What's Your Post-Operative Care Plan?

You’ve planned the procedure.
You’ve saved the money.
You’ve locked in your surgery date.

Whether it’s a tummy tuck, breast procedure, liposuction, or post-bariatric surgery like a panniculectomy, you’re ready for the transformation.

But here’s the part most people miss:

What happens after surgery matters just as much as the procedure itself.

And unfortunately, post-operative care, especially Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) is often overlooked or never fully understood by the surgeon or explained by the provider.

The Gap in Post-Surgical Care

There’s been a major rise in cosmetic and reconstructive procedures.
What hasn’t kept up? Education around recovery.

Most patients go home with minimal guidance on how to manage swelling, fluid buildup, or tissue healing.

So what happens?

They turn to Google.

And that’s usually when they discover lymphatic drainage, but sometimes too late.

Many of the calls we receive sound like this:

• "I had surgery two weeks ago and need to come in 3 times a week for the next 4 weeks"
• "I feel like I've been hit by a truck and I don't see my surgeon for another month"
• "I heard I should do this, but my doctor said not to"

Spoiler alert: if you're contacting us AFTER you've already had surgery, you're already compromising your healing.

What Manual Lymphatic Drainage Actually Is (and what it isn't)

Let's clear up a major misconception: 

Manual Lymphatic Drainage is NOT a massage

It’s a specialized, gentle, hands-on technique using very light pressure to:

• Move lymph fluid efficiently
• Reduce swelling (edema)
• Support the body’s natural healing process
• Improve comfort and mobility

While lymphatic drainage does full under the scope of practice for massage therapists in the state of Michigan, there's a lot of variations with how therapists perform it. And if you're going under the knife and having your body surgically altered, in my professional opinion, you should seek out a Certified Manual Lymphatic Drainage Therapist (MLD-C) (even better if they have advanced post-operative training, which the therapists at Michigan Massage and Wellness have!)

If you’ve seen aggressive “lymphatic massage” techniques online, especially anything involving incisional drainage, that is not only incorrect, it’s outside our legal scope of practice. Plus, c'mon, do you really want your bodily fluids leaking out in a non-medical office?? We don't.

Why Post-Op MLD Matters More Than You Think

Listen up. If you're investing thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars into surgery, your recovery budget needs to be considered as well.
Post-Op MLD can help:

• Reduce swelling faster
• Prevent fibrosis (hard, lumpy tissue formation)
• Reduce risk of seromas (fluid buildup)
• Decrease pain and discomfort
• Improve mobility during healing
• Help your compression garments fit better

Imagine you finally bought your dream car. A Ferrari. You wouldn't drive that Ferrari through the pothole laden streets of Metro Detroit in the middle of winter and only giving it the bargain basement unleaded gasoline would you? Of course not! So why are you spending $20,000 on a tummy tuck but then searching on Groupon for lymphatic care?

Schedule Your Surgery and MLD Together

If you’re considering surgery, here’s how to set yourself up for better results:

• Choose a qualified, board-certified surgeon
• Ask detailed questions about both the procedure and recovery
• Specifically ask about lymphatic drainage (many providers won’t bring it up, or many think it's a standard massage and will tell you to wait 12 weeks)
• Reach out to Michigan Massage and Wellness to schedule sessions before your surgery date

A common recommendation:

• 1 session before surgery
• 4–8 sessions after, depending on your procedure
• More frequent sessions early on = better outcomes

A Smarter Approach to RecoveryRecovery isn’t just about healing, it’s about getting the results that you want. 

At Michigan Massage and Wellness, we work with clients who want to:

• Heal more efficiently
• Feel more comfortable during recovery
• Protect the investment they’ve made in their body

We also help you stay on track with realistic scheduling and even provide techniques you can use at home between sessions, and we are always happy to go over compression garment options and make sure you've got the right pieces to help support your healing.