Quebec threatens Montreal surgeon with sanctions, criminal charges for procedure she’s done for over a decade [Video]

Dr. Marie Gdalevitch isn’t sure if she will have to move her practice out of the province.

For 15 years she’s been performing osteotomy, or limb lengthening surgery, in Quebec as both the Chief of Orthopedics at the Verdun Hospital and with a private practice. The procedure involves inserting a metal rod known as a nail into a patient’s bone marrow and slowly unscrewing it to have the bone heal in a longer way. The surgery can be used in cases of dwarfism and deformity, but can also be a cosmetic surgery to add a maximum of 8 centimeters to a person’s height.

“In Canada this is a very niche specialty,” Gdalevitch told CTV News, “in each province, there’s probably one person doing a little bit of pediatrics, but for adult deformities and functional problems there aren’t many.”

Her Quebec patients receive the procedure through the public system, those from …