THe only thing I can say is it does feel unstable behind the knee since the muscles were supporting it. when walking, it feels like something is missing behind the knee. thats the best way i can describe it. I would not say I have to use more strength on the knees rather feels like more weight on my ankles and feet to help with stability. This is normal while until fully healed
How can I make my calves smaller?
- Thread starter kahk3000
- Start date
THe only thing I can say is it does feel unstable behind the knee since the muscles were supporting it. when walking, it feels like something is missing behind the knee. thats the best way i can describe it. I would not say I have to use more strength on the knees rather feels like more weight on my ankles and feet to help with stability. This is normal while until fully healed
Ooooo same!
More questions:
How clean and modern is Dr. Park's clinic? I can't find any pictures online.
Hey guys!
My calves are 36cm and I'm about to email OZ now.
I'm so happy I found this forum, I've been unhappy about my calves for years, and even when I loose weight and am very slim my calves are huge and out of proportion to my body...
I always though lipo was the only option, and because I have mostly muscle and not fat I thought there was nothing I could do. I never knew the muscle could be operated on!!
Has anybody had any other surgeries done be OZ that aren't calf reduction?
I want to get rhinoplasty and cheekbone/jaw reduction done too.. but I don't know if OZ is good for that?
I've emailed VIP but they haven't replied..
Are there any other clinics that do calf reduction surgery?
My calves are 36cm and I'm about to email OZ now.
I'm so happy I found this forum, I've been unhappy about my calves for years, and even when I loose weight and am very slim my calves are huge and out of proportion to my body...
I always though lipo was the only option, and because I have mostly muscle and not fat I thought there was nothing I could do. I never knew the muscle could be operated on!!
Has anybody had any other surgeries done be OZ that aren't calf reduction?
I want to get rhinoplasty and cheekbone/jaw reduction done too.. but I don't know if OZ is good for that?
I've emailed VIP but they haven't replied..
Are there any other clinics that do calf reduction surgery?
dr park's clinic is small but clean and modern. his website is for sure old school and needs to be updated.
Hey ASHIMI,
Thank you for your post. I wasn't able to see your after picture, only the before one. Is there any chance you can post it again, or send it to me privately .
Thank you so much
I would be interested in seeing the pics too! I don't think I can PM yet though (did they just randomly up the minimum posts before we can PM from 5 to 10???!!) - anyway, if you could post that would be much appreciated!
Hey ASHIMI,
Thank you for your post. I wasn't able to see your after picture, only the before one. Is there any chance you can post it again, or send it to me privately .
Thank you so much
Hi Ashmi,
I'd love to see your before and after photos! Could you PM me as well, please? Thank you so much and sorry for the trouble!
Wow, thanks for the heads up! I can't imagine what that feels like.
Do you think ankle/knee braces could help add stability while recovering?
Hi Sunflower,
Sorry for not getting back to your earlier! I just sent you an email. I'm glad this thread is busy again
Today is my 14th day post-op follow-up, and I believe it will be my final day of aspiration, after which I will likely be starting to wear the stockings assigned to me.
My calf circumference will go from 40cm to, as Dr. Park thinks, about 34-35cm. Right now, he says it's already gone down to 38cm, and I can already tell a huge difference! So I'm really thrilled to find out what my legs will look like once the swelling goes down completely!
As far as the past 14 days go, I won't sugar coat anything... The pain was like hell for me. You must stretch, though! And that's where the pain comes in the most, that and trying to lie back down. My body went into shock every time I tried to lie down after stretching, and I'd find myself in dire need of warmth even though I was sweating before I even began stretching. So take that into consideration - there is a lot of pain involved.
As such, if anyone is deciding on staying for just a few or several days instead of the recommended full 2 weeks after the operation, you might want to reconsider your options. Do try to take at least 14 days off, during which you'll have plenty of time to limp that pain away. Dr. Park needs to aspirate your calves every few days during these 2 weeks to eliminate the fluid that fills the cavity once muscle fibers have been removed during surgery, and if you can't stay the entire 14 days, he will teach you how to aspirate your calves on your own. But honestly, I could never imagine myself aspirating my calves on my own; you have to stick a needle into your calves with the syringe attached, suck the fluid out of your calves, and then every time the syringe is filled with fluid, you must detach the syringe from the needle and expel the fluid into some sort of disposal bin. You must also squeeze your calf area to ensure that you are getting as much fluid as you can. And that's basically why I can't do it on my own... It's nice to have the expert Dr. Park ensuring that my calves look nice and not so swollen.
