Lymphatic Massage: What You Need to Know

Lymphatic massage, also known as manual lymphatic drainage (MLD), is a specialized form of therapeutic massage. It's often done for detoxification and to help boost the immune system, but doctors frequently recommend it to help speed recovery by reducing post-surgical swelling, particularly after procedures like liposuction and tummy tucks. It can also help speed up your results after a nonsurgical body contouring procedure. 

This massage therapy technique uses very light pressure to encourage drainage of the lymph fluid that accumulates after trauma to the lymphatic system. Practitioners typically use the Vodder method, developed in the 1930s by married doctors Emil and Estrid Vodder. 

The gentle, rhythmic movements of the massage follow the direction of lymph flow. The massage therapist sends leaked lymphatic fluid toward nearby lymph nodes. Then the nodes empty it into the bloodstream. 

Lymphatic massage can be especially important after a mastectomy that includes lymph node removal (often from the armpits), to reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence. Losing those lymph nodes can lead to lymphedema, swelling that can develop in the arms, hands, chest, or torso. Many mastectomy patients are taught to perform massage at home on a daily basis to prevent potentially debilitating fluid build-up. 

Dr. Laurie Casas, a plastic surgeon in Glenview, Illinois, has made lymphatic massage a requirement for post-op recovery for every surgical procedure since early on in her 35-year practice, when she saw the dramatic improvement in swelling on a facelift patient who had lymphatic massage on just one side of her face. 

After six sessions in two weeks, “the treated side looked like it was six to eight weeks post-op, and the other side looked like it was two weeks post-op,” says Dr. Casas. She published results of an observational split-body study that found that patients who had lymphatic massage after 13 different cosmetic surgery procedures completely healed within 6–12 weeks, compared to 9–18 months for patients who didn’t receive massages.  

In addition to reducing swelling, Dr. Casas says that MLD therapy helps reduce fibrosis, the lumps and bumps that may occur under the skin a couple of weeks after surgery. “The mediators of swelling send signals to your inflammatory system to begin depositing disorganized collagen, so around 14–21 days, you start to get stiff tissues,” she explains. “When you get rid of the swelling, you bypass that phase.” 

Lymphatic massage may also reduce your risk of seroma (fluid collection), which can cause an irregularity in your final result if not recognized and treated, says Dr. John Millard, a plastic surgeon in Lone Tree, Colorado.

The benefits of lymphatic massage can also go beyond the physical. “Besides helping patients with post-operative swelling, it feels good,” says Dr. Meghan McGovern, a plastic surgeon in Savannah. El Paso, Texas, plastic surgeon Dr. Frank Agullo concurs. “I used compression garments only, for many years. After starting lymphatic drainage massage in my patients, I noticed that the swelling goes down quicker, there’s less modularity or scar tissue, and patients feel good after it,” he says. 

However, not all surgeons are proponents of lymphatic massage, which hasn’t yet been proven beneficial in any scientific studies. San Francisco plastic surgeon Dr. Mats Hagström is one such skeptic. “My personal belief is that swelling after liposuction is your body’s normal response to the procedure. It’s part of an inflammatory process that’s part of healing. I personally do not see the need to intervene, since our bodies are exceedingly good at healing by themselves,” he says in a RealSelf Q&A. 

Post-surgical swelling will indeed go away eventually, whether you get lymphatic massages or not. “Wearing compression garments and drinking enough fluids, eating a healthy diet, and ambulating [walking around] are the mainstays of postoperative care, says Dr. McGovern. “Lymphatic massage is another tool that can be used to help people recover faster.” 

While others don’t recommend it, they also don’t object if patients want to try it. 

“If you have the money and time, the provider is experienced with recent post-op patients, and your surgeon approves, go for it,” says Dr. Thomas Funcik, a facial plastic surgeon in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, in a RealSelf Q&A. “It won’t hurt and might help.” 

A majority of RealSelf members think the treatment is “Worth It.” “I was nervous about anyone getting close to the incision, and I’m still sore from lipo,” said one member who was five weeks out of tummy tuck surgery when she had a lymphatic massage. The result, she says, was more feeling along the incision line and a reduction in swelling and soreness.

RealSelf Tip: Some spas tout MLD as a cellulite treatment. It may be possible for a vigorous deep tissue massage to temporarily relax the fibrous bands that create dimples, other cellulite treatments are far more effective.