Lymphatic Drainage Treatment Information for Surgeons

Manual Lymphatic Drainage Treatment Can Help Your Patients Heal

We imagine your goal with patients is to maximize their ability to healthily resume life with their desired results. This is where VIVA Wellness comes in. We'll help your patients throughout the healing process.

Is lymphatic massage part of your suggestions for post-operative protocols?

Manual Lymphatic Drainage Treatment is better than traditional massage because of the vast and critical functions of the lymphatic system that are targeted by specific techniques of pressure, patterns, and placement. A traditional massage targets muscle while lymphatic treatments target the system directly.

And this matters because an optimally functioning and flowing immune system means faster healing. More generally, the lymphatic system works to:

• Stimulates the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, deeply relaxing the patient and moving them into the body’s optimal state for healing vs. a state of stress or tension.
• Reduces excess water, toxins, and waste from tissues in the body. This detox facilitates many other functions and processes throughout the body.
• Flowing lymph means a more effective immune response, whether that’s from surgery or any illness or threat that should enter the body’s awareness.
• Creates a health quality to the skin look and feel.

By having this done by a nurse who has a background in surgery, an MLD treatment with VIVA Wellness means we can assess drains and incisions to check for complications and reassure patients that incisions are healing. How nice for you—less follow-up calls and visits to your office.

But what’s better than less follow-up calls?

Patients with ideal results who saw quicker healing and therefore enjoyed their results sooner. An increase in patient satisfaction means more business for you as they share their experience with others. The way they look and feel speaks for itself.

BENEFITS TO LYMPHATIC DRAINAGE—POSTOPERATIVE SPECIFIC:

While this is especially beneficial after a surgery, undergoing any lymphatic support treatment before a procedure will also better prepare the body for what’s ahead. Flowing lymphatic means more efficient healing.

Whether or not pre-procedure lymphatic was performed, here are a few ways that the treatment benefits the postoperative body:

• Eliminates swelling in the immediate area: improves lymph vessel activity proximal to the trauma area, distribution of the edema components over a larger area which increases the number of lymph capillaries to pick up lymphatic loads.
• Decreases scar tissue significantly and improves the formation of lymphatic anastomosis in scars.
• Reduces pain! Creates an analgesic effect in multiple ways: overlapping effects of the spinal level and suppression of the sympathetic activity through accelerated drainage of nociceptive substances.

Not including lymphatic drainage treatment may facilitate:

• Immune system suppression
• Pain: increased and/or continual
• Swelling: increased and/or continual
• Hardness in the trauma area / surgical location
• Hematoma
• Water retention

In an Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery study (2014), the results confirmed the positive impact (statistically significant compared to the control group) of manual lymphatic drainage on pain, scar tissue, and swelling after liposuction and lipoabdominoplasty. A 2019 study by the American Journal of Cosmetic Surgery concluded that post-abdominoplasty patients saw a greater reduction in edema than with standard compressive garments alone.

Common Surgeries that Benefit from Post-surgical MLD

These are the most common surgeries—though we’d love to consult with you or your patients regarding other types of procedures as this is excellent for most:

• Breast augmentation, including explant or implant removals
• Brazilian butt lift (BBL)
• Tummy tuck
• Liposuction or Lipo 360
• Facelift
• Mommy makeover
• Rhinoplasty
• Mastectomy

Recommended Manual Lymphatic Drainage Treatment Protcol, Pre- and Post-Surgery

We strongly recommend your patients plan their post-surgical treatment protocol prior to surgery to ensure that all are on the same page. In preparation for the surgery, we’d also highly suggest that you encourage your patients to come in for 1-3 sessions to assist in the body in facilitating a boosted immune response, lower stress, and creating an optimal healing state.

As for the protocol and treatment plan, VIVA Wellness strongly encourages post-surgical clients receive a minimum of 8 sessions within a 30 day period to prevent surgical-related complications, such as fibrosis. If sessions are not started by day 14 after surgery, the risk of fibrosis increases. As mentioned above, lymphatic drainage treatments help the body move into the healing state more easily, so that alone is a win. Number and frequency of sessions will vary based on the procedure and the individual.

It's important to note that we do not treat Lymphedema, which is a swelling affecting your lymphatic system, often in arms and legs. There is no known cure for lymphedema.