History and formation of “Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Surgery - LLRS” as a subspecialty of orthopedic surgery

In the late 1970s, Italian orthopedic surgeons learned about the Ilizarov Method from patients who returned to Italy after being treated for serious motor scooter injuries sustained while vacationing in nearby communist Yugoslavia. Likewise, Carlo Mauri, a famous Italian explorer/writer went to Siberia to be personally treated by Dr. Ilizarov for a recalcitrant infected non-union of his tibia. Mauri’s return to his native land after a successful cure stimulated interest among Italian doctors.