How can I make my calves smaller?

hi jackki
i've been reading your post since before you went for the operation, it's really helpful and thank you so much for the updates.
do you mind if i ask for ur before and after photos? i cant send you a private message as im just a memeber. so you can send me an e-mail to [email protected]

i'll keep it confidential.

how are you doing? much better now?

looking forward to your reply
thanks again
ppoi
 
Hi everyone,

Im from Asia n i have been thinking of this surgery for more than 1 year but yet do not have the guts to do it! Lol.

Cos im worried if anything goes wrong n these are legs we are talking about! Plus of the long recovery time to heal of around 3 months from the various feedback & reviews from the forum. I have years ago done liposuction on my calves before n my legs swelled alot n it took months for the swell to go off! I couldnt wear my usual shoes too! Someone was asking in the forum before if lipo on the calves would cause some lumpiness n unevenness. Well from my personal experience, YES n it seems to make my calves look worse n not only that, i do not see much difference in the size/circumference. :nogood:

I have also previously tried to decide between Dr Park & Dr Jong. But it seems that there is a difference in their procedures i.e. Dr Park only removes section of the 2 parts of the muscles n does not remove any of the Sol while Dr Jong removes part of all the 3 muscles including the Sol. Im worried in case removing any part of the Sol may cause some side effects in the future (since non-removal would not affect the muscles), hence im gearing towards Dr Park.

Does anyone from Asia keen to go for the procedure?

Cheers.


I am Asian too, I want to do the calf reduction next year. I wanna know if u're still interested to go for the operation? im still thinking whether to go to dr. park or dr. jong but im more confident in dr park.

Please let me know if you're still going for the operation
Thank you
 
Hi girls...
Greetings from Taipei!
I have just done the calf muscle reduction operation with Dr Jong and today is my 3rd day post ops.
The whole operation took around 4 hours and it wasn't that scary to me. I was put under local (spinal) anesthesia and I found myself sleeping the whole time.
I like dr Jong a lot..a very very nice doctor!
My preop measurement is 34.5 on right and 35 on left. Immediately after the surgery they were 31 and 31.5. I stayed at the clinic for 2 days...bedridden...was not allowed to move.
For the 1st night at the clinic due to the residual anesthesia or whatever I slept like a baby. For the 2nd night I had backache so it was quite uncomfortable. However, so far the pain is 0.
Thank god my bf and best fren will take turn to accompany me in Taipei..so I am not stuck with cup noddle. For walking wise I can go to the bath room by myself but doctor Jong askeD me to rest my legs as much as I can( at least 1 week till he remove the stitches).
I'm wearing compression stocking right now and I don't see my legs swelling very much.
On and off I will feel the spasm or discomfort on my left leg. But...well all bearable.
...
Will update u guys on my progress..best of luck to all!
 
hi teenagedirt

im so happy to have someone here post sth. im glad to hear that ur pain is 0. im sending email to dr jong to ask about my calves too. i really wanna do the calf reduction!

ill be waiting for your next update and i hope you are doing well.
take a good care.
 
Hi,
Just an update. I just got back from Korea. I had the surgery with Dr. Park. I'll try my best to write a detailed entry on my experience today. I will try to check into the forum, however I am starting work again and sometimes it keeps me do busy I don't have much time for anything else. But I will try my best to answer questions and update bc this forum was an integral part of my going through with the procedure.

Day 1- Ok, so I arrived in Seoul, checked in to Young Dong Hotel my first night. I stocked up on food and water then went to bed.

Day 2- I got my stuff and headed to Oz clinic. I had my consultation at 10 am. I had my blood work done, asked all of my questions, and photographs taken. Dr. Park was really awesome. He put me at ease immediately. I had so many Questions but he politely and patiently answered them all. My surgery was scheduled for 3pm later that same day. Dr. Park had another calf reduction surgery scheduled for noon that same day. So after my consult, I think I saw him eating lunch then head into surgery. I just waited around that day until my turn at 3pm. I didn't have a chance to get to speak with the other calf reduction patient. She was actually a native so I thought I'd have a chance to practice my Korean, but that wasn't the case. As soon as she was done she was brought into the recovery room and asleep. When 3pm came, I remember the nurses prepping me, then receiving my spinal anesthesia from the anesthesiologist, then given a shot and the next thing I know I fell asleep.

