Fat Transfer to Calves - Chicago, IL

I did look into calf implants. I chose not to go with implants for several reasons: it was significantly more expensive, recovery is significantly longer and more painful, risk of complications (rejection, dislocation), and scarring (I don't need everyone knowing I had calf enhancement. It's been a week since I had the procedure and my calves look great. I'm still dealing with the cellulitis in my left leg but I'm on antibiotics and it's slowly resolving. Other than that, my other leg and the areas I had fat transferred from just feel a little sore. If it weren't for my left leg, I'd say recovery was a BREEZE! I had people at my house on Easter Sunday and had the procedure the Thursday prior. No one even knew I had anything done. Of course, I had pants on because of the bruising, but what I love is that my legs don't look like someone else's. They look like my legs, but fuller. I don't know how much was injected into each calf but I'll ask at my 1 month followup. He only injected into the medial aspect because that's where I needed help. Doctor did take before pics and he will take after pics at my next appointment, so I'll post them then.

I can see a small scab where he injected in each leg. On each leg, it is in the crease behind my knee, but right in the corner towards my inner knee. It's tiny and I HIGHLY doubt it'll be noticeable once it's healed. I didn't have any fat to the ankles. If you are unsure, get different opinions. I found the surgeons that I went to that did not specialize in fat grafting were definitely more leaning toward an implant. However, if you find a doctor that specializes in body sculpting and fat grafting, I would go that option. Reabsorption of fat is always a risk, but for me I was more willing to take that risk than rejection, dislocation, and scarring. My doctor said I should keep about 60-70 percent of the fat he injected so he overcompensated for that and injected more.

I had my procedure done on the morning of April 17. Dr Stein and all of his staff are so pleasant and made any anxiety I felt go away. I felt great immediately after surgery. Just a little groggy. By the next morning I didn't even need the Norco anymore, just ibuprofen. I would describe my experience as discomfort not so much pain. However, by the 3rd day, I did take the Norco again when I felt I needed it because I started to experience significant pain and swelling in my left leg. I thought I developed a clot in my leg. I had Dr Stein paged on Easter night and he called me back quickly. Dr Stein felt it was cellulitis (an infection). I will be seeing him for my 1 week follow up tomorrow. Infection and complications are a risk with any surgery so I hope I can update in the next week or so saying my complication cleared up. As far as aesthetics, I love the way my legs look. They still look like my legs but fuller and more defined. He did a great job. I can't wait until the swelling goes down so that I can see the final result.