Also, if anyone is thinking that they can go out and buy food and eat out, think again; the pain is really quite intense after the first 3 days, and that is because your leg muscles are beginning to realize that something major has happened, and they will try to fix what has happened; in our case, a supposedly large amount of calf muscle fibers has been removed, leaving an empty cavity in its place, and the remaining muscle fibers must fix the "wounded" area. This is where the stretching becomes essential, and naturally much more painful than before. During the first 3 days, the body is in shock and almost oblivious to what has happened, but after that, the muscle fibers in the calves begin to get very, very tight because they are trying to reattach themselves to the rest of the body.
Stretching is very painful in the morning due to extended contraction overnight, but if you are consistent with the 5 minutes of stretching every 30 minutes, then you will be fine as the day progresses. But then this process is repeated the following morning - extreme pain in the morning.
Do wear wedge heels to the clinic on the day of the surgery so that you can walk out of the clinic the following day in them; you'll want no other shoes for the trip back to your temporary residence. But after that, you should probably want to wear flat shoes once walking becomes tolerable. For me, I immediately started wearing flat shoes so I could continue stretching as I walked, if I needed to. But I didn't really start walking, with the exception of the usual trip to the clinic for aspiration, until about 8 days after the operation. I'd go out and have lunch with my mom somewhere, and then get patbingsu later... You can't really walk for more than 30 minutes at a time, lest you desire to accumulate a greater amount of fluid in your calves.
But walking is recommended so that your calves can become accustomed to it again and to start to have a familiar shape to your walking style. This also gives Dr. Park a better image of how you are progressing.
14 days later, I am actually feeling quite well! I can walk pretty normally, and in flat shoes mind you. There is still quite a bit of bruising, and my hamstring muscles are feeling a bit sore now, and sometimes even the front of my knees as well.
Also, I actually severely sprained my ankle in March; it was bad news back then and I nearly thought I couldn't get this surgery, but I went ahead and did it anyway. As a result, my ankle became quite swollen after the operation, which made it more painful to stretch... But it's back to normal now lol.
If anyone has questions or concerns, I will try to answer them if you'd like.
My calf circumference will go from 40cm to, as Dr. Park thinks, about 34-35cm. Right now, he says it's already gone down to 38cm, and I can already tell a huge difference! So I'm really thrilled to find out what my legs will look like once the swelling goes down completely!
As far as the past 14 days go, I won't sugar coat anything... The pain was like hell for me. You must stretch, though! And that's where the pain comes in the most, that and trying to lie back down. My body went into shock every time I tried to lie down after stretching, and I'd find myself in dire need of warmth even though I was sweating before I even began stretching. So take that into consideration - there is a lot of pain involved.
As such, if anyone is deciding on staying for just a few or several days instead of the recommended full 2 weeks after the operation, you might want to reconsider your options. Do try to take at least 14 days off, during which you'll have plenty of time to limp that pain away. Dr. Park needs to aspirate your calves every few days during these 2 weeks to eliminate the fluid that fills the cavity once muscle fibers have been removed during surgery, and if you can't stay the entire 14 days, he will teach you how to aspirate your calves on your own. But honestly, I could never imagine myself aspirating my calves on my own; you have to stick a needle into your calves with the syringe attached, suck the fluid out of your calves, and then every time the syringe is filled with fluid, you must detach the syringe from the needle and expel the fluid into some sort of disposal bin. You must also squeeze your calf area to ensure that you are getting as much fluid as you can. And that's basically why I can't do it on my own... It's nice to have the expert Dr. Park ensuring that my calves look nice and not so swollen.
Also, if anyone is thinking that they can go out and buy food and eat out, think again; the pain is really quite intense after the first 3 days, and that is because your leg muscles are beginning to realize that something major has happened, and they will try to fix what has happened; in our case, a supposedly large amount of calf muscle fibers has been removed, leaving an empty cavity in its place, and the remaining muscle fibers must fix the "wounded" area. This is where the stretching becomes essential, and naturally much more painful than before. During the first 3 days, the body is in shock and almost oblivious to what has happened, but after that, the muscle fibers in the calves begin to get very, very tight because they are trying to reattach themselves to the rest of the body.
Stretching is very painful in the morning due to extended contraction overnight, but if you are consistent with the 5 minutes of stretching every 30 minutes, then you will be fine as the day progresses. But then this process is repeated the following morning - extreme pain in the morning.
