Bilateral thigh lift 4 months ago & still have Left leg swelling........very worried!!!!

Anyone experience prolonged swelling in one leg after a thigh lift?  My left was always more swollen than my right .  Immediately after surgery my L leg incision opened up near the inner knee.   After healing completely  I returned to work at 8 weeks post-op with swelling still in my Left calf.  I was hoping that working & walking would help get rid of it.   However after working 3 weeks  (at 12 weeks post-op)  I developed an abscess in the same location on my Left leg.  The abscess had to be opened up leaving me with a deep wound  that took about 3 & 1/2  weeks to heal.  The swelling remained in my Left calf, however it was not nearly as bad when I was not working.   I  returned to work  for a second time this past week  at almost 4 months post-op, and again my Left leg became very swollen with use & standing for several hours as a nurse.  The swelling was so bad that my scrub pants where to tight in the calf, when the other leg is baggy.  My shin area began to burn & feel irritated, so I called my surgeon & he put me out of work for a 3rd time!!!  I have been checked for a blood clot 3 times & was negative all 3.  I am very worried that this swelling is going to be a permanent!!  I am suppose to see a vascular specialist on Tuesday & I asked for a CT scan which will be done on Thursday.  Has anyone else had this problem??  Any advice?

Secondary lymphedema from the surgery?
A CT or MRI might diagnose it...
I am not a nurse or doctor.
A friend had LBL and developed lymphedema after infection and seromas.
A real drag to deal with necessitating compression stockings.
I hope you figure out what is causing the swelling.
Mikimi in Israel

Thank you for the input.  Did your  friend ever get rid of it or is it still a problem?  If it did not go away, how long ago was your friend's surgery?

Her surgery was August 2010 and she had three weeks antibiotics iv in hospital and then some time after were the seromas that were aspirated every other day.
I think she still has the problem but wearing the compression stockings is a real b*tch so she only wears at night I think.
You are checking every thingbout with your GP and surgeon so hopefully they'll figure it out soon.
Mikimi

Sounds like lymphedema. You will likely need to get a nuclear medicine study call lymphoscintigraphy to determine if your normal lymphatic channels are patent or are damaged from surgery or your post surgical infection. First line therapy for this is compression stockings which can be fitted or bought over the counter

I have dealt with that problem too.  My swelling is more in the thigh area.  I had a thigh lift - extended with Lipo over a year and a half ago.  It has lessened over time and if I am extremely careful with my salt intake - and my protein intake is adequate, it is less.  I am a nurse and after a 12 hour nightshift, it is pretty bad!  Prior to my thigh lift I had some dependent edema from being so Morbidly Obese for over 15 years.  We discussed the chance of it increasing with the surgery, so I was prepared.

My left leg swelled more than my right after surgery and for about 6 months. I don't think it was quite as bad as what you described but by the end of the day I could see that my left calf was more swollen than my right.  My right calf swelled a little as well by the end of a day but the left was worse.