All I remember is waking up around 10pm feeling sore and foggy. The nurse told me I slept a lot. I think I had been exhausted from my flight the day before. She also told me my parents had called a couple of times to check on me. I looked for the other calf patient but was told that she felt good enough to go home. I heard she only had a little taken out. As for me my calves I'm not exactly sure how much they've decreased because I've still got some swelling and not finished with my aspirations. So far I think I've lost about 2 or 3 cms. I will continue to update bc I do have questions for those of you still in the recovery process.

So after I woke up my legs didnt hurt but they felt tight. There was a point where I asked myself what have I done? Not because of pain bc it wasn't painful but I think my reaction was just normal especially bc I've never had any type of surgery on my body and here my first was this procedure. So I kinda was having some thoughts but I also remembered all those times, years I feared wearing short things. It was then I made a promise to myself that no matter how my legs looked I was determined to wear short things from this day forward. It was a moment for me. I fell back to sleep.

Day 3- I woke up around 6 am. The nurse was asleep in the bed next to me. I was able to get up by myself and walk to the bathroom in my wedges, feet very wide apart. It was painful but I got through it. I returned to my bed and started thinking about something Miss Jess wrote on this forum regarding stretching while she was laying down, I think. So I tried to do the same and stretched my foot in the dorsiflex position. It hurt and felt good simultaneously. I still do this. Around 10am, I got myself together to leave the clinic. The nurse showed me a couple of stretches then I was on my way back to the hotel. I forgot to mention, my first night at the hotel I saw another girl who must have come to Korea for surgery, she was wearing a surgical mask. When I was going back to the hotel I saw her again. She noticed I was limping, I was too tired to chit chat and just went to my room. I spent the better part of my day stretching, laying down, and watching TV. Unbelievable but I was craving chocolate do later that night I actually walked to the convenience store to get my fix. It was the longest and slowest walk of my life but I did it. I was exhausted when I got back and went to bed.

Day 4- Woke up in some pain due to tightness. I stretched it out immediately. I just wanted to feel better. I continued stretching most the day. I noticed I had way more bruising on my left leg and almost none on my right leg. Both legs were swollen. My left leg also felt more tight but I stretched both legs. Later that day, my right leg felt really stiff, I thought it might be a spasm but the pain disappeared a couple hours later. For dinner I was able to walk to a nearby Thai restaurant and had spring rolls and pad Thai. It wasn't bad but I've definitely had better.

Day 5- I had my first appointment at Oz at 11am. They just changed my bandages and tape my wound. Dr. Park told me he removed a good amount - he said it in terms of kg I think, also something in terms of servings of meat, like the equivalent of two servings of meat, I think. Lol!So this was Saturday and my next appointment was set for the following Wednesday. I returned to the hotel and resumed stretching.

Days 6-8 - just stayed in my hotel room and recovering. Pain became more bearable.

Day 9- appointment at 11 am at Oz. I think Dr. Park and nurses were impressed with my recovery. Dr. Park gave me my first aspiration. It wasn't too painful, just different from the leg pain I had been experiencing. It feels like a little bite but there was a painful second. He pokes the needle into your leg and moves in around the different layers of skin within your leg looking for areas where there may have been fluid buildup. He does his best to handle you gently while doing this but it's still a needle in your leg so it's a little painful but not bad at all. If you've managed the surgery this part is a piece of cake. I had about 3 full tubes from my left leg and about 2 from my right. Need to come back in two days. Dr. Park is going to show me how to aspirate bc I leave in four days.
Went back to hotel to rest and well you know, continue stretching.