Do wear wedge heels to the clinic on the day of the surgery so that you can walk out of the clinic the following day in them; you'll want no other shoes for the trip back to your temporary residence. But after that, you should probably want to wear flat shoes once walking becomes tolerable. For me, I immediately started wearing flat shoes so I could continue stretching as I walked, if I needed to. But I didn't really start walking, with the exception of the usual trip to the clinic for aspiration, until about 8 days after the operation. I'd go out and have lunch with my mom somewhere, and then get patbingsu later... You can't really walk for more than 30 minutes at a time, lest you desire to accumulate a greater amount of fluid in your calves.
But walking is recommended so that your calves can become accustomed to it again and to start to have a familiar shape to your walking style. This also gives Dr. Park a better image of how you are progressing.
14 days later, I am actually feeling quite well! I can walk pretty normally, and in flat shoes mind you. There is still quite a bit of bruising, and my hamstring muscles are feeling a bit sore now, and sometimes even the front of my knees as well.
Also, I actually severely sprained my ankle in March; it was bad news back then and I nearly thought I couldn't get this surgery, but I went ahead and did it anyway. As a result, my ankle became quite swollen after the operation, which made it more painful to stretch... But it's back to normal now lol.
If anyone has questions or concerns, I will try to answer them if you'd like.
To gsykes:
Thank you so so much for all the information on your progress! I'm happy that you are doing well!
Just a couple of questions:
1) How long do you think it would take for all the bruising to disappear?
2) I dance hip hop pretty intensely. Do you think I could resume this activity 5 weeks after the surgery?
3) Was your mother supportive of you doing the surgery right from the beginning? I am currently trying to convince my own mother to allow me to have this surgery done.
Her biggest concern is safety.
4) How does that empty space (where the muscle was removed) disappear?
Thank you in advance!
Thank you so so much for all the information on your progress! I'm happy that you are doing well!
Just a couple of questions:
1) How long do you think it would take for all the bruising to disappear?
2) I dance hip hop pretty intensely. Do you think I could resume this activity 5 weeks after the surgery?
3) Was your mother supportive of you doing the surgery right from the beginning? I am currently trying to convince my own mother to allow me to have this surgery done.
Her biggest concern is safety.4) How does that empty space (where the muscle was removed) disappear?
Thank you in advance!
Hi gsykes,
Thank you for updating us on your progress! As someone who's in a similar situation (my circumference is 40 cm and Dr. Park says ideally, it should be 35-36 cm), I'm glad to hear that your calves have gone down by so much already!
I was wondering how you are dealing with recovery in this hot weather. There seems to be a stigma in Korea regarding operating in the summer as it increases the likelihood of infections and scarring. On the other hand, I have plenty of Korean friends who've gotten procedures done over the summer with zero problems. Did Dr. Park mention anything about this or take special precautions? I imagine one difficult aspect would be wearing the stockings and keeping your legs covered up in the heat.
How bad is the bruising? Did you take anything like Sinecch or Bromelain to aid the recovery process? The pain sounds excruciating! I was originally hoping to combine calf reduction with another procedure during the recovery process but that doesn't sound likely now.
By the way, did Dr. Park recommend lipo for the knee / ankle area? My circumference is due to a combination of muscle and fat and I think I'll definitely need it.
Thanks again for your honest and informative update
Thank you for updating us on your progress! As someone who's in a similar situation (my circumference is 40 cm and Dr. Park says ideally, it should be 35-36 cm), I'm glad to hear that your calves have gone down by so much already!
I was wondering how you are dealing with recovery in this hot weather. There seems to be a stigma in Korea regarding operating in the summer as it increases the likelihood of infections and scarring. On the other hand, I have plenty of Korean friends who've gotten procedures done over the summer with zero problems. Did Dr. Park mention anything about this or take special precautions? I imagine one difficult aspect would be wearing the stockings and keeping your legs covered up in the heat.
How bad is the bruising? Did you take anything like Sinecch or Bromelain to aid the recovery process? The pain sounds excruciating! I was originally hoping to combine calf reduction with another procedure during the recovery process but that doesn't sound likely now.
By the way, did Dr. Park recommend lipo for the knee / ankle area? My circumference is due to a combination of muscle and fat and I think I'll definitely need it.
Thanks again for your honest and informative update
1) I'm not sure how long it will take for the bruising to disappear; I believe the initial amount of bruising is different according to how well each individual's body takes the "damage" done by the operation.To gsykes:
Thank you so so much for all the information on your progress! I'm happy that you are doing well!
