Liposuction/Flying Squirrel

Hi RunnerGirl. I too live out of state and had to travel to Cleveland. And like you, Dr. Chen felt my lymphedema had progressed to the point I was near end stage, which required the more radical intervention of the liposuction/flying squirrel procedure. I think you will be very happy with the results once you get past the initial stages of healing. My arm looks amazing and yes, I do have to work hard to keep it from getting swollen again but I am not sure if that is just my own paranoia from what I have been through. I am using the pump differently than I was before and am always encouraged when I finish because I can see the difference immediately after I use it. Prior to the surgery, I would use the pump for more than hour and there was absolutely no difference so I was not very motivated to spend an hour or more of my day wearing that jacket and tied to one spot for such a long time. Now I have the setting on the hand/forearm for 27 minutes and when I take off the jacket, I can literally see where the bands pumped the fluid causing the arm to be reduced. Usually within 15-20 minutes the remaining portion of the arm swelling is reduced and the overall measurement is reduced by about 1.5" and the arm is once again the same size as the other arm. Now that the summer heat is kicking in (I live in Florida) I am also wearing compression bandages at night when I go to sleep after I pump a few times a week which also seems to prevent the arm from swelling and aids in reducing any existing swelling. I never experienced this before so for me it feels very self-empowering and I am encouraged to keep doing these exercises to manage the swelling. Hopefully, I will get to the point some day when I don't have to do all of this but at least now what I am doing is working. Dr. Chen only removed the excess skin on the top of my arm. He performed the liposuction on the forearm. I was not sure how this was going to go down before the surgery and was pleased with the overall appearance of the arm because scarring is not very noticeable unless I raise my arm. As I stated before, he removed approx 2.5 liters of skin, scar tissue, fat and lymph fluid from the arm. Everytime I look at 2 liter bottle of diet coke, I have a mental image of what went down.

Having said all of that .... the best advice I can give you is to talk to your primary care doctor BEFORE the surgery to have a clear plan and understanding of what pain medications he can and is willing to prescribe upon your return home. The laws are very tight right now due to the opioid crisis and since you are crossing state lines when you go home, Dr. Chen will not be able to write you a script for pain meds. The only option will be for them to be mailed to you by Cleveland Clinic. While Dr. Chen may promise you he is committed to managing your pain ... keep in mind that what that looks like to him and what that sounds like to you and what the law will allow are three different scenarios. I was able to get through it but I literally only had 6 days of pain meds and they made me so sick I could only tolerate them for 3 days before I had to stop. The nerve pain in my arm was pretty bad and lasted for about 6-7 weeks. I am not experiencing the pain any longer, but the arm is still numb and some days it starts bothering me in the evening but it is all very manageable now.

I hope this helps. Feel free to reach out for encouragement or if you have questions. I am really happy with the outcome now and don't have any regrets.

Hi HomeMom. I really am not qualified to provide you with an educated reply to your question about appropriate treatment recommendations. The surgeon will need to evaluate you properly and then make his recommendations for treatment. I will say, however, it is shocking how fast lymphedema can advance to late stage. I was initially cleared for LVA surgery and told by the surgeon I was a perfect candidate for the surgery. It took a few months to get on the operating table and unfortunately, the surgeon had to abort the surgery because in that short amount of time I had progressed to a late stage and the surgery could not be performed. Dr. Chen recommended the liposuction because I was too far advanced at the time I saw him to opt for the lesser invasive procedures. I will return in a year after my surgery to be re-evaluated and he will decide if I would benefit from more surgery. Hope this helps you in your journey.