Calf Liposuction
What Is Calf Liposuction?
Calf liposuction, also known as calf lipo or cankle liposuction, is a surgical intervention to remove excess fat from the calf and ankles, particularly the fat deposits in the calf muscles and Achilles’s tendons. The procedure is also known as lipoplasty of the lower extremities and may be performed as part of leg liposuction.
What Can Calf Liposuction Improve?
The procedure can produce remarkable improvements in the shape and size of your legs and make them look thinner and better defined. This is a great solution to stubborn fatty deposits that accumulate often in the calves and which are hard to deal with using diet or exercise.
Calf lipo can redefine the overall shape of your leg in a natural way. The results of calf lipo are clearly apparent when making the comparison between before and after pictures.
Slimming down your calves to refine your lower legs and achieve that intriguing feminine sculpted look isn’t a hard thing to do! Hold tight because calf liposuction can do just that and more!
This procedure is what many people with oversized ankles or calves really need! Doctors and health practitioners often recommend the procedure to people who have large pockets of fat on their calves, also known as “cankles”.
What Are The Benefits of Calf Liposuction?
Calf lipo is a very advantageous procedure despite being simpler than other body sculpting procedures that target the calf region. Below are some of the benefits that you may get from this calf lipo:
- Eliminate stubborn, excess fat pockets in the calves and ankles
- Improve the symmetry and shape of the calves on both sides
- Boost your self-confidence and self-esteem and make you feel a lot better
- Allow you to try wearing new clothing options, including skirts or swimwear
- Help treat a condition called lipedema, which develops in many women
- Can be combined with nonsurgical cosmetic procedures to treat cellulite
Who Are The Best Candidates for Calf Liposuction?
Calf lipo is an available choice for most men and women, but not for those with critical health conditions, such as diabetes. It’s not also recommended for extremely overweight people. The ideal candidates are:
- Those with localized fat pockets in the calves and ankles
- Those with an advanced case of lipedema
- Healthy people with stable, within-normal body weight
- Those with elastic, firm skin types
- Those with realistic, achievable expectations
What Are The Risks of Calf Liposuction?
Calf lipo is a simple procedure with a low level of complexity compared to other types of liposuctions, but it’s still a surgery, and like all surgeries, it carries certain potential risks.
In any case, the risks of calf lipo are diverse and they may include:
- Swelling or edema
- Infection or hematoma
- Unwanted results
- Hyperpigmentation
- Blood loss
- Thromboembolism or fat embolism
- Visible scars
How Is Calf Liposuction Performed?
To make the patient more comfortable varying types of medications are administered to the patient. The different types include: local anesthesia, intravenous sedation and general anesthesia. For Calf Liposuction surgery, general anesthesia is used.
Once you turned asleep, your surgeon will mark and incision sites and start making an incision on the inner or outer sides of the calf. In some instances, the surgeon makes two incisions on either side of the calf, not just one incision.
To break up the fat cells, your surgeon is going to insert a special cannula into the target area. They will guide the cannula and suck out the fat using a vacuum.
Once the fat is extracted as planned from the area, your surgeon will stitch the incisions and warp the site with bandages.
Calf Liposuction Recovery
The recovery phase after calf lipo is usually straightforward without unexpected complications. Consider the following instructions during this period:
- Wear a compression garment in the following weeks to prevent swelling and edema.
- Take painkillers to relieve pain. Your doctor will prescribe medications for you based on the severity of the pain. Some of these medications may treat nausea as well.
- Expect to feel fatigued in the days following the procedure. You may also feel nausea and swelling.
- Take enough rest and get back to your work and exercise routines only after feeling well and healed, usually after at least 1-2 weeks.
- Consider having massage sessions to encourage optimal circulation and recovery for your leg.
The results of Calf Liposuction become clearer after several weeks when the swelling subsides. Most of the swelling settles after about 4 weeks, and the area where fat was removed should appear less bulky. In some cases it may take as long as several months for the swelling subsides.
Patients who change their eating habits coupled with exercise to maintain their weigh usually get permanent long lasting results. However, time generally cedes to increased weight gain and fat deposits tend to reappear.
Those who gain weight after the procedure may find that their fat distribution settles in a different area of Calf Liposuction. Those who previously had fat accumulating in their stomachs might find that their hips and buttocks become the new problem area.