How can I make my calves smaller?
- Thread starter kahk3000
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The circumference of your calf should be 20% of your height and the length of your calf should be 22% of your height.
Hello all, I am 25 days post op with surgery from Dr. Park and would like to share my experience. I flew to Seoul from the US and stayed at Young Dong hotel. I suggest using the limousine bus - appx 15USD - to the metro station and walk 5 minutes to the hotel and take a taxi back to the airport when returning to the airport for your return home. At the hotel I asked for 6 pillows and they did not want to give me that many but I just explained that it was my doctor's request and they gave me what I asked. I absolutely recommend taking your laptop as the wireless is great and there are only 2 channels in English on tv. Additionally, you will probably find yourself not sleeping much at all so take as many dvds or books as you can so you will not be dying of boredom and focusing on your pain.
I came to OZ Clinic on my first morning and had my consult with Dr. Park. He is extremely calm and patient but I warn you, have many questions prepared because he may not cover everything that you need to know in the initial consultation. I had my blood work done at 2pm and had the surgery right after that. I had the spinal or localized anesthetic which was uncomfortable but not terrible. You will feel very strange after this as you will go numb from the toes up. If you ask, the Anesthesiologist will give you propofol to put you to sleep. I woke up in recovery with my bottom barbequing on a heating pad. The first night I did not sleep at all and my right foot was completely numb. I got up every half hour to stretch and go to the bathroom trailing my IV pole every hour or two it seemed. It was painful but by morning I was walking flatfooted more or less. I walked to a grocery store about 5 minutes from the clinic, the nurse was surprised that I could walk that much but Dr. Park did not seem so surprised.
I returned to the hotel and tried to rest but never really slept again. I had all 6 seasons of the Sopranos on my laptop and James Gandolfini was my lifesaving hero at 4am by the 3rd night that I was still unable to sleep, hahaha.
A small tip - I did not stock up on foods beforehand because I had my surgery the same day that I arrived but I pulled the Domino's phone number from their Korean website and convinced the front desk to order me a pizza even though they said that they do not allow delivery. By the second day I made acquaintance with the girl that the front desk and she pulled a delivery menu that they keep on hand. The restaurant had a nice large menu of lovely salads, sandwiches, and pastas. If you are persistent in asking them to check for a menu in their desk and allow the delivery then you will be fine for food.
I brought by highest quality hiking sneakers and with their wonderful sole support they turned out to be the best choice. I began to walk flat footed immediately and sneakers on the second day. The stretches really help but first thing getting out of bed I would hold on to a chair and do 20 knee bends to get my feet flat on the floor and then very slowly go to the bathroom. I kept my feet flat in the shower but marching in place helped because standing was extremely painful. Do the stretches... no matter what, do the stretches or you will stiffen up horribly.
I went to Starbucks next door on the third day and the convenience store but any sidewalk with an incline was murder so I walked correctly and made myself not limp but SO slowly.
I flew home after only 6 days and I had a 12 hour flight but asked the airline for the last 3 seats close to the bathroom and took an overnight flight so I would not be getting in people's way when I got up to walk. I warned the flight attendants that I had surgery and they let me do my stretches in the galley every half hour. This helped SO much because I never stiffened up.
Here is the more difficult part. After the first week, the swelling was not so terrible but my right foot started to have nerve pain and it quickly became acute. The outside of my foot was both numb and with burning shooting pain that was so bad that I was vibrating with it and not able to sit or lie down for any length of time. I stopped wearing the bandage and doing the stretches because the nerve runs the length of the calf and any pressure there was awful. After scaring myself to death reading internet forum horror stories, I decided to do the aspiration more often than once every seven days and after removing 5 one day, then 4 next day, then 3 syringes of fluid the next day the pain began to fade and the next time I tried to aspirate there was no fluid left. Now I am wearing the stockings and bandage together and stretching fine. I can walk uphill and all around with no problems but just try not to overdo it. I still do at least 100 knee bends a day and that REALLY helps me.
