chloeleah Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Hi Miss Jess, Congratulations on your beautiful legs! I'm due to have my surgery at OZ next Monday, and I feel alot more reassured after reading all the positive results here. Just wondering, was there anything helpful that you did to aid your healing? You seem to have recovered spectacularly within a short period of time. Did you watch your diet post-surgery etc.? Will be helpful to know the dos and don'ts post-surgery. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gymbo Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Wow, it's been over 6 months since I visited this forum and it brings back so many special memories! You guys were such a great support network to me when I was in Korea, and I admire that so many of you that were having the operation during the same time as me (and before) are still writing and giving support to others. I went back to work shortly after my procedure (i had been on maternity leave) and time just seemed to fly by with being a working mother and recovering with a calf procedure! Anyway no excuses, but really, so wonderful that there are familiar names still on the forum. Good on you all! Marshmallow, I am in EXACTLY the same situation as you at the moment and it is so upsetting and depressing. Like you, i want "shapeless" legs/calves, and i got them immediately after surgery. They also look quite straight immediately after i have taken off my stockings. (i have started wearing stockings again because i am desperate to do anything to keep my calves small). But then, during the day my legs becoming bulky and muscly again. I just don't understand it. This started to happen from about 6 months. I am now 9 months post-op, and whilst my legs are better than before, i can't say i am liking the shape of my calves at all as they are very prominent again. There is no bulk at the back, but only at the side. I have no idea why this is happening. I am desperate to start swimming again (post baby bump) but am scared this is going to worsen the shape. I was in a dream world up to to 6 months post up. i had beautiful legs and wore short dresses and heels all the time. Now i am beginning to feel conscious again. Ashmi, i hear what you are saying about not obsessing, and i haven't measured my circumference since op. But like Marshmallow, to have spent so much time and money to have this done, and then for it to look like the procedure is reversing itself, is so upsetting. Obviously i have contacted Dr Park, but I am just praying that this is a "phase" and that my calves will then look like they did post op. But like Marshmallow, when I feel my calves, they don't feel like swelling, but hard bulky muscle. By the way though, to all those who are still considering having it done, i still have no regrets. So please don't let me put you off. Dr park, Amy and michael are great. Maybe it is just a unique problem with me, but i would love to hear from others who may have gone through something similar and come out the other side with beautiful legs again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gymbo Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Hi Bluesy, Hope you're still doing well. Has running affected the size of your calves? I'm talking long term post-op. I swam for the first time in 2 years last week(!) - pregnancy, then baby, then surgery, but I kept checking my calves afterwards to see whether they had got bigger after the swim. Ashmi, I'm curious when you say your calves changed shape over the first year post-op. Did they ever get big again and then reduce again ? Thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gymbo Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Alana Rose, CONGRATS! I'm so pleased to see that you found the time to have the procedure. Good on you! How was it and how are you feeling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashmi99 Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 No, my calves never got big again. However, they are not as slim as they were when I was wearing the stockings and then would take the stockings off. The stockings compress them so much that it makes them appear thinner than they really are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missjesss Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 ChloeLeah As soon as I woke up in the bed after my operation was done I was putting my leg up straight and stretching my calf out by pulling my foot down straight...I also bulked up on the arnica and was taking it every 2 hours or so that definitely helped! I also attempted to get up and walk around every moment that I could and I just done alot of stretching!! pain or no pain lol just push urself good luck with your surgery Dr Park will look after you and Amy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missjesss Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 gymbo It has almost been 2 months for me and I HOPE mine don't get any bigger at 6 months! of course I do know when you take your compression stockings off they will be more shapely...I am still hoping my right calf will catch up to my left my left is slightly smaller but then again it always was even before my surgery ...I know what you mean about that side bulge but as ashmi99 says you must try not to obsess over it that's how the trouble begins again !! Dr Park says to make sure you wear the stockings for 3 months is this because they help to aid the final shape?