Question:
Has anyone ever had lipo done to their lowers legs/calves?

Hello everyone! Has anyone ever undergone plastic surgery/liposuction/debulking on their lower legs if they have remained abnormally large following weight loss? I've gone from 475 to 226 and am approved for an incisional hernia repair (thrid time's the charm I hope) and (trumpets sound) an abdominoplasty/pannulectomy! I'm paying for a brachioplasty at the same operative time. So, my saggy, oddly bulging torso will finally, finally have a normal contour after a lifetime of being MO (no kidding, came into this world weighing 11 lbs., 180 in the 6th grade, grew exponentially since then). My concern at this point is my legs. Still oddly lumpy, with very vascular, discolored fat deposits right above the ankle and along the medial aspects. I mean, huge. They are almost as big around as my thighs at this point. My plastic surgeon said no way, he does no lipo from the knee down and my general/vascular surgeon (hernia repairman) keeps dodging the issue, wanting me to focus on one problem at a time. My mother had the same deformed legs with impaired circulation and she is now a bilateral amputee, so this is not a purely aesthetic concern. I go back to the vascular surgeon on Tuesday but it's to discuss the upcoming combined surgery with the plastics guy, so I'm sure I'll get brushed off again. I know I should focus on the blessings of the present but I can't help but worry about the function (my feet still swell, the spider weins are worse due to increased exercise) and the upcoming disparity between my body and my legs. Any else been there? Anything you might have to offer would be appreciated. Thanks so much! :-)    — Anna S. (posted on March 21, 2004)

March 21, 2004
I went to see my PS a couple of weeks ago. I'm having an inner thigh lift in May. I asked him about doing liposuction on my calves since they are HUGE and always have been. He looked at them and made me do a couple of standing exercises and then said I didn't need it!!! He said that there was very little fat on my calves and they were almost all muscle so liposuction wouldn't help. He said that I had carried so much weight around for so many years it must have strengthened my calves and made them muscular. Maybe yours aren't fat, maybe there muscle and that's why he won't do it.
   — Patty H.

March 22, 2004
Hi Anna - I had lipo done on my calves just before Christmas. I was also supposed to have lipo done on my massive thighs at the same time, but it didn't work. The stuff in my thighs was mainly impacted scar tissue from years of walking around morbidly obese and it wouldn't break up and come out. On the tenth of March I had a surgery where my surgeon basically amputated the backs of my legs of all that excess tissue and skin (I called the backs of my thighs my "skin anvils"). I believe he took off about ten pounds from my thighs alone (he also gave me another butt lift while he was at it). Now I'm healing up for my last surgery which will be in late May to take the excess skin off the rest of my thighs and the extra skin that is now on my calves from the earlier lipo. I have to say I'm beyond thrilled with the results. I always thought my legs were hopeless and every plastic surgeon I saw told me they were, but I got very lucky and found a fantastic doctor who enjoys a challenge and was willing to work on finding some sort of solution. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. Oh, by the way, I started out at 430 and now weigh 140 so we're talking tons of extra skin on my lower body since I was basically a giant pear and carried most of my weight in my legs. Good luck to you! - Traci
   — Traci H.