My calves look about 1.5 cm smaller now and mostly my ankles swell whenever I walk for more than 30 minutes. I think I will be swollen for many months though because I wore heels once and I looked like I had cankles within an hour.
In closing, I can say that if you push yourself through the pain constantly, stretch, and take your anti inflammatory pills you should be fine. This is a VERY serious operation and you must consider the pain, complications, and duration of recovery if you are committed to this. Dr. Park and Amy are wonderful but Dr. Park is not as forthcoming as many Western doctors so know that he will politely and competently answer all questions but you must be well informed in what to ask. Good Luck girls and I hope that this helps a little bit!
I came to OZ Clinic on my first morning and had my consult with Dr. Park. He is extremely calm and patient but I warn you, have many questions prepared because he may not cover everything that you need to know in the initial consultation. I had my blood work done at 2pm and had the surgery right after that. I had the spinal or localized anesthetic which was uncomfortable but not terrible. You will feel very strange after this as you will go numb from the toes up. If you ask, the Anesthesiologist will give you propofol to put you to sleep. I woke up in recovery with my bottom barbequing on a heating pad. The first night I did not sleep at all and my right foot was completely numb. I got up every half hour to stretch and go to the bathroom trailing my IV pole every hour or two it seemed. It was painful but by morning I was walking flatfooted more or less. I walked to a grocery store about 5 minutes from the clinic, the nurse was surprised that I could walk that much but Dr. Park did not seem so surprised.
I returned to the hotel and tried to rest but never really slept again. I had all 6 seasons of the Sopranos on my laptop and James Gandolfini was my lifesaving hero at 4am by the 3rd night that I was still unable to sleep, hahaha.
A small tip - I did not stock up on foods beforehand because I had my surgery the same day that I arrived but I pulled the Domino's phone number from their Korean website and convinced the front desk to order me a pizza even though they said that they do not allow delivery. By the second day I made acquaintance with the girl that the front desk and she pulled a delivery menu that they keep on hand. The restaurant had a nice large menu of lovely salads, sandwiches, and pastas. If you are persistent in asking them to check for a menu in their desk and allow the delivery then you will be fine for food.
I brought by highest quality hiking sneakers and with their wonderful sole support they turned out to be the best choice. I began to walk flat footed immediately and sneakers on the second day. The stretches really help but first thing getting out of bed I would hold on to a chair and do 20 knee bends to get my feet flat on the floor and then very slowly go to the bathroom. I kept my feet flat in the shower but marching in place helped because standing was extremely painful. Do the stretches... no matter what, do the stretches or you will stiffen up horribly.
I went to Starbucks next door on the third day and the convenience store but any sidewalk with an incline was murder so I walked correctly and made myself not limp but SO slowly.
I flew home after only 6 days and I had a 12 hour flight but asked the airline for the last 3 seats close to the bathroom and took an overnight flight so I would not be getting in people's way when I got up to walk. I warned the flight attendants that I had surgery and they let me do my stretches in the galley every half hour. This helped SO much because I never stiffened up.
Here is the more difficult part. After the first week, the swelling was not so terrible but my right foot started to have nerve pain and it quickly became acute. The outside of my foot was both numb and with burning shooting pain that was so bad that I was vibrating with it and not able to sit or lie down for any length of time. I stopped wearing the bandage and doing the stretches because the nerve runs the length of the calf and any pressure there was awful. After scaring myself to death reading internet forum horror stories, I decided to do the aspiration more often than once every seven days and after removing 5 one day, then 4 next day, then 3 syringes of fluid the next day the pain began to fade and the next time I tried to aspirate there was no fluid left. Now I am wearing the stockings and bandage together and stretching fine. I can walk uphill and all around with no problems but just try not to overdo it. I still do at least 100 knee bends a day and that REALLY helps me.
My calves look about 1.5 cm smaller now and mostly my ankles swell whenever I walk for more than 30 minutes. I think I will be swollen for many months though because I wore heels once and I looked like I had cankles within an hour.