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie88 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Hey GIRLS! I am not a regular writer on this forum, but i have been reading for a LONG time now! and am proud of all the brave people that have gone through with the surgery. I always wanted to find a doctor in Europe, closer to home, who could perform this surgery, and i think i have finally found someone! Doctors name- Gennaro Selvaggi Specializes in sex change surgery (therefore breast implants, calf implants and anything else that would come under this category) Due to the nature of his work, (MEN WANTING smaller calves) he travelled to Taiwan to study calf reduction. He returned to Europe and now offers calf reduction via- 1) BOTOX 2) CUTTING OF NERVE 3) Liposuction if the calves have allot of fat (which is not the case for many of us!) So i thought i would schedule a consultation with him, to discuss. I have never had a surgeon who carries out this surgery examine my calves so i was SUPER excited. The consultation fee is 100 POUNDS. At first i thought this was quite allot, however this is the best 100pounds i have spent in my life! Dr. gennaro is Italian by ethnicity, and is the most understanding person i have met. Genuine, and not misleading! He was not in a hurry, and did not make me feel like i was rushed. He did not go straight to the point, but began by talking to me about himself, and what he has been doing. In fact he did not even mention my calves until allot later! We then moved on to the calves, and he showed me many pictures, articles.. he even showed me photographs of the calf muscle, literally hanging out of the leg! which was then completely cut out! (THAT WHAT I WANT!!) We discussed all the method that are available in korea, and what he can do. we ended up speaking about other surgery and anything else i was interested in to! CONCLUSION(most of you already know this) Cutting of nerve procedure is completely unpredictable, and BOTOX will not give that much reduction, however is a good temporary solution and may work long term if continuously injected. MY GOAL- Ultimately i will have the partial resection done. However have just been putting if of for so long as i would prefer a doctor closer to home, who i can go back to if i have a problem. He said i can try botox, but he was not pushing me to do this, and again said that the result if unpredictable. MY CALVE SIZE- Right- i think it as 34.5cm left was larger 35cm (whenever i measure them i measured them allot smaller! and always thought they must be bigger!) I then spoke to him about whether he will ever offer partial resection surgery. He said that if there was enough interest then he would do this 100% as for gender change surgery, his patients are already asking about this. His company would also fund him to learn this, as they know it would generate allot of interest as he would be the only person in Europe doing the surgery. Also he knows that this is an easy procedure to learn. He did also mention that if he does go ahead with learning the new procedure it will be at the end of this year, and would not perform this until he is 200% confident not only in his ability but also in the procedure itself. he said he will never remove the WHOLE muscle. (he said it is an extremely easy surgery! he has so much experience!) I assured him that there would be allot of interest, as i myself know SO MANY girls who want this surgery but do not want to travel all the way to korea to have this done. Overall we came to a decision that i will try botox, to see how it goes, it may be a waste of money but i really want something temporary. And then hopefully in 6-8 months from now, he may be able to perform surgery. this would have to be done in Sweden due to rules and regulations. I was really relieved after meeting with doctor gennaro and highly recommend him. he has so much experience in this field, and will make u feel at ease. Contact details- Gennaro Selvaggi, MD, PhD email- [email protected] Website being updated- http://www.drselvaggi.com/ I am sorry if i have bored you all! with this long message but thought a few of you may be interested in this. Also the more interest we can get, the sooner this procedure can be performed in Europe. i would be greatful if you could all leave feedback, on what you think, and also if this is something that would interest you. thank you xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie88 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Hey GIRLS! I am not a regular writer on this forum, but i have been reading for a LONG time now! and am proud of all the brave people that have gone through with the surgery. I always wanted to find a doctor in Europe, closer to home, who could perform this surgery, and i think i have finally found someone! Doctors name- Gennaro Selvaggi Specializes in sex change surgery (therefore breast implants, calf implants and anything else that would come under this category) Due to the nature of his work, (MEN WANTING smaller calves) he travelled to Taiwan to study calf reduction. He returned to Europe and now offers calf reduction via- 1) BOTOX 2) CUTTING OF NERVE 3) Liposuction if the calves have allot of fat (which is not the case for many of us!) So i thought i would schedule a consultation with him, to discuss. I have never had a surgeon who carries out this surgery examine my calves so i was SUPER excited. The consultation fee is 100 POUNDS. At first i thought this was quite allot, however this is the best 100pounds i have spent in my life! Dr. gennaro is Italian by ethnicity, and is the most understanding person i have met. Genuine, and not misleading! He was not in a hurry, and did not make me feel like i was rushed. He did not go straight to the point, but began by talking to me about himself, and what he has been doing. In fact he did not even mention my calves until allot later! We then moved on to the calves, and he showed me many pictures, articles.. he even showed me photographs of the calf muscle, literally hanging out of the leg! which was then completely cut out! (THAT WHAT I WANT!!) We discussed all the method that are available in korea, and what he can do. we ended up speaking about other surgery and anything else i was interested in to! CONCLUSION(most of you already know this) Cutting of nerve procedure is completely unpredictable, and BOTOX will not give that much reduction, however is a good temporary solution and may work long term if continuously injected. MY GOAL- Ultimately i will have the partial resection done. However have just been putting if of for so long as i would prefer a doctor closer to home, who i can go back to if i have a problem. He said i can try botox, but he was not pushing me to do this, and again said that the result if unpredictable. MY CALVE SIZE- Right- i think it as 34.5cm left was larger 35cm (whenever i measure them i measured them allot smaller! and always thought they must be bigger!) I then spoke to him about whether he will ever offer partial resection surgery. He said that if there was enough interest then he would do this 100% as for gender change surgery, his patients are already asking about this. His company would also fund him to learn this, as they know it would generate allot of interest as he would be the only person