Am I a candidate for calf and ankle lipo? I have chronic venous insufficiency.

Calf and ankle liposuction can really help change a  persons  life.  It is not painful and recovery is not longer than any other liposuctioned area. You need to have it done by an expert who uses the micro canulas and does it under local.  Chronic venous insufficiency is usually not a contraindication if mild. There is a lot of mis-information out there about calf/ankle lipo and i hope you are able to get it done by someone who knows what they are doing.

you sound like you may have lipedema and this can be treated but you need to see an expert. VASER HD is good for this area with renuvion, and we have all our patients work with our lipedema specialist.
You need a formal evaluation by an expert in body shaping and contouring to determine what is best.  Traditional liposuction awake and smart liposuction are old methods and do very poorly for tightening skin or significant skin tightening or contouring.  Small problem areas can be improved slightly by these methods.  The best in body contouring not only removes fat with energy devices like VASER ultrasound but also internally heat the skin with radio-frequency devices such as J PLASMA/RENUVION, InMode BodyTite, ThermiRF to heat the under surface of the skin and tighten it at the same time as fat removal. These combinations are called 4D HIDEF VASER contouring and can only be done by a well . trained body contouring specialist. At the same time fat should be harvested, PRP and stem cells added and injected into muscles or indentations/cellulite to get body shaping and contouring.  This is known as a Brazilian butt lift when you inject the fat to the buttock for contouring and lifting, but fat can also be used in areas such as the chest/breast, arms/shoulders, calves and face.  Cellulite should also be treated with cellfina, sculptra, subcision and/or fillers such as bellafill, renuva synthetic fat, or sculptra.  If skin is very loose before surgery then it will need to be removed such as lower abdominal skin (tummy tuck/abdominoplasty), breast skin (breast lift), arm skin (brachioplasty).  Overall you need a full assessment, but simple liposuction alone will not tighten skin and needs a combination of various methods -- fat removal, skin tightening, defining, fat grafting, skin removal -- to get the best in body contouring and body sculpting.  Dr. Emer.

Dear  emasab12,
it is hard to tell for sure without an examination. If you are considering a surgery, I would suggest you to consult a board-certified plastic surgeon. Only after a thorough examination you will get more information and recommendations.
Daniel Barrett, MD

Certified, American Board of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Plastic Surgery
Member, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

I would suggest not doing any liposuction in your ankles or calf areas if you have any signs of venous insufficiency, especially if you are over 40. Liposuction in these areas can stay swollen for several months even in young people with good veins.

Without pictures we can’t make an accurate assessment.
Liposuction of the calves and ankles is the most technically difficult area on the body to treat. It has the worst recovery and having venous insufficiency or venous hypertension is going to make all of these things worse.
My practice has been devoted exclusively to Liposuction and said transfer procedures for the last decade. I performed close to 8000 Liposuction procedures in my career.
Currently performing around 400 Liposuction cases per year.
I’ve done calf and ankle Liposuction six times and typically do one case of the year.
I generally steer people away from this treatment unless they are exceptionally good candidates which means they having a serious quality-of-life issue because of that distribution. Having venous insufficiency makes you worse candidate.
Expect recovery to take three times  longer than other forms of Liposuction with required leg elevations for many months and potentially difficulty fitting in certain shoes.
The contours around the ankle especially around the Achilles  tendon are challenging territory and an inexperienced or unskilled provider may leave these looking worse than before.
You may or may not be a candidate for Liposuction. Your post is insufficient to make any type of assessment.
I suggest having a few local in person consultations with experienced board-certified plastic surgeons. Considering everything you mentioned you should be selective on who you choose.
In your case I would highly recommend having multiple consultations.
If you’re not sure then stay conservative.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD