Manual Lymphatic Drainage

Post-Surgery Massage At Harley Skin & Laser Clinic

01782 611001
info@harleyskinandlaser.co.uk
Book Consultation

No Of Sessions:
1-12

Treatment Time:
45 mins

Recovery Time:
Immediate

Price:
From £85

Post Liposuction Massage

Manual Lymphatic Drainage

1-12
Sessions

45 mins
Treatment Time

Immediate
Recovery Time

From
£85

Often recommended by cosmetic surgeons to reduce pain, swellings, oedema and scarring, manual lymphatic drainage treatments are very common after surgery or body sculpturing procedures.

Everyone is different and requires a plan specific to your personal healing and process. Whatever they suggest, here at Harley Skin & Laser Clinic we’ll be able to provide a mix of post-surgery massage techniques at varying intensity based on your recovery following your surgery.

Depending on advice from your surgeon, the technique of your massage will differ with the most common being either Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) or via the Lymphastim mechanical machine.

Manual Lymphatic Drainage Massage

Why Are Massages Important After Surgery?

Manual Lymphatic Drainage Massage

Immediately following procedures such as liposuction or abdominoplasty you’ll suffer from swelling, bruising and discomfort due to the tissue damage caused during the procedure. A lot of people don’t realise that fat is an important tissue, which is both active and living and contains good cells as well as bad, blood vessels and lymphatic vessels.

These play an important role in energy storage and hormone regulation which is why we often put weight on around our middle when our hormones change during menopause. It stands to reason that when we remove the fat, these vessels and cells are damaged. This causes blood and lymph fluid to accumulate and as we’ve created more space for it to pool, it sits in what we recognise as lumps.

This is in addition to the damage we have done to our lymphatic system during the procedure, one of the systems along with our venous system which we need to balance fluids. When these are out of balance, as they are in this situation, swelling occurs (lymphoedema).

Whilst some swelling is good for natural healing (it carries the body’s natural healing system) in this case, the excess swelling is due to the imbalance. We remove this with a lymphatic drainage massage in which your legs are placed in a ‘legging suit’ which is inflated and pressurised using compressed air for a period of time. This pressure is able to move muscles that pump lymph throughout the body easing any excess swelling.

Our Step By Step Guide To Treatments

Step 1:
Consultation
Nothing is more important to Harley Skin and Laser aestheticians than your health and well-being. During your initial consultation, we will talk through your medical history to ensure that MLD is the most suitable treatment for you. The appointment also provides a great opportunity for you to ask us any pressing questions. We always answer honestly and openly.
Step 2:
During Your Treatment
Lymphatic massage is a light-pressure technique that assists the flow of fluid away from a swollen area by using your body’s own systems. Unlike a Swedish or therapeutic massage, the lymphatic therapist uses a very gentle touch that stretches the skin and stimulates the lymph nodes.Post-op MLD is not incisional drainage and should never hurt. This treatment draws swelling fluid towards the kidneys so it is passed naturally through your urine. It does not involve opening surgical sites or pushing fluid to drains or openings. It can support recovery from any type of cosmetic procedure– liposuction, BBL, tummy tuck, gynecomastia reduction, gender confirmation surgery, etc

Step 3:
After The Treatment
Following MLD, you will be able to go about your day as normal. To see the best results from your treatment, drink plenty of water to aid optimum lymphatic drainage. Always follow aftercare advice as provided by Harley Skin and Laser.
No downtime, immediate recovery
See results gradually over a few weeks
Enjoy a cleansed body and calmed mind
Manual Lymphatic Drainage Massage

Often recommended by cosmetic surgeons to reduce pain, swellings, oedema and scarring, manual lymphatic drainage treatments are very common after surgery or body sculpturing procedures.

Everyone is different and requires a plan specific to your personal healing and process. Whatever they suggest, here at Harley Skin & Laser Clinic we’ll be able to provide a mix of post-surgery massage techniques at varying intensity based on your recovery following your surgery.

Depending on advice from your surgeon, the technique of your massage will differ with the most common being either Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) or via the Lymphastim mechanical machine.

Why Are Massages Important After Surgery?

Immediately following procedures such as liposuction or abdominoplasty you’ll suffer from swelling, bruising and discomfort due to the tissue damage caused during the procedure. A lot of people don’t realise that fat is an important tissue, which is both active and living and contains good cells as well as bad, blood vessels and lymphatic vessels.