In closing, I can say that if you push yourself through the pain constantly, stretch, and take your anti inflammatory pills you should be fine. This is a VERY serious operation and you must consider the pain, complications, and duration of recovery if you are committed to this. Dr. Park and Amy are wonderful but Dr. Park is not as forthcoming as many Western doctors so know that he will politely and competently answer all questions but you must be well informed in what to ask. Good Luck girls and I hope that this helps a little bit!
Thanks for your review, bronte.
I am having my calf surgery next week with Dr. Park, too.
How are you doing ffxlulu?
I hope both of you will heal soon!
I am having my calf surgery next week with Dr. Park, too.
Why do they need to place you on a heating pad?
How are you doing ffxlulu?
I hope both of you will heal soon!
I heard that if you take the whole gastrocnemius out, surrounding muscles will grow to compensate for the loss of function. For example, if you take the whole MG gastrocnemius out, there might be compensatory hypertrophy of LG gastrocnemius and Sol to make up for the loss of MG gastrocnemius. The calf might bulge out in lateral side (hypertrophy of Sol) and lateral-posterior side (hypertrophy of LG gastrocnemius). This was on this website. http://www.lrclinic.com.tw/html/front/bin/ptlist.phtml?Category=362147.
Hi OneTrackMind!
Thank you so much for the info. It is what I was concerning about these days: removing the whole gastrocnemius or just partial resection!
Hi guys!
Thanks for your support!
I finally have time to update you guys! I will try to be as descriptive as possible.
I am 165cm tall and have around 35cm for calf circumference but my right calf is 1.5cm bigger which is not as normal as other girls,because is usually around 0.5cm difference.
Day 1: July 29
I arrived to oz clinic at 10am and I had my blood test and consultation with two friends who accompanied me. I saw two other girls who went to consultation for their calf reduction surgery. They said they don't want to scare me aboutt their experience since I'm about to do the surgery. My surgery took place at 2pm. Dr.Park told me it is possible to have a lump on my calves. But it's 1% chance. I kind of doubt it's that less but I still didn't hesitate to do this. I was still feeling alright until I lie down in the surgery room. The nurse injected this needle tube to insert a bag of painkiller which hurts a lot. Then I begin to feel really scared and thley told me to couch like a baby in order to inject the needle for spinal anesthesia. It didn't hurt that much compare to the first needle. During the process of injecting the anesthesia to my lower part of my back, It was an unpleasant tingling feeling especially when the nurse was wiping my feet. I started to shake because of the anesthesia and they told me they will flip my body over so that my back is facing the celing and the next thing I know is my surgery is over and I am lying in the bed of the recovery room. My lower body still feels numb. I felt really cold and they have a heated blanket for me to feel warmer. When the anesthesia wore off, the pain is not quite bearable and I started sweating a lot because of the heated blanket underneath me.. I started crying and Amy,the nurse started giving me a stronger dose of pain killer and the pain Is becoming more bearable. The first time I have to go to washroom is staying in the bed. Amy gave me this tray and I have to pee directly to the tray. I can walk to the washroom the second time with Amy's assistance. At my fourth time I can go by myself with no assistance. My first stretch was not that bad because I still have the bag of painkillers going through my veins. I slept pretty well but I woke up around 4am to go to washroom. I felt quite bad because I have to wake Amy up. For the whole night,Amy was taking care of me and I can ask for her help in the push of the button. My calves still look big and i dont see much difference,there were no bruises yet.
Thanks for your support!
I finally have time to update you guys! I will try to be as descriptive as possible.
I am 165cm tall and have around 35cm for calf circumference but my right calf is 1.5cm bigger which is not as normal as other girls,because is usually around 0.5cm difference.
