World’s tallest man stops growing thanks to doctors

Sultan Kosen stands 8 feet, 3 inches tall.

The 29-year-old Turkish man holds the Guinness World Record for tallest man alive, and while many may think he'd be great at basketball, it is a record that accompanies a series of hardships. Kosen suffers from acromegaly, caused by a tumour in his pituitary gland, and subsequent gigantism. Because "his skeleton just can't support him," he endures constant knee pain, has undergone many surgeries, and finds therapy both costly and inaccessible in his remote village.

The Associated Press reports researchers at the University of Virginia Medical Center may have finally halted his growth.

"He was recently prescribed a new medication that could control the production of growth hormones and thus put a halt to his continued growth, which also extends to his hands and feet. Doctors in Turkey have reported that after taking the medication, he's already stopped growing," NewsFeed reports.

He first started treatment in 2010 with noninvasive Gamma Knife radiosurgery that delivered focused beams of radiation to Kosen's pituitary tumour.

"The treatments that we provided at the University of Virginia have stopped the production of his excess growth hormone and stopped the growth of the tumor itself," UVA neurosurgeon Dr. Sheehan said of the report from Kosen's Turkish doctors.

"I'm most pleased that we were able to help Sultan," Dr. Sheehan added. "If he had continued to grow, it would have been life-threatening."