Just a couple of questions:
1) How long do you think it would take for all the bruising to disappear?
2) I dance hip hop pretty intensely. Do you think I could resume this activity 5 weeks after the surgery?
3) Was your mother supportive of you doing the surgery right from the beginning? I am currently trying to convince my own mother to allow me to have this surgery done.
4) How does that empty space (where the muscle was removed) disappear?
Thank you in advance!
After 14 days, the bruising is going away pretty nicely, and it's mostly on my left leg, even though my right leg hurt more lol. I would imagine it'd be gone by next week, so I guess about 21 days at the most. I'll let you know how that works out, though.
2) As for being able to exercise again, Dr. Park recommends you wait until 6 weeks after the operation to resume your normal routine. It's difficult to walk as is, so I can't really imagine exercising so soon, but if your body heals quickly and your scar is holding out well, then I think you could start dancing at 5 weeks post-op. But make sure that you are not trying to overwork your body, and if you feel pain, do sit out.
3) At first, my mom was like..., "What??" I've had eating disorders due to the stress I get from my legs. I used to run 7 miles a night for almost a year at one point, and that led to an injured knee and hip which still aren't quite right. That's also the side that I sprained my ankle on; I guess my right leg is pretty weak. But secretly, my mom was actually planning a trip to Korea, and then in the middle of this past spring semester at college, she told me that if I really want to do it, I could, and that we'd leave during the summer. So in a way, she's always been supportive of me. She was mostly just worried for my health.
4) The empty space becomes closed over time by the removal of fluid via aspiration as well as through continued wrapping of the legs. I believe for the first 2 weeks, they want you to wrap your legs in ace bandage wraps, which are provided by the clinic, and they try to make it tight enough to where you feel that there is a lot of compression on your calves. Basically, the space is manually closed over time, and the continued wrapping and aspiration is also to reduce swelling in the legs.
Actually, my legs have only gone down by about a centimeter in each leg, but even with this little gone, I can already see a difference, and you've no idea how much of a difference such a small amount can make! I'm absolutely thrilled!! And I feel comfortable looking in the mirror now haha.Hi gsykes,
Thank you for updating us on your progress! As someone who's in a similar situation (my circumference is 40 cm and Dr. Park says ideally, it should be 35-36 cm), I'm glad to hear that your calves have gone down by so much already!
I was wondering how you are dealing with recovery in this hot weather. There seems to be a stigma in Korea regarding operating in the summer as it increases the likelihood of infections and scarring. On the other hand, I have plenty of Korean friends who've gotten procedures done over the summer with zero problems. Did Dr. Park mention anything about this or take special precautions? I imagine one difficult aspect would be wearing the stockings and keeping your legs covered up in the heat.
How bad is the bruising? Did you take anything like Sinecch or Bromelain to aid the recovery process? The pain sounds excruciating! I was originally hoping to combine calf reduction with another procedure during the recovery process but that doesn't sound likely now.
By the way, did Dr. Park recommend lipo for the knee / ankle area? My circumference is due to a combination of muscle and fat and I think I'll definitely need it.
Thanks again for your honest and informative update
I just stay inside all day and stretch and rest/elevate my legs. I rest for 20 minutes, then get up and stretch/walk around the room for about 10 minutes, then rest for 20 minutes, etc... And I repeat this all day until around the 8th or 9th day, and then I start taking about 30 minute walks outside and stopping by restaurants with my mom for lunch or snacks, but then I come back "home" and continue resting and stretching. It's not that hot right now to be honest, but I'm from Texas so I can't really promise much; it's always hot there lol. So it's nice to be inside with A/C and all.
Whenever I do go out, I wear long dresses so that my legs are covered up pretty nicely. Long dresses are nice to wear anyway, with the breeze and all~ I feel like I'm not wearing anything at all lol.
I did take Sinnech because that's what Dr. Park says you do need; it supposedly aids in the reduction of pain, swelling, and bruising. So do purchase that before you even leave the States or wherever you're from, because it is more expensive to buy in Korea. You will need it.
I'm sure you can combine it with another operation. Depending on what other type you'd like to get, I'd imagine that the calf surgery will be the worst of the two lol. But at 14 days now, I look back and am glad it's over. The pain is tolerable.
For me, my circumference was due largely to muscle; I didn't have much fat at all, so he didn't recommend liposuction as well. He says a layer of fat is nice, because if you have no fat, then your legs will look too muscular.