These play an important role in energy storage and hormone regulation which is why we often put weight on around our middle when our hormones change during menopause. It stands to reason that when we remove the fat, these vessels and cells are damaged. This causes blood and lymph fluid to accumulate and as we’ve created more space for it to pool, it sits in what we recognise as lumps.

This is in addition to the damage we have done to our lymphatic system during the procedure, one of the systems along with our venous system which we need to balance fluids. When these are out of balance, as they are in this situation, swelling occurs (lymphoedema).

Whilst some swelling is good for natural healing (it carries the body’s natural healing system) in this case, the excess swelling is due to the imbalance. We remove this with a lymphatic drainage massage in which your legs are placed in a ‘legging suit’ which is inflated and pressurised using compressed air for a period of time. This pressure is able to move muscles that pump lymph throughout the body easing any excess swelling.

Consultation
Nothing is more important to Harley Skin and Laser aestheticians than your health and well being. During your initial consultation, we will talk through your medical history to ensure that lymphastim is the most suitable treatment for you. The appointment also provides a great opportunity for you to ask us any pressing questions. We always answer honestly and openly.
During Your Treatment
Make yourself comfortable. and wear leggings or loose lightweight clothing. You do not need to remove your clothing while having this treatment. This is not a particularly relaxing massage because it aims to correct damage – you may therefore feel some temporary pain during your treatment. If this is unbearable, please feel free to let your therapist know and they will adapt the pressure. During a post lipo massage your body releases toxins. This process can mean that your temperature can lower, so please do say if you become cold. Likewise, if the pressure is too light or hard, then please feel free to say as everyone is different.
After The Treatment
Following lymphastim, you will be able to go about your day as normal. To see the best results from your treatment, drink plenty of water to aid optimum lymphatic drainage. Always follow aftercare advice as provided by Harley Skin and Laser.

Frequently Asked Questions

Lymphatic drainage massage (MLD) post-surgery will help you detoxify and remove excess fluid that may be sitting in what can often be hard pockets under your skin. This is a very gentle and therapeutic massage that uses soft rhythmic movements to move toxins into your bloodstream so your body can expel them.

Having a lymphatic massage post-surgery may speed up your ability to heal: it is a special type of massage because it will reduce swelling and bruising, ease your body’s ability to remove cellular debris and other waste from the area (including free fats), reduces inflammation, and decreases your risk of infection by improving your immune response. It may decrease scarring and the accumulation of fibrotic nodules (hard fat lumps). This will have the knock-on effect of improving your skin texture and tone.

Everyone is different and so is your surgical procedure. However, if you’re having a post-op liposuction massage, we do see clients coming regularly for up to approximately eight weeks following their procedures.

We’ve explained above why we suffer from post-operative swelling, and the role of MLD massage in post-liposuction, and post-surgery recovery. This is also the reason that you’ll be put into a compression garment before leaving the operating theatre, and you’ll wear this for weeks after. The pressure will help you seal the tissue separation caused by the sweeping action of the suction tube. If you’re given a drain, that also serves to help your system remove the excess fluid. Proper management of the effects of liposuction is important because, without them, you will be more likely to end up with a poor aesthetic outcome.

We would always recommend a series of lymphatic drainage massages following liposuction. But don’t take our word for it. If you’ve had a medical procedure and you’re in a postoperative state, we encourage you to take the advice from your surgeon. Don’t be surprised if they tell you to have several MLD massages in close succession post-lipo surgery though. The reason for this is that we are trying to drain fluid faster than your body has the time to replenish it.

This very much depends on how much swelling you have to start with, which harks back to the points we made earlier about how much work the surgeon had to do, the process that they went through to achieve your results and how your system deals with this. You can expect this to be a good few weeks though. We often treat our clients with post-liposuction massage for six to eight weeks following their procedure.

Swelling may be greater than it needs to be if you don’t wear your compression garment, or if you remove them too early. You need this pressure to help you heal. If you choose to have a post-liposuction massage come along early. Check with your consultant, but some recommend it as soon as just a few days post-surgery. The longer you wait, the more chance your body has to develop these fat lumps and pockets of fluid (seroma).
Post Surgery Massage