Calf reduction surgery in Korea

[Charlotte]

Hi O'Neill and rossopiccolina

sorry, I haven't responded. I haven't been to the forum that regularly.

O'Neill, I don't know what happened to the other thread you started - so I started a new one with the correct spelling.

 

In answer to your questions -:

 

a) Where in Korea did you have the surgery done?

Yes it was ozclinic with Dr Park at the Kangnam centre. http://drpark.co.kr/eng/index.htm

He is really nice and very patient. He helped me alot when I was over there - especially with finding cheap accomodation. The staff are also very sweet and hospitable. Not all speak english well but Dr Park's english is excellent.

 

(b) Did they sincerely warn you on any repercussions in the future? See below.Apparently no long term side effects, you can return to normal exercises. But personally, I would not recommend this for serious athletes. I use to run quite hard beforehand at the gym but I've given that up as I find my legs hurt after a while.

 

© Is the surgery really risky? See below. It is a complex operation so not one to be performed by the inexperienced. Dr Park is one of the most experience in the world, over 300 operations.

 

(d) Am I asian ? Yes

 

I communicated frequently with Dr Park before I went.

Some of the questions and answers I got back are below.

 

1. What is the most common problem and what percentage of patients are affected?

The possible complications are asymmetry, irregularity, seroma collection, sural nerve injury.

But the possibity of the complications are low and the complications are usually selfcured.

Slight asymmetry, slight irregularity, slight seroma collection need no secondary intervention.

 

2. What percentage of operations would require further surgery to correct problems?

About 1% of the patient require secondary operation. The secondary operation is done under local anesthesia.

 

3 Is there any risk of permanent nerve or muscle damage?

After removing the part of the gastrocnemius muscles, they cannot be recovered.

And the partial nerve damage are usual process of this operation.

It does not interfere in walking.

 

4. How many centimeters can you lose in the calf diameter?

It is dependent on the patient condition how much the circumference of the calf would be reduced.

(the amount of the muscle bulk, aftercare, etc.) Usually 1-2 inches are reduced.

 

5. What happens to the loose skin after the muscle is removed? Does it shrink back well?

Yes. The skin would be shrunken back because the skin have enough elasticity.

 

6. How long does it take for swelling to go down?

The swelling of the leg usually persist for 3 months.

During this period, you should wear compression garment for 24 hours a day.

 

7. If I make the trip to Korea, how long should I stay?

It is recommended that the patient should stay in Korea for about 2 weeks.

 

8. Can I expect asymmetry?

Of course, there may be slight asymmetry, becauese, the surgery is not a perfect procedure.

But, the resulting asymmetry are very small amount. Most of them are under 0.5cm difference in circumference.

 

Like liposuction, calf muscle resection can produce slight irregularity.

The two procedures are being done not under direct vision but under tactile sensation.

So, the two procedures can produce slight irregularity.

But the extent of the irregularity is so small that you don't have to worry about that.

 

9. Will the skin be smooth or can I expect some unevenness, discolouration , dimpling or wrinkling of skin?

There may be irregularity, but no discoloration or wrinkling. All liposuction procedures can produce slight irregularity.

 

10. How much bruising is there and how long before it disappears?

The bruising may persist for 3-4 weeks.

 

11. Will I be able to return back to regular exercise like walking, dancing, aerobics? When can I resume these exercises?

After 4 week of operation, you can begin exercise like jogging and aerobics. More vigorous activity are permitted 6 weeks after operation.

 

12. How long have you been performing the calf muscle resection operation?

In my case, I've been doing this procedure since 1998 over 300 cases.

 

13. Have you monitored the progress of patients when you first started performing this operation? If so, have they shown any problems or restriction in activities? In other words, is there any long term side affects from the calf muscle resection?

There has been no long term side effects in walking.

 

14. Do you consider this operation easy/standard or difficult/complicated ?

This operation is not an easy procedure. The operation requires many experiences and extreme skill.

I have the highest specialty in calf reduction in the world.

 

15. Does the calf muscle resection involve removing the entire medial gastrocnemius or only part of it?

During the surgery, about 70-80% of the muscle mass are removed.

