Tallest Man Stops Growing Thanks to Doctors
The Guinness Book of World Record's tallest man in the world for the past three years has stopped growing at 8 feet, 3 inches from a new medical procedure aimed at saving his life.
Sultan Kosen, 29, from Turkey has suffered from the rare condition known as acromegaly, which causes his body to continually produce a growth hormone.
Doctors had long suspected that Kosen's condition was due to a tumor in the pituitary gland located at bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain.
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"That tumor is not cancerous and it is not a brain tumor," said Dr. Mary Lee Vance, an endocrinologist at the University of Virginia.
Vance explained that it is "a spontaneous mutation causes the tumor, and it's not hereditary." The rest of his family is average height, according to the Daily Mail.
As part of his treatment Vance gave Kosen a new medication in an effort to try and slow his growth and prevent further medical complications.
Unfortunately, the medication regiment was ineffective and this forced Vance to consult with a neurosurgeon to find if there were any other options left.
"As he was growing taller and taller, he kept getting sicker and sicker," according to Dr. Jason Sheehan, a neurosurgeon at the University of Virginia, who help treat Kosen, according to MSNBC.
"He had a very aggressive tumor involving the base of his skull and brain that was in a very difficult location to remove," Sheehan explained.
The great size of Kosen also puts great strain on his body. "The human body and heart is not well designed for a person who is eight feet tall," Sheehan said.
The new treatment is reportedly working and Kosen has stopped growing.
Kosen has also set other records related to his size. His hands measure 10.8 inches across and his feet are 13.7 inches long and require him to wear a size 28 shoe, both of which are world records.
