Calf Liposuction for Cankles Redefines Your Ankles

Cankle is an ugly word. There?s no denying. So it makes sense that it refers to one of the most unfortunate characteristics a woman?s leg can possess: fat ankles. There?s nothing less sexy than a leg that, instead of tapering into a slender ankle, abruptly ends at a foot, with no definition whatsoever. But here?s the worst part: you may not have any control of your cankles.
Plenty of fit women have hefty calves, and too much calf equals not enough ankle. So what?s a girl to do if her exercise and diet aren?t enough to battle the cankly beast? Plastic surgery, of course. To women with well-defined ankles, it may sound silly, or impossible even, but it is now possible to have liposuction on your ankles.

What exactly causes cankles?

The term cankle refers to a lack of definition in the lower leg and ankle area, making the calf and ankle an almost indistinguishable width. Cankles usually form when adipose tissues along the soleus tendon swells due to poor blood circulation or weight gain.
One contributing factor is certainly genes. Does your mom have cankles? Then yours make more sense, even if you?re not severely overweight. Genetics largely contribute to where and how much weight we store in our bodies, and for some unlucky women, the ankles happen to be the place for excess fat to be.
Being overweight obviously increases your risk for cankles. While in-shape women can suffer from fat ankles, if your body is holding excess fat anywhere, it increases your chances of having excess fat in your legs and ankles.
Water retention can also cause cankles, but this is usually a symptom of a larger problem, and can?t be treated by liposuction.

What?s so bad about cankles?

It?s kind of hard to exercise your ankles. Yeah, you can do it, but sometimes your normal routine just doesn?t get to that area. So cankles can be stubborn.
Also, cankles really diminish the shapeliness of the lower leg, making many women feel self-conscious about wearing short dresses, skirts, or shorts. Not to mention those great strappy heels that should scream sex-appeal but somehow just seem to make your ankles look fatter.

What can I do about my cankles?

There are options to consider other than liposuction, especially if your cankles are the result of a bigger problem such as poor circulation. Improving diet and exercise are the first steps to take, and if that doesn?t work, consulting a doctor is a good idea. Medication is available to treat problems such as water retention.

However, if you?ve tried everything else, and it?s just not helping, liposuction is a safe and recommended choice to treat cankles if performed by an experienced surgeon. The calf and ankle area are more difficult to accurately contour during a liposuction procedure, so choose your plastic surgeon wisely.

If you decide to get liposuction, your surgeon will administer a local anesthesia into the fat layer surrounding the ankle. Then, the fat will be vacuumed out very carefully to accurately maintain the desired contours.

How serious is the procedure?

There are always risks associated with liposuction, such as infection and swelling. Certain risks are heightened when dealing with an area as delicate as the ankle. For instance, contour irregularities are very possible with such a thin fat layer, and loose hanging skin is also a potential unwanted side effect.

However, cankle liposuction should be a relatively painless process if performed properly, and patients should recover and be back on their feet (and ankles) within a few days. Compression garments and leg elevation are key components of a successful recovery, and help to minimize risks of infection or swelling.