Tall order! The bizarre Russian clinic that offers leg-lengthening surgery 'if you can STAND the pain'

 Sara Vornamen is now three inches taller at the cost of scars under her knees
Throughout her school years, Sara Vornamen, 29, was relentlessly ridiculed for her height. At just 5ft tall, she endured regular taunts and was nicknamed 'midget' and 'small fry'. Even as an adult, in her job as a lawyer, she often endured snide remarks from colleagues.

A common enough experience for those on the short side, perhaps. But in Sara's case, she decided that only the most dramatic action would put paid to the comments which were making her life a misery.

So it was that she journeyed to a hospital in remote Russia to undergo a controversial - and agonising - leg-lengthening surgery. Did it work? Well, today, standing proudly at 5ft 3in, Sara says she has never felt better about herself.

Peter Croft, an IT consultant from Cheshire, is every bit as happy. The 33-year-old underwent the same dramatic operation to correct the fact that he had been born with one leg 5cm shorter than the other.

He flew to Russia after spending two years researching the treatment. Before the operation, his self-confidence had been eroded by years of having to wear specially adapted shoes.

In fact, over the past ten years, several Britons have passed through the doors of the Ilizarov Scientific Centre in search of that seemingly elusive dream - to become taller.

It may sound like science fiction, but with alpha males such as Daniel Craig, Tom Cruise and Nicolas Sarkozy wearing stacked heels to increase their height, it's little wonder that some people are willing to go through almost anything to become taller.

That's why this huge grey clinic, in one of the remotest parts of south-eastern Russia, has become a hotbed of activity - all thanks to a fearsome contraption known as an Ilizarov Frame, which promises to increase a patient's height by up to a foot.

The past decade has seen 10,000 patients flock to Russia's leg-lengthening factory in the town of Kurgan.

Many come from developed countries, including the UK, Australia and Egypt. All are desperate enough to pay up to £75,000 and suffer excruciating pain for up to a year to attain just a few extra inches of height.

Inside, in a scene that might better befit a medieval torture chamber, patients have their legs broken at the shin bone and then attached, via spiky metal pins, to the Ilizarov Frame.

This provides the support of a cast, using metal spokes - descending from a metal frame - which pierce the flesh to fix the bone in position. Rather than setting the broken bone in a conventional sense, by pushing it together so new bone can grow and seal the break, this bizarre contraption gradually moves the two sections of bone further and further apart.

By preventing the broken ends from rejoining naturally, new bone cells form and fill the space between. Every day, as new bone begins to form, the broken sections are pulled slightly further apart. Through this process, it is possible to lengthen the bone by almost 2in a month. The body also grows new nerves and muscles.

So why do people go through such trials in the name of vanity? 'Some people won't understand, but I was so tired of being tiny,' says lawyer Sara. 'I'd been teased my whole life and was never taken seriously. In my career, I always felt my height was holding me back.

'Even though I had an honours degree in law, it was very hard for me to gain respect because my tiny size affected the way people thought about me. I looked, and sometimes felt, like a child.'

During her surgery six years ago, which cost almost £20,000, Sara's lower legs were broken in eight places and steel frames equipped with 14 steel pins were speared through her shin bones.

She went through an agonising rehabilitation period during which tiny dials attached to the pins in her legs were turned every day to help her broken bones lengthen.

'To me, it was the only solution,' says Sara. 'I'd spoken to many doctors and surgeons at home who told me that while the surgery could be done for children with deformities at home, they couldn't do it for purely cosmetic reasons.

'They also told me I was crazy and I could end up an amputee. They warned that I could become paralysed, that there were 250 different infections I could get in the bone. But I just decided to go ahead and have surgery anyway, and my research led me to Russia.

'Initially, I wanted to lengthen my legs by 4in (10cm), but they told me 3in (8cm) would be better, or my lower legs would look disproportionate to my thighs. 'I was conscious throughout the operation - but thanks to a local anaesthetic I honestly didn't feel a thing. I just put on my headphones, because the noise can be a bit disconcerting, listened to Frank Sinatra, and before I knew it, it was over.'

But the rehabilitation process was not easy, admits Sara. She says: 'My legs were lengthened four times a day because we were aiming for a growth of 1mm a day on each leg.

'The pain was terrible, but no matter how much it hurt, I never regretted it for one moment. I could see my legs growing every day and that gave me so much strength. I haven't looked back since. This has changed my whole life. I am happier, more confident and my legs work fine. I no longer have to shop at the children's department for clothes. I now feel like a proper woman.'

For Peter Croft, the first recommendation for the clinic came from his own orthopaedic surgeon in London five years ago.

'I didn't get bullied at school,' says Peter, 'but in my early 20s I started to feel self-conscious about having one leg shorter than the other.

'Although I could correct the difference by wearing specially adapted shoes, and I didn't have any problems walking or running, I used to feel embarrassed in the summer when I wore shorts and one knee was obviously higher than the other. No one said anything, but it was something I was constantly aware of.'

Peter, who is single, adds: 'I was advised that if no correction was done then I could expect serious back pain later in life. I had suffered a degree of back pain since my early 20s because the uneven length of my legs resulted in uneven hips.'

