Calf Thickness and Its Causes
In some individuals, the calf area can be significantly thicker compared to the rest of the body. Sometimes, this calf thickness is accompanied by overall leg thickness, while in other cases, fat accumulation is more localized, affecting areas such as the inner knee, thigh, or hips.
What Are the Causes of Calf Thickness?
To better understand this issue, we must first examine the anatomy of the area in detail. The calf and leg region consists of bones at the deepest layer, surrounded by muscles, followed by fat tissue, and finally, the outermost layer, the skin. Additionally, various anatomical structures, including arteries, veins, lymphatic vessels, and nerves, are present within these layers.
Physiological leg thickness, commonly seen in weightlifters or gymnasts, is caused by excessive muscle development. People with this type of leg thickness do not benefit from liposuction, as their legs contain very little fat despite being thick, and calf reduction surgery does not involve intervention in the muscle tissue.
There are also certain medical conditions, such as lipedema and lymphedema, that can cause calf thickness. Lipedema is a common and often progressive condition in women, and more detailed information on this topic can be found in the relevant section. When leg thickness is caused by an underlying medical condition, the primary focus is treating the root cause. For instance, in cases of lymphedema, treatments such as massages and lymphatic vessel repairs are attempted first, and only if these methods fail to provide relief, liposuction is considered as a last resort to improve the patient’s quality of life.
For individuals who do not have any medical conditions, excessive weight, or a history of heavy sports activity, the most common cause of calf thickness is genetic predisposition. In these cases, the body naturally stores fat in the calf and/or leg region and does not burn this fat despite diet and exercise. Patients often say:
“Doctor, I have followed diets and exercised for years, losing fat from everywhere else, but my calves just won’t get slimmer.”
These individuals, whose calf thickness is due to fat accumulation, whether they have overall excess weight or just localized fat deposits in the calf area, can benefit from liposuction surgery.
Even overweight and obese patients with a high body mass index (BMI) can undergo liposuction to remove localized fat deposits. Although doctors emphasize that liposuction is not a weight-loss method and cannot replace diet and exercise, it is highly effective in reducing fat from specific areas.
Why Do We Perform Calf Reduction Surgery?
The most common complaints from patients seeking calf reduction surgery include:
- The inability to comfortably wear mini skirts or knee-high boots
- Difficulty in finding clothes that fit both their upper and lower body proportionally
For example, imagine you find a stylish leather boot that perfectly fits your foot size, but you can’t zip it up due to thick calves. Or you find a pencil skirt that looks amazing, but you hesitate to buy it because of your calf thickness.
Many young women experience the same discomfort when trying to wear shorts, and there are also male patients who undergo calf reduction surgery to improve the proportions of their legs.
Would You Benefit from Calf Reduction Surgery?
Currently, the only known surgical method for calf reduction is removing fat tissue located under the skin and above the muscle via liposuction, reducing the overall circumference of the leg.
- If your calf thickness is due to fat, yes, liposuction will provide noticeable slimming.
- However, if the thickness is due to bone or muscle size, unfortunately, no surgical procedure can reduce it.
How to Determine If You Are a Good Candidate for Calf Liposuction?
A simple way to check is to pinch the skin of your calf between your thumb and index finger and observe the thickness of the soft tissue.
- If there is a noticeable layer of fat, this means that liposuction can effectively remove fat from the area and make your calves and knees slimmer.
- However, if your calf is firm with little fat, liposuction will not significantly change the shape of your legs.
Important Note:
Liposuction can make your calves thinner, but no doctor can guarantee extremely thin legs.
Additionally, the slimming effect is not immediate. After surgery, the treated area will have swelling (edema), which gradually subsides over several months. The final results typically become visible between 6 months to 1 year after surgery.
The Surgery
Calf reduction surgery is performed under spinal anesthesia (regional numbing) or general anesthesia (full sedation). The procedure takes place in an operating room within a hospital and lasts approximately 1.5 hours.
Since fat is removed from the front, back, and sides of the calf, an average of 6-8 small incisions are made in each leg to extract the fat.
Post-Surgery Care & Recovery
- After surgery, patients are required to wear compression garments (corset or medical compression stockings) to ensure a smooth healing process.
- If the patient lives in the same city, they are called for routine check-ups at 1 week, 1 month, and 6 months post-surgery.
- If the patient is from another city or country, follow-ups are conducted via photos and video calls.
Possible Complications
The most common complication is irregularities in the fat removal area. To prevent this, patients must wear compression garments for at least 1.5 months. Other possible risks include:
- Temporary numbness
- Excessive swelling, which can affect blood flow
- Bruising in the treated area
- Fat embolism or blood clot formation, which could block veins in the legs or other areas of the body
Expected Results
Depending on the patient’s fat distribution, calf reduction can achieve a slimming effect of 4-6 cm, which is considered a highly satisfactory result.
For more detailed information, we invite you to visit our clinic.