Day 10- woke u, still lots of tightness behind my leg. Drank some water and started stretching. Watching the Olympics on TV. Later in the day, I went out to the Sinsa subway station to do a little bit of shopping. I walked for about two hours total and was exhausted after. I wanted to take the subway and go out further but decided against it. Going up and down the stairs at the subway was pretty painful so I opted to go back to my hotel.

Day 11- woke up with tightness and stretched it out. Got ready for my 10 am appointment at Oz. I actually shared my can from the hotel to the clinic with another foreigner who had come to see Oz for eye-lid surgery. She was a very sweet and pretty girl. It was just nice to have someone to talked to. We immediately bonded and I shared about my week's experiences. I've read on this forum how it's nice to have support and people to talk to about what you're going through so try to go with someone who's also getting a procedure. I totally understand this better now. The moral support was great. We got to Oz and I went first. Dr. Oz showed me how to aspirate and it wasn't too bad. He's really awesome and really cares about his patients. I can't say enough nice things about him and his staff. I had some issues accessing my email and he let me use his computer. I was very grateful.

Day 12- so my last appointment at Oz. I met another girl from the hotel going to the clinic. I think she had the jaw procedure done. She was also very sweet but didn't say much because of her band aids. Today was my last visit and Dr. Park just gAve me final instructions on stretching, strips for my wounds, and my compression stockings- darn those things are tight, and my needles for aspirations. I know I've already mentioned this many times, but he really takes great care of his patients. If you're a foreigner and want this surgery and you have any hesitancy bc of language barriers or the fact it's in a foreign country, I just want to alleviate any fears you may have. Dr. Park speaks English very well and had great bedside manners. He prides himself on his care of his foreign patients. You can't ask for a better physician. I did my homework as well on his background. He was educated at Catholic Medical school which is one of the top schools in Korea, so you are in reputable hands. His nurses are vet nice as well. I had the chance to meet Amy as well the day after my procedure. She had come by to visit the clinic. She told me her name was Amy and that's when I knew she was the one everyone was talking about on this forum. She told me she was currently on maternity leave and visiting. A very sweet girl and pretty too. She told me the importance of stretching. Her advice was that your muscle is like a rubber band that needs to be comtinously stretched.

Day 13- last day in Korea. Woke up very early, checked out and headed to the airport by 7:30 am. As happy as I am to be going back home I am a little sad to be leaving Korea and Oz clinic. It's been painful but bearable. And after the initial rough 2 weeks, I'm actually sad to be leaving. My assessment so far was that everything I did was worth it. Only time will tell what my exact results will be but do far I'm satisfied. I will try and update on my progress and thoughts on my revovery. The only thing I'd like to say is that I do not have pre and post pics to share. I didn't take too many pics before and as far as post, I think going to wait awhile longer before taking any.

I'd love to hear how all of you who've had the surgery done ate recovering. I'd like to say thank you to Jackkki as well. Your messages were helpful and I'm very appreciative. I'd love to hear how you're doing and how your recovery is going.

Take care everyone!
 
Hi sunflower100

Thanks a lot for the update!! it 's really really helpful. i hope you can get well soon and will wait for your next update. thanks again. ill be the next to go for the calf refuction cos im saving up now haha.

take care (:
 
hello everyone

I'm sorry it's been a while since my last post because my mother is sick.

