Category: calf augmentation | calf implants | OR snapshots

OR Snapshots – Popliteal Skin Incisions for Calf Implants

There are numerous reasons patients seek calf augmentation. The desire for a more muscular calf appearance in an otherwise normal but thin calf and improvement in congenital or traumatic calf asymmetry are the most common patients that seek calf augmentation. The only assured method to achieve such calf size improvements is with the use of Read More…

Calf Implants and Avoiding Injury to the Sural Nerve

Calf implants are used for a variety of reasons from aesthetic muscular augmentation to correction of congenital lower leg deformities. (e.g., club foot) They are placed on top of the existing gastrocnemius muscles to provide an external contour change that results in an enhanced lower leg size appearance. Since there are two muscle bellies to Read More…

Long-Term Results in Calf Implants

Calf augmentation is most commonly done with implants. There are a variety of reasons patients pursue augmenting the gastrocnemius muscle from congenitally thin legs, muscle atrophy due to disease or trauma and the desire for larger calfs that exercise and effort alone can not easily achieve. While injection fat grafting is another option for larger Read More…

Subfascial Placement Technique for Calf Implants

Calf augmentation is one of the most infrequently performed of all body contouring procedures. Part of the reason for its low rate of performance is patient demand. The other reason is that most plastic surgeons are uncomfortable performing the procedure having never seen it done or been trained to do it. The widespread use of Read More…

Plastic Surgery Case Study – Calf Implants for the Upper Inner Lower Leg

Background: The shape of the lower leg is most commonly defined by the contours along its inner half. The knee, calf muscle and ankle provide a curvilinear shape that has a well known pleasing set of convexities and concavities.This undulating shape is highly influenced by the size of the medial gastrocnemius muscle well as the Read More…

Plastic Surgery Case Study – Calf Implants for Female ‘Chicken Legs’

Background: A disproportionate lower leg size compared to the body, or even to the thighs, is often given the name ‘chicken legs’ This obviously refers to the very small size of the legs that most birds have compared to their bodies. While such a leg size is of no concern to birds, it can be Read More…

Plastic Surgery Case Study – Calf Implants for Male Lower Leg Augmentation

Background: Increasing the size of the calf (gastrocnemius) muscles is very difficult. The tight and dense muscle fibers of this lower leg muscle take extreme muscle-building exercises to enlarge the overall muscle size. And unless one is willing to continue these exercises for the rest of one’s life, the size of the calf muscles will Read More…

Plastic Surgery Case Study – Calf Implants in Women

Background: The calf or gastrocnemius muscles are a compact and powerful set of lower leg muscles that run from the knee to just above the ankle. It is a bipennate musclke with two known heads. The outer or lateral head starts at the lateral condyle of the femur while the inner head starts from the Read More…

Surgical Techniques in Calf Implants

Calf augmentation can be done by two surgical methods. The most historic and reliable is the use of synthetic calf implants. A more recent but far more unpredictable technique is that of fat injections. Each calf augmentation method has its advantages and disadvantages but, like breast augmentation, fat injections are a good volume addition technique Read More…

Technical Strategies – Intraoperative Shaping of Calf Implants

The use of calf implants to achieve improved fullness of the lower legs is the most reliable body contouring procedure of the lower legs. Calf augmentation is done for men that want to improve the overall size of their calf muscles. Women are often trying to put their calfs in better aesthetic balance to their Read More…