Nine-Year-Old becomes first in UK to undergo groundbreaking leg lengthening surgery A nine-year-old boy has made medical history as the first child in the UK to receive a pioneering leg-lengthening operation. Alfie Phillips, from Northampton, was born with fibular hemimelia — a rare condition that affects fewer than one in 40,000 births and caused his right leg to develop shorter than his left by more than an inch. Specialists at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital successfully carried out the innovative procedure, enabling Alfie to gain 3cm (1.2in) in length. READ ALSO: Presidential candidate’s surgery successful...