It's been over 3 months now. There is still some swelling but of course it is not as bad as before and I can still fit in my shoes. I am switching between the bandages at night and compression stockings during the day. I bought some compression stockings online from a different brand. dr park said to get 30-40mm tight. You have to buy more pairs because you can't use the same every day. I bought some knee length which I prefer for work, and some thigh length for when I wear skirts. They are kinda expensive. dr park said you only have to wear the compression stockings for three months, but in my opinion, you should wear it for as long as your legs are still swelling. I mean that is what compression stockings are for anyways, to relieve swelling. Everyone said that then shape of you legs keep changing from 6-9 months and I think the compression stockings will aid if final result. the size of my calves are the same, 32cm-34cm. I do still have bowed legs. Kinda weird looking with my thick thighs. But can't really tell if I wear knee length skirts. But again it is way better than before. I am sorry, I cannot find my before photos. I am excited to wear short skirts because I haven't worn one in 12 years as well as look so much better in skinny jeans and tights without having my calves bulge out really bad. overall, I'm happy with results so far. There is still some tightness when I first get up from lying or sitting for a while. And also my heels do still hurt when I am on my feet for hours during work. Probably it is because the achilles tendon still healing. let me know if you guys have any questions. One thing that crossed my mind is that this procedure has not been around too long, and there is not much evidence, I think, on long term effects of the procedure i.e walking when I'm old, etc. I mean there are not much studies and doctors that perform this. Oh well, It is too late. I did it already. Sometimes vanity wins.
 
hi jackki
i've been reading your post since before you went for the operation, it's really helpful and thank you so much for the updates.
do you mind if i ask for ur before and after photos? i cant send you a private message as im just a memeber. so you can send me an e-mail to [email protected]

i'll keep it confidential.

how are you doing? much better now?

looking forward to your reply
thanks again
ppoi

you need i believe 10 posts so you can private message. I see you have 4 or 5. Just type 5-6 random stuff then you can pm.
 
Being a ballet dancer I can tell you one extremely important thing! It is all about stretching and not just the calf, you have to stretch out your whole leg that way the other muscles pull on each other which makes the legs leaner and beautiful without bulk. Trust me.
 
Hi everyone again,
Today, I'm 13 days post op. I can limp my way around and receive tons of sympathetic looks when walking on the street.
I stayed in Taipei 12 days in total. I didnt experience any fluids built up in the calves at all..only a little bit on my right calf ( ard 6cc) that was aspirated by Dr Jong on my last day at Taipei (Monday). On day 3 and 4, I experienced discomfort when sleeping at night. However, it all went away after I took vitamin B12 (given by Dr Jong). I did experience some discomfort due to the tightness of compression stockings when sleeping though.
3rd day post-ops onwards, My boyfriend started wheeling me around Taipei. Sitting on the wheelchair not only pained my butt but also made my calves swell a bit more ( from 31 post op to 33cm). But it didnt result in hematoma so doctor was ok and we happily wheeled around all tourist attraction places. And I have to say, I must look like the most happy sitting on wheel-chair girl in Taipei for period 10-22 Aug *big grin*
I started to walk in the room slipper from day 9 onwards. It was definitely not comfortable at all. I walked in crab-style :sad:, my knees were not very straight but I just pushed myself to get used to it.
The long walk (30min) from check in counter to boarding gate made my legs really really swollen last night. Today I walked a bit from my workplace to a supermarket. A 6 minutes walk has now taken me 15 minutes.

@sunflower: wow..u walked for 2 hours!!!! Really admire you for that. After that 2 hours walk, did your legs get swollen?

Wish everyone who went through this operation a quick quick recovery!

@ppoi: all the best and be brave girl! Wish u have a beautiful leg in no time ^^
 
Hi Jakki

your update has always been clear, really appreciate that. how is your scar? is it very obvious? seems like your swelling exists quite long. when you mentioned about long term consequence, it really scares me. what u have said is true, since there is not much studies about this, the op may affect walking function when gets old. but i still want to go for this operation i have been wanting to do it since i was 15 but my korean friend asked me not to do it because i was too young and my parents did not allow me to do too. but im 20 now and im glad to find this forum cos i was kind of giving up to do sth with my legs. i have to save up as my parents wont approve me for doing this. they will surely be mad if they found out about this. but ill keep an eye on this forum and go for it when im ready. should be by next year. thanks again for the update.

ppoi
 
Hi teenagedirt

haha funny receive tons of sympathetic looks. im happy for you as you had your bf when u were in taipei for the op. i dont know if there is anyone going for the operationwith me. but still going for it. hope you are doing well and wish u a quick recovery.

yeah i hope i will have nice legs in no time.