Calves

Q. I’m 39 and, despite the continuous diets I follow, my calves, knees and ankles are still very large. I would like to know if liposuction can solve my problem or if there are other kinds of surgery or cosmetic medicine treatments available that are able to contour the lower part of the leg.

A. Since the liposuction technique consists of sucking out the deposits of fat found in some specific areas of the body (e.g, the thighs, buttocks, knees, etc.), it is possible to achieve good results even through calf and knee liposuction, if your surgeon assesses you and thinks you meet the key criteria for surgery.

Having said that, if the size of your calves and the ankles are due to a particularly developed bone and muscle structure rather than localized deposits of fat, liposuction will not make that improvements that you are looking for.

Unfortunately, there are no other kinds of plastic or cosmetic surgery to reduce the size of the calves and the ankles, even though a few Japanese surgeons have recently used botulinum toxin (Vistabex) or botox to induce temporary atrophy on the calf muscles, indirectly reducing the size of the fascia.

Q. I’m a 22-year-old male and I’m keen on body-building. My problem is that, despite working out many hours a week, I haven’t managed to increase the volume of my calves. Is there a solution to this problem?

A. Yes. The volume increase of the calves can be achieved by implanting silicone gel prosthesis (similar to those used in additive mastoplasty / breast augmentation) or by transferring adipose tissue (fat) taken from another part of your body – a process known as lipofilling.