Benefits of Getting Manual Lymphatic Drainage Before Surgery
When planning a cosmetic surgery procedure, the fun part is thinking about the final results. It can be easy to forget, however, that even a minimally invasive cosmetic procedure is still surgical. And, as with any surgical procedure, allowing the body adequate time to heal is extremely important.
Luckily, there are things you can do before your cosmetic procedure that will give your body a jump start on the healing process.
Manual Lymphatic Drainage, or MLD for short, prepares your body for surgery by helping the body flush out toxins and boosting the immune system. This gentle form of body work keeps one of the body’s most critical systems—the lymphatic system—in full working order so that it is ready to help the body heal more quickly after your cosmetic procedure.
Read more about the lymphatic system, why it’s important for the healing process, and how getting MLD before surgery can help you see the final results of your surgery faster.
About the Lymphatic System
The lymphatic system is the body’s largest circulatory system. Yet even though it’s twice as big as the system of arteries pumping blood through the body, surprisingly few people have even heard of it!
The lymphatic system plays a key role in the body’s immune system, which helps us fight infection and heal after injury or surgery. It has six organs: the tonsils, thymus, adenoids, spleen, lymph nodes, and lymph vessels. These vessels carry a clear fluid called lymph throughout the body’s tissues. Lymph flushes toxins, waste, dead cells, and foreign invaders like viruses and bacteria out from tissues. It also brings infection-fighting white blood cells to areas of the body that have been injured or damaged.
The lymph is filtered through the lymph nodes located in the neck, armpits, and groin. The lymph nodes remove all the toxins and waste from the lymph, as well as help produce white blood cells to fight infection.
Unfortunately, the lymphatic system, unlike the circulatory system, does not have its own pump. It relies on the movement of the body to help lymph flow properly. This lack of a pump makes the free flow of lymph easily susceptible to disruption.
How Cosmetic Surgery Disrupts the Lymphatic System
Surgery in general can be extremely disruptive to the lymphatic system. Because the body senses surgery as an injury, it sends the immune system into overdrive, bringing lymph in greater quantities to fight infection and help the damaged area heal. Unfortunately, it also damages lymph vessels and adjacent tissues, which can make it difficult for lymph to flow properly. The accumulation of lymph can create excessive swelling at or near the site of surgery.
Moreover, because surgery often requires that we remain stationary, and even lying down, for longer than normal, the body no longer has its normal pump operating to keep lymph flowing.
Surgeries that disrupt the lymph nodes, in addition to the lymph vessels, can be especially problematic. If the lymph nodes can’t flush away toxins and dead cells, or help produce new white blood cells, the body’s immune response becomes sluggish and ineffective.
Cosmetic surgeries in particular can be especially problematic for the lymphatic system because of their proximity to clusters of lymph nodes. Breast procedures can impact lymph nodes in the armpits. Procedures such as liposuction, Smart Lipo, Tummy Tucks, and Mommy Makeovers that disrupt the abdomen can impact lymph nodes located in the groin.
Benefits of Lymphatic Drainage Before Cosmetic Surgery
Manual Lymphatic Drainage before and after cosmetic procedures can play an important role in speeding the body’s recovery.
How MLD helps after surgery is pretty clear. MLD can minimize swelling and help the body fight infection by keeping lymph flowing freely throughout the body during the healing process.
How MLD helps before surgery may be less clear but no less important to the recovery process.
Put simply, ensuring the proper functioning of the lymphatic system with MLD before surgery gives your body a head start on the healing process. It helps boost the immune system. And it flushes the body of harmful toxins and excess fluids before they have a chance to build up during and after the procedure.
MLD should be performed by a licensed massage therapist with experience in this specialized massage technique. MLD therapists recommend at least one or two MLD sessions in advance of your surgical procedure. The final pre-surgery MLD should be performed a day or two before your surgical procedure.
And speak with your surgeon about the importance of MLD after your procedure as well. It’s important to follow your surgeon’s pre- and post-operative instructions carefully to give yourself the very best chance of making a full and speedy recovery so you can enjoy the results of your cosmetic procedure.
Contact Our Mobile Massage Clinic | The Villages, Florida
In Home or In Office Massages by Jacqueline in the Central Florida area. Certified for many different massages and treatments. Specializing in Manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) post surgery recovery massage.
To schedule an appointment with Licensed Massage Therapist and Certified Advanced Manual Lymphatic Drainage Therapist, Jacqueline Bosco CMLDT, Oncology, please call (813) 298-5603. We believe nothing is more important than human touch.
Providing massage services to patients in The Villages, Florida, Sumter County, Leesburg, Eustis, Mount Dora, Tavares, Lady Lake, Fruitland Park, Wildwood, Bushnell and surrounding areas.