Liposuction of Calves and Ankles

Sorry for the delay in updates - life has been moving fast. It's hard for me to believe that it will be exactly 8 months since surgery tomorrow. While the recovery itself was slow and painful at times, it was 100% worth it, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I can wear skinny jeans. I can wear boots. I wore shorts this summer without shame (!!!). I actually look forward to buying dresses - and they aren't full-length maxi dresses anymore! I didn't think this could be my reality, but now it is. Do I have Heidi Klum legs? No, and I never will. But I don't have legs that are repulsive anymore, either! My goal was always to have legs that people wouldn't give a second thought or glance, and I think I have that. It's good enough for me.

It took a long time for my legs to feel "normal" again. The tingly sensation and looseness/feeling of disconnection did eventually go away, though I couldn't say exactly when. And to this day, I continue to wear my compression garments overnight and when I'm lounging at home during the day. While I no longer feel like I need the additional support, I do think they help keep the swelling to a minimum. I continue to experience swelling after a long day on my feet sans compression, but I was always prone to swelling so I don't entirely attribute it to surgery. I didn't do anything in terms of scar prevention at the sites where the cannula was inserted, but the marks are really small and hardly noticeable. Thankfully I did not experience any contour irregularities. The area between calf and ankle on one leg looked a little lumpy early on as the worst of the swelling started to subside, but luckily everything smoothed out as healing continued. One weird side effect I've noticed is I think I bruise more easily than I used to.

All that said, I do have some residual puffiness in my ankles and I will be returning to my (excellent) surgeon in just under a month to have this addressed. There are no guarantees that this will correct the issue - it's possible the puff isn't fat and rather caused by something else entirely. This would be disappointing, but I'm willing to give it a shot just in case we can get a little improvement. Again, to stress, I did not go into this expecting perfection. It's impossible in any liposuction case, and calves and ankles are especially tricky! But I wouldn't mind having visible Achilles tendons if at all possible. :) So we're gonna try one more time. I'm told the recovery will be much less rough this time around, as we're talking about fat removal in terms of tablespoons versus liters. Hopefully by summer the bruising and swelling will be long gone and I will be able to debut my final legs!

In summary, if you're on the fence, go for it. This really is a life-changing procedure for anyone with the dreaded cankles.

Today marks one week post Smart Lipo of my calves and ankles. I wish I could say the recovery has been a breeze, but it's been a little rough. Still, I'm 100% glad I did this, and right now I'm just willing time to move faster so I can see my final results, which I know are still many months down the road.
As a recap, my surgery was on Thursday, the 30th, and I stayed in Houston for two nights post. I had a follow up with my surgeon the next morning, and he confirmed everything was looking good and also said he was confident my results would be excellent. He said he was able to do a lot of work around my ankles and that I could expect to see my Achilles' tendons once the swelling subsides. This was so exciting to hear, and I really hope it's true - results like that would be even better than I dared dream of. I don't recall EVER seeing my Achilles' tendons post-puberty.
So I'm trying to hold on to the positives right now, because otherwise I'm feeling pretty miserable. My pain has actually gotten worse as time goes on, today being the worst day so far. I've read other reviews that liken the pain to the aftermath of a really hard workout, but this has not been my experience. It doesn't feel like sore muscles: it feels like stinging and burning. It's the very worst when I first get up in the morning, probably because I'm stiff and the pain med is out of my system. I've been sleeping with my feet elevated on two couch cushions, which I do think is improving the swelling, but is probably not doing much for my pain. There is no way to lay my legs that is completely without pain. Perching my feet at the edge of the cushion so that no part of my leg is touching is perhaps the least painful option, but also the least comfortable for sleeping. Turning my knees out so my outer legs rest on the cushion is only moderately painful, but pretty rough on the hips. Basically, it all hurts.
Today appears to be the first day that my drainage has completely stopped. The front incisions on each leg continued to drain for days, which was a little alarming. I did connect with my surgeon about this earlier in the week, and based on the color of the drainage (gold-tinged), he said it was lymph fluid. This would indicate there was some damage to the lymph vessels, which is apparently not uncommon when lipo is performed in this area, but based on the amount of drainage it is minor and the vessels will repair themselves with time. It does seem to have finally stopped today, which I'm excited about because that means the incisions can finally heal. The back incisions have been dry for probably 3 days now and seem to be healing well.
I returned to work on Monday, which was tricky. I am religiously wearing my compression garments, but I'm still swollen (as is to be expected), so finding clothes that disguise my current condition has been tough. Also, while I can walk normally, it does hurt, but I am trying to not let on that I'm in pain because I'm not telling anyone there what I did. I've been propping my feet up on a trash can under my desk, but by the time I get home, the swelling is pretty intense. Today, I felt like I was going to vomit while I was in the shower and the pain was excruciating, so I ended up working from home because I couldn't fathom going in to the office. If you have the option to take a week or more off work post-surgery, I'd recommend it.
The bruising has been pretty gross looking, but oddly the pain I feel doesn't really seem tied to the bruises I see. I've been taking arnica tablets and using topical arnica gel, and while it's impossible to know for sure, I do think it has helped lessen the severity of the bruising. Most of my calf bruising is already turning yellow and I'm hopeful it will all be gone within two or three weeks.
So all in all, while the recovery has not been as easy as I'd hoped, overall it is still manageable. Looking at my legs, despite the pain, swelling, and bruising, I can still see that they have a taper to them that they never had before. My measurements are down 0.5-1" in all areas from my pre-surgery measurements (and I'm really swollen). The area between my calf and ankle, which was always super bulky, is currently the circumference of my "before" ankle. So I am sure that the final results will be worth the discomfort I'm currently experiencing - I just wish they would come faster!

