When preparing for a plastic surgery procedure, it's just as important to research your aftercare as it is to select the best plastic surgeon. You want to know how to properly take care of the investment you just made in your body. When diligently followed, your aftercare plan is what will get you looking and feeling better - faster. At Mend, we are goal oriented - your goals are our goals.
After surgery, you may be quite swollen for the first few weeks. This is known as the inflammatory stage of healing
Your tissues are infiltrated with transudate including leaked lymphatic fluid, water, protein, and cellular waste, as well as any retained tumescent fluid. This is the body's normal response to the surgery. The inflammatory phase of healing is actually necessary for healing!
However, all of that excess fluid can make you feel uncomfortable. There may also be bruising at the surgically treated areas. You will feel tight and stiff. The MLD during this time will to help you feel more comfortable by relieving pain, bruising and swelling. It will also expedite the healing process by facilitating improved wound oxygenation and nourishment and the removal of metabolic waste.
After your first couple of massages, you will feel relieved and you will notice that you are urinating more than normal. Plan on having 1-3 MLD sessions your first few weeks post op for optimal relief.
After the "watery" edema begins to subside, some clients find that they feel firmness or bumps in the surgically treated areas. This corresponds to the "proliferation stage" of healing. Your body is now working hard to reapir the surgically treated areas. This an important point to continue receiving lymphatic drainage as it will facilitate your body's healing in a smoother and more uniform way.
The next step is called the remodeling stage of healing. It is important to continue with your massages through this time to ensure that the scar tissue does not thicken or arrange itsself in a haphazard manner.