.
During the excruciating surgery, doctors broke Gibson’s tibia and fibula bones and screwed magnetic, limb-lengthening nails into them.
He now uses a height-lengthening device three times a day in order to pull the cut bone apart a millimeter at a time.
That encourages his body to create new bone tissue, which will fill the gap to create a new height.
“I went in at 7:30 a.m. and by midday, they were waking me up out of the surgery,” Gibson recalled. “They give you powerful pain medication as there are times when it’s really painful and you have to work through it. You go home and you have a week or two for some healing to happen before you get the device to start lengthening.”
If he uses the height-lengthening device correctly, doctors say he will eventually be 5-foot-10.
“I’ll be happy at 5-foot-10,” he declared. “But if my body and everything else allows me to go 3 inches to get to 5-foot-11, then even better!”
Gibson has revealed that the surgeries have given him the ability to confidently talk to women — and he’s with one particularly positive result.
“After the first surgery, I became less hesitant and less worried about the result when talking to women. I now have a girlfriend,” he proudly proclaimed. “I also started wearing shorts and taking full-body pictures, which I never used to.
“In my mind, when I’m done with this part I can just be free,” he said of the extra inches he’s expected to gain following the second procedure. “I just won’t care about my height anymore. I’ll be satisfied with what I have.”
Despite the pain and the prices of the procedures, Gibson has no regrets.
“I’d advise anybody who wants this to go for it — it’s definitely worth it,” he declared. “I’m definitely wanting to spread the word, and if it can help other people go through it then so be it, I’m glad.”
However, according to Britain’s National Health Service, leg-lengthening surgeries aren’t always recommended.
The organization states that the operation can result in poor bone formation, bone lengthening at an inappropriate rate, fractures and blood clots.