Today was surgery day, and it could not have gone more smoothly. I'll try to be as detailed as possible about my experience to give you all a good idea of what to expect. Overall, I am SO thrilled with my preliminary results, and I'm so glad that I went through with this despite my nervousness.

I arrived at the office early this morning. Upon arrival, they checked my vitals and took a urine sample, then I met briefly with my surgeon so he could take photos and make the incision marks on my legs. I was given an ativan and a demerol to get me calm for surgery. Then I changed into disposable underwear, booties, and hat, and donned a gown for my walk to the surgical room.

Before getting into the bed, I was wiped shoulders to toe with betadine. I wasn't expecting this step and want to mention it for anyone considering this procedure because it did get on my clothes when I got dressed afterward, so consider this when you pick out your surgery day outfit.

Once I was thoroughly orange :) it was time to get on the bed. He began by numbing the back of my legs while I laid on my stomach, then had me turn over so they could do the front. The numbing process was definitely the most uncomfortable/semi-painful part of the entire procedure. It started with a few shots that felt like the type you get at the dentist when you have a filling. After that, he made the incisions (only two on each leg!) and began inserting the lidocaine solution into my legs. It was a really strange sensation, and they felt really tight before they went numb - like the skin was about to split. But once the numbness set in, they just felt a little tingly.

Once the numbing process was complete, I had a twenty minute break to allow it to take full effect, during which I dozed off briefly. When the time was up, the suctioning part of the procedure began. I couldn't see what was happening, but because I had SmartLipo, there was a laser component to this, though I'm not exactly sure what was done with the laser or how it worked. He then began suctioning the fat and solution out of my legs. I was surprised by how quiet it was - I expected it to be really loud and "slurpy" sounding, but I'm glad it wasn't. This was mostly a painless process, except when he was working near my ankles or knees, which were much more sensitive than the area in between. The worst pain felt like pinching with fingernails or, oddly, sometimes like scratching. I had to grit my teeth a few times, but it was much less uncomfortable than I went in expecting it to be.

Once the procedure was over, I was able to sit up and take a look before I was bandaged up. Bloody solution poured out of the incisions on the back of my legs, which was pretty wild. But I didn't even care because I could already see results - I have legitimate ankles!! I was so happy I might have teared up a bit.

Five minutes later, I was leaving the office and heading back to my hotel. I had a light lunch and then returned to my room, where I was surprised to find that my bandages had completely soaked through, so I changed them and my compression stockings. That is no easy task, but not as horrible as I had expected. I've had to change my dressings a couple times over the course of the day as my incisions continue to drain. My pain level was almost nothing until about six hours post-surgery, when it started ratcheting up, so I decided to take a pain pill. But it really does not hurt as bad as I expected it to. It gets a bit stingy when I walk, but it's negligible while laying down.

I'm including a few photos from today. There is, of course, substantial swelling, but even with that you can see that I finally have a taper to my legs and a legitimate ankle. I can't wait to see how they look as time goes by.