Lymphatic Therapy and Post-Operative Care – The Science of a Seamless Recovery

Linked below a chapter from the volume Popular Cosmetic Surgery Procedures.   The full chapter can be downloaded for free.   It is a terrific overview of professional Lymphatic Drainage Therapy – what it is, and what it is not (painful, or a "massage") - and how Lymphatic Drainage Therapy applied to support the post-operative recovery process in order to achieve better smoother and more efficient outcomes for the patient. 

Important sound bites:

"Although in its infancy, post-operative specialists are gaining traction as an intricate part of the surgical experience. In the past 5 years post-operative care has revolutionized the final outcomes of body altering procedures. Through the author experience, it has been expressed by surgeons that a patient at their 6-week follow-up may present as looking 6 months post-op. This may not always be the case. However, the science is there, and the critical thinking involved with creating a seamless recovery is a beautiful thing to see come to fruition."

"With the growing popularity of post-operative care, there have been small roadblocks due to misinformation or misinterpretation. Through this author’s communication, patients have voiced fear of having “lymphatic massages” because of the word massage as it relates to the kneading of the skin. Others are fearful of being squeezed or having skin pulled on too harshly and unnecessarily to manually drain fluids, as seen in social media. Therefore, the post-op specialists currently in the industry are progressing toward the utilization of verbiage such as “lymphatic therapy,” a distinct transformation from MLD to a more medically based, critical thinking technique of post-op care."

Please feel free to contact me, Nina Dmitrieff, with any questions.  I am an ACOLS, Klose and Chikly educated LANA Board Certified Lymphatic Drainage Therapist further trained and specializing in post-operative care.   I help my clients achieve terrific outcomes, and I love what I do.

Source: Intechopen