in Europe doing the surgery. Also he knows that this is an easy procedure to learn. He did also mention that if he does go ahead with learning the new procedure it will be at the end of this year, and would not perform this until he is 200% confident not only in his ability but also in the procedure itself. he said he will never remove the WHOLE muscle. (he said it is an extremely easy surgery! he has so much experience!) I assured him that there would be allot of interest, as i myself know SO MANY girls who want this surgery but do not want to travel all the way to korea to have this done. Overall we came to a decision that i will try botox, to see how it goes, it may be a waste of money but i really want something temporary. And then hopefully in 6-8 months from now, he may be able to perform surgery. this would have to be done in Sweden due to rules and regulations. I was really relieved after meeting with doctor gennaro and highly recommend him. he has so much experience in this field, and will make u feel at ease. Contact details- Gennaro Selvaggi, MD, PhD email- [email protected] Website being updated- http://www.drselvaggi.com/ I am sorry if i have bored you all! with this long message but thought a few of you may be interested in this. Also the more interest we can get, the sooner this procedure can be performed in Europe. i would be greatful if you could all leave feedback, on what you think, and also if this is something that would interest you. thank you xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gymbo Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 It's agonising isn't it! I'm sure I am like many people on this forum and who have had the surgery - I'm not vain, I don't wear make-up, I don't buy designer clothes.. BUT I do have a fixation about my calves, particularly when I've spent a fortune trying to make them better! I don't even want perfection, just normal looking calves! Please don't worry too much, it sounds like my experience is not the norm. Unlucky me, but I am sure if you are diligent about wearing your stockings you will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gymbo Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Fascinating. How did you find him? The only thing I thought about when I lay on the operating table was THANK GOD DR PARK HAS DONE THIS BEFORE! I was more scared than I thought I would be. I'm not sure I would have the courage to be a guinea pig for somebody. But then again, I suppose all good doctors start out somewhere. Good luck to him! Perhaps I will go to see him in ten years time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloeleah Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Thanks MissJess! You've been so generous in sharing your experience through your various posts, you're really awesome!! Okay, I will bear your advice in mind -- especially the stretching! Will keep you girls posted on my recovery process. I have a pretty high pain threshold, so I'm not too concerned about the post-surgery pain, but I do wonder whether there will be significant reduction in my calves. I am 158cm tall, 46 kilograms. My calves are about 35cm From the various photos, I noticed that hypertrophy of muscle seems to be the reason for the thick calves.....although my calf muscles are not big, my calves are super chunky. I'm not overweight, so it might not be fat either. I wonder how much muscle removal will make a difference. Oh well, I guess I'll find out when I see Dr Park next Monday. Maybe a combo of muscle removal + liposuction will work better. I'll try to post my pre-surgery & post-surgery pictures so girls in the same situation (i.e. thick calves but not due to huge muscles) can use it for reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloeleah Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Gymbo I understand your anxiety perfectly, you've gone through alot to get new calves, it's natural to expect better-looking calves. Don't be too quick to conclude that you're unlucky.....the results are not permanent until the 12 month mark. You might still get the calves that you want! Perhaps keep up with the stretches + lay off the exercise for a while (or just do those that don't use the calf muscles vigorously). Does Dr Park have any advice for your situation? Best wishes!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie88 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Hey girls! Yes i agree i would prefer someone more experienced. However on consultation with this doctor you would understand what i mean. It is hard to explain, but once someone is a surgeon, and has practiced for many years, this is not a difficult procedure for them. hE DOES way more complicated procedures! and he has already trained in taiwan with a calf reduction doctor before.. but i mean this is not going to happen for atleast a year! i am not sure if i can wait that long. has anyone had any experience with DR JONG from -http://www.lrclinic.com.tw/contentbypermalink/c86073d8f3c8fb57482571da003467f5 i have contacted him, he seems to have allot of experience, he quoted me 2570 pounds $4200... which is similar to other calf reduction doctors.. and his website and articles are impressive. let me know if anyone has feedback! until then.. xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersnaps99 Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Hi girls, I'm at 5 months post-op and I'm still sleeping with the bandages on and legs elevated. My calves look fantastic when I first take the bandages off but like some other people have commented here, the calf does get bigger again over the course of a few hours. Having said that, I feel like that is partly due to there still being some empty space and fluid where the muscle was taken out. I tested it one night by having my legs elevated but without the bandages and in the morning, my calves were almost at perfect size again (although obviously not as straight as when you wear the bandages) so there must still be some fluid in there. If I've walked alot on a particular day, then the tendon will be swollen. I think the leg just takes a long time to heal and recover from such a major operation. Gymbo, have you written to Dr Park to ask for his opinion? I'd be very interested to know what he has to say about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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