Day 1: July 29
I arrived to oz clinic at 10am and I had my blood test and consultation with two friends who accompanied me. I saw two other girls who went to consultation for their calf reduction surgery. They said they don't want to scare me aboutt their experience since I'm about to do the surgery. My surgery took place at 2pm. Dr.Park told me it is possible to have a lump on my calves. But it's 1% chance. I kind of doubt it's that less but I still didn't hesitate to do this. I was still feeling alright until I lie down in the surgery room. The nurse injected this needle tube to insert a bag of painkiller which hurts a lot. Then I begin to feel really scared and thley told me to couch like a baby in order to inject the needle for spinal anesthesia. It didn't hurt that much compare to the first needle. During the process of injecting the anesthesia to my lower part of my back, It was an unpleasant tingling feeling especially when the nurse was wiping my feet. I started to shake because of the anesthesia and they told me they will flip my body over so that my back is facing the celing and the next thing I know is my surgery is over and I am lying in the bed of the recovery room. My lower body still feels numb. I felt really cold and they have a heated blanket for me to feel warmer. When the anesthesia wore off, the pain is not quite bearable and I started sweating a lot because of the heated blanket underneath me.. I started crying and Amy,the nurse started giving me a stronger dose of pain killer and the pain Is becoming more bearable. The first time I have to go to washroom is staying in the bed. Amy gave me this tray and I have to pee directly to the tray. I can walk to the washroom the second time with Amy's assistance. At my fourth time I can go by myself with no assistance. My first stretch was not that bad because I still have the bag of painkillers going through my veins. I slept pretty well but I woke up around 4am to go to washroom. I felt quite bad because I have to wake Amy up. For the whole night,Amy was taking care of me and I can ask for her help in the push of the button. My calves still look big and i dont see much difference,there were no bruises yet.
get well soon! stay strong! thanks for updating us
please continue to update us !!Day 2:
I woke up around 9:30. Finally, the IV tube is removed from my arm therefore i dont have painkillers to rely from. Amy had to change my bandages. After she took off the bandages, I have a better look at my calves. I still think they look big and maybe slightly smaller than before. The shape of the calves still look ugly like usual. It hurted a bit when she wrapped new bandages around my calves. Then it's time to do stretching. Amy pushed me and I started screaming and crying. She told me to stand against the wall and push my knees towards the wall. It was way too painful and we have to stop. She gave me pain killer pills to eat. Then i tried to stretch again and it's alright. I have to start doing walking exercise and it was not that bad since I can walk slowly. The heels of my feet are starting to hurt. I see bruises started to appear from the back of my knees. I have fat cankles now and my feet are starting to get swollen. My friends arrived around noon time to pick me up and were shocked that I look fine and have good appetite to eat. I managed to walk back to hotel room from the hotel entrance. The most annoying part is stretching every thirty min. Those thirty minutes pass so fast and I have to stretch again.
I woke up around 9:30. Finally, the IV tube is removed from my arm therefore i dont have painkillers to rely from. Amy had to change my bandages. After she took off the bandages, I have a better look at my calves. I still think they look big and maybe slightly smaller than before. The shape of the calves still look ugly like usual. It hurted a bit when she wrapped new bandages around my calves. Then it's time to do stretching. Amy pushed me and I started screaming and crying. She told me to stand against the wall and push my knees towards the wall. It was way too painful and we have to stop. She gave me pain killer pills to eat. Then i tried to stretch again and it's alright. I have to start doing walking exercise and it was not that bad since I can walk slowly. The heels of my feet are starting to hurt. I see bruises started to appear from the back of my knees. I have fat cankles now and my feet are starting to get swollen. My friends arrived around noon time to pick me up and were shocked that I look fine and have good appetite to eat. I managed to walk back to hotel room from the hotel entrance. The most annoying part is stretching every thirty min. Those thirty minutes pass so fast and I have to stretch again.
Thank you for sharing your experience! I have a couple questions for you:
Do you see the results right away in day one?
Are you satisfied with the results?
Were your feet really swollen to the point they look deformed?
Do you see lumps on your calves?
sorry, I'm starting to worried about the size of my calves because they still look big.