Accutane Side Effect - bone growth

[ptaylor]

Hello Doctor
  My question regards the drug Accutane, which I took when I just turned 15, for bad acne.
  I took the drug for approximately 6 and a half months. I took a dosage of 0.5mg per kg for the first month, then 0.6667 mg per kg for the 2nd and 3rd month and then went onto 1mg per kg for the last 3 and a half months.
I am extremely concerned about the possibility of having prematurely stunting my growth as a result of taking Accutane.
I have read some literature and spontaneous reports on the internet that Isotretinoin can lead to 'premature epiphyseal fusion' of the long bones.
I am now almost 19 and notice that for some reason or the other I have more or less not grown at all since taking the drug, although of course,I recognise that I cannot solely or definitively pin this down to my Accutane usage. I am still around 5 foot 7.
I am extremely concerned about the possibility of this having happened as a result of me taking Accutane.
Can you please give me some information about this side effect? Is it something that you have heard of or encountered in your own patients? What is the possibility of this having happened?
I have one further question. From what I have read on the internet, most sites say thst Accutane can lead to premature epipihyseal closure of the long bones. However my question is,other than the epiphysis of the long bones, can Accutane possibly also lead to premature fusion of bones other than the long bones, such as the cranial sutures of the skull? Or is this side effect reserved to the long bones?
As you can tell, I am extremely concerned about this issue and would therefore appreciate as detailed a response as possible, calling on your medical knowledge in this area and literature you may be aware of.
I appreciate your time and hope to hear from you soon,
Paul Taylor

[ptaylor]

Thank you Doctor,

Of course I recognise that you cannot definitively answer whether or not I stunted my growth becuase of Accutane.
However may I please ask you to shed some more information you may be aware of regarding this phenomenon, becuase currently I am unaware of the details.
For example, how commonly has it been reported? Is it dose or length of dosage dependent? What evidence is there that this is a possibility? Have you encountered any of your pediatric patients who may have suffered from this?
Do you personally feel there is any truth to this apparent side effect?
I hope you appreciate my concerns and can reply further with further details, if you have any.
Thanks

[ptaylor]

Thank you Doctor,

Of course I recognise that you cannot definitively answer whether or not I stunted my growth becuase of Accutane.
However may I please ask you to shed some more information you may be aware of regarding this phenomenon, becuase currently I am unaware of the details.
For example, how commonly has it been reported? Is it dose or length of dosage dependent? What evidence is there that this is a possibility? Have you encountered any of your pediatric patients who may have suffered from this?
Do you personally feel there is any truth to this apparent side effect?
I hope you appreciate my concerns and can reply further with further details, if you have any.
Thanks

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Neither I nor anyone can answer your question definitively.  Stunting of growth is reported but rare.  No one can say whether you would have ended up taller had you not taken Accutane.  Your doctor and family obviously felt that the benefits of not having years of bad acne and permanent scarring were worth the small risk of losing some height.  There is, however, no way for you to know for sure whether this happened, and nothing you can or need to do about it.  I have not heard of risks concerning skull bone fusion with Accutane.

Dr. Rockoff