While he says his British surgeon could not speak highly enough of his Russian counterparts, Peter's friends and family had their reservations about what he was considering undertaking.

'Their main issue wasn't so much the treatment, but the fact the hospital was in Russia,' recalls Peter. 'My family were worried as it's not really a place known for its eminent surgeons. But I had done my research, spoken to the hospital in advance, and I felt confident.

The procedure would cost me around £4,000 for the relatively small amount of work being done plus my flight and visa, and that was a price I was willing to pay to have legs the same length.'

So in June 2005, Peter took four months' unpaid leave from work, and travelled to Russia for the treatment.

'When I arrived, I was really impressed to discover the hospital was very clean and organised. It wasn't really any different from a hospital in England. Not many of the staff speak English, but there was a team of five interpreters.

'The doctors were very professional - it was clear they knew what they were doing and took their jobs very seriously.

'Although you might think it's a drastic step to have an operation like this, when you arrive at the clinic you realise Ilizarov Frame correction is normal.

'There were lots of other people having the treatment from all over the world. I met patients with very slight discrepancies in leg length - some less than an inch - having the treatment done. At the other extreme, I met a Russian man who was having 19in of bone generated in one leg. An operation such as mine was actually considered to be a pretty simple correction compared with what they can do with the Ilizarov technique.'

Naturally, Peter admits to feeling apprehensive about the procedure beforehand, especially the pain.

'The doctors applied the Ilizarov Frame to my leg under spinal anaesthetic, so I couldn't feel a thing,' he says. 'I was lying on my back with a screen between the upper half of my body and my legs, so I couldn't see anything either.

'Although I could hear the surgeons working away, I'd been given a mild sedative to help me relax, and I ended up dozing off.

'Once the frame was in place, the lengthening began by turning screws on the frame to pull the bone ends apart by almost 1mm a day.

'I required a 1in (2.5cm) increase in length. In all, I had a little over 30 days of lengthening. I had to do daily gym sessions on exercise bikes, and walk with the frame to encourage the formation of new bone

'Although, of course, there was a degree of pain involved, it wasn't as bad as I expected. The pain was bearable, and I had access to intravenous painkillers if I needed them.'

Once the lengthening procedure was complete, Peter spent a further two-and-a-half months in the frame for what is called the 'consolidation period', during which the new bone is allowed to strengthen.

The frame was then removed, and he spent a further eight weeks wearing a plaster cast. With this on, he was able to return to the UK and resume a normal life on crutches. The plaster was subsequently removed by a doctor in the UK.

'Although it sounds an arduous process, the entire procedure was completed in really not long at all,' says Peter. 'Even if I had a moment where I felt bored and frustrated, I was confident I was in the best place, and it would all be fine in the end.

'Some patients have the treatment for up to a year, which would have been harder to deal with.'

Not everyone has the relatively stress-free experience Peter has had. Svetlana Akhalin, 33, from Moscow, has been at the leg-lengthening factory for the past eight months and will not be home for at least another three.

At 5ft 1in, she is hardly tiny, but has long dreamed of being taller. She says: 'My height became a problem to me when I started working as a lawyer. I felt men couldn't take me seriously as I was so tiny. But if I'd realised what it was going to be like, there is no way I would have done it.

'I've been wanting to do this for ten years, which is why I'm keeping going, but I couldn't have imagined the pain and suffering I would have to endure. I can't even do the simplest of tasks, such as walk or make a cup of tea.

'I just spend all my days lying on my back staring at the ceiling. I'm terribly homesick. I was only meant to be here for six months but my new bone has not grown as quickly as expected.

'Sometimes, I can't help but wonder if I've made the right decision. I'm married with two children, and my husband loves me just as I am.

'I wanted to feel more beautiful, but I'm left wondering if its worth all the effort. I used to dream of being 3in taller - now I dream of having my legs back.'

But others who endure the long months of pain, and emerge taller, are adamant the process is well worth the effort. Dmitry Monichev, 27, from Siberia, was 5ft 3in, but will soon be discharged from the clinic standing proud at 5ft 6in.

'I waited for more than six years to get here,' says Dmitry, a car salesman. 'I'm beside myself with excitement at the thought I'll be going home soon a taller person. I hated looking up to everyone else.

'I'm the most successful of all my friends, and I have a stunning wife, but I could not get rid of that feeling of inadequacy that being short gave me - until now.'

Kurgan's chief orthopaedic surgeon, Vladimir Shevtsov, regularly receives enquiries from Britons wanting to have treatment. Our stiff upper lip, he says, makes us the perfect candidates for the procedure.

'The British make good patients,' he says. 'They laugh, and withstand the pain stoically. We expect to see more arriving over the coming months and we are looking forward to helping them get taller.'

Certainly, Peter Croft, who is currently taking a year out to go travelling, is adamant he has no regrets about his time in Russia.

'The other day, I pulled on a pair of shorts and it crossed my mind how much happier I am now that both legs are the same length, both knees are level with each other and I'm no longer constantly paranoid that people are looking at me,' he says.

'As far as I'm concerned, it's a case of no pain, no gain.'