The remained portion are good to maintain normal curvature of the calf.

And technically, it is difficult to remove totally.

During evolution of this procedure, we removed 50-90% of the muscles. So, we concluded that it is best to remove 70-80% of the muscle mass.

 

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If you are deciding on this operation, please beware it is not perfect!!!

It is a bit like liposuction so asymmetry is probably more common than is advertised.

I am about 12 weeks post and I notice there is slight uneveness in the skin and it is a bit discoloured .

This may resolve in time but it is not of great concern to me as I knew it would not be a perfect operation.

On the plus side, I have lost over 3 cm in size so I am happy with that. My calves don't stick out like they they did before.

 

O'Neill, if you are going over, please note you will have to arrange to get blood tests done beforehand.

When you email Dr Park, he can let you know what tests are needed.

 

As for accomodation, I stayed one night at the Riverside Hotel .

The staff there speak English but it was bit pricey.

Next day, I had consultation in morning with Dr Park, that afternoon was the operation.

I stayed one night at the hospital. Next night, Dr Park took me to a nearby Hotel - Green tourist Motel.

Much cheaper (1/2 the price) and room was bigger. But staff there don't speak english.

I took a tourist book which had Korean and English words - this was very valuable in helping me

communicate with them. If you stay at the expensive hotels, the staff can speak a bit of English so its up to you.

 

Feel free to ask me any more questions and i will try to visit the forum more regularly.

[O'Neill]

Hi

Charlotte thankyou so much for the reply i was really hoping that i would get to speak to you. As i have said i dont know anyone else that has had this procedure so i really appreciate the advice.

 

I have been talking to Dr Park also at the OZCLINIC so its great that you have had this with the same Dr.

 

You mentioned that you noticed there is slight uneveness in the skin and it is a bit discoloured. Do you think this is bruising? If not what did you mean by uneveness did you mean kind of lumpy? Are you happy with the results? Do you feel better in skirts? How long ago did you have this done, could it be that you are still healing?

 

Also how did you feel after the op? I read on your other post that you could walk after 7hours a little and it took 4 days to be able to get around, could you fly home ok?

 

 

You also mentioned that you dont run as much as you used to do you think that this will get better in time? Dr Park told me that everything goes back to normal after 6 months?

 

Would it be possible to email you? I am not sure how to direct message through this forum? I know that i will have another question once i get booked in?

 

Once again thanks

 

x

[Charlotte]

Hi O'Neil,

The discoluration could be internal bruising - I am not sure.

Its like I have an uneven tan so the colouring is more brownish than purple.

The uneveness is only slight indentations in the skin - bit like mild cellulite.

However, its only visible close up under certain lighting conditions.

Its possible this will resolve in time. I am only 12 weeks post so there is still internal

healing going on. Also, it may have helped if I had regular massages to improve the circulation and help smooth the muscle.

 

Overall, I am happy with the results. It is a definite improvement to what I had before and I do look better in skirts.

 

After the op, I was in alot of pain. Yeah, it hurts like hell for the first few days - especially

first thing in the morning and when you force yourself to do the exercises or walk in flat shoes.

But the more you move around , the easier it gets. I stayed 2 weeks and was fine flying home after that time.

I recommend you stay at least 2 weeks just in case there are any complications.

Also, at the 2 week mark, Dr Park aspirated fluid/blood from the legs and they felt so much better afterwards.

I am not sure if the aspiration can be performed any earlier.

 

Its possible I may run OK after 6 months.

I did an intensive aerobics class last week and my legs were aching for the next 5 days.

In any case, I am not disappointed if I do have to give up running and aerobics as

I find both these exercises build up the lower leg muscles too much.

Yes its still possible to bulk up the legs as your other muscles take over.

I found the muscles on the outer part of my legs got slightly bigger (or maybe its more noticeable now because the inner muscles are smaller?). So I am doing low impact exercises instead - I have been cycling, rollerblading and dancing without any problems.

 

Yes, feel free to email me at

[email protected]

 

Its amazing how common this operation is in Korea. While I was there for my 2 weeks - I spoke to 2 other girls considering the operation and Dr Park performed at least 2 other calf reduction ops.