World’s tallest man stops growing

The world’s tallest man seems to have stopped growing after treatment at the University of Virginia (UVA) Medical Center. 8-foot-3-inch Sultan Kosen of Turkey has been making trips to Virginia for treatment since May, 2010. Kosen suffers from acromegaly, in which a tumor in his pituitary gland causes an excess of growth hormone and a range of health problems. Doctors placed Kosen on a new medication they thought could help control the production of growth hormone and stop his growth. Because Kosen’s pituitary tumor had spread to areas of his brain where doctors could not safely perform open surgery, UVA neurosurgeon Jason Sheehan, MD, then performed Gamma Knife radiosurgery in August 2010. Gamma Knife radiosurgery is a noninvasive procedure that delivers focused beams of radiation guided by MRI to a specific spot in a patient’s body -- in this case, Kosen’s pituitary tumor. About three months ago, Kosen’s doctors in Turkey told Dr. Sheehan that Kosen has stopped growing.