BLOG · AFTER SURGERY
Lymphatic drainage after surgery: when to start and what to expect
4 September 2026 · Ligia Possu
The start date is not my decision. It belongs to whoever performed your surgery. Here is what this massage does, how the session goes, and why coming to you tends to matter in this phase.
60 min per session
R$ 250
Travel included
After surgery it is common for the body to hold fluid in the tissue around the operated area. Lymphatic drainage uses slow, directed strokes to help that fluid travel to the lymph nodes, from where the body can clear it. It is manual work, with no machines and no products. Outside Brazil the same work is often advertised as Brazilian lymphatic drainage.
What this massage does, and what it does not
I work with light, repeated movements, always towards the lymph nodes and never against them. It is not a firm-pressure massage and it should not hurt. It does not treat the surgery, does not speed up healing and does not replace the care of your doctor or physiotherapist. What it does is help the body move the fluid that has settled, within what the recovery stage allows.
The person who decides when to start is not me
Every procedure has its own healing time, and only the doctor or surgeon who looked after your operation knows when the tissue is ready to be touched. Before booking, confirm with them that you can receive massage. That clearance sets the date, not me.
Where massage is not advisable for a medical condition, I only work with a signed medical clearance. After surgery I start from seven days, also with signed medical authorisation.
How many sessions — that is your doctor's answer
I am not going to give you a number here. How many sessions and how far apart varies with the surgery, with the medical advice and with how each person recovers. It is a clinical decision, and it belongs to whoever is following your recovery. In our first conversation I ask what you were told, and we book from there.
How the session goes
I arrive with the table, the sheets and the material I use in any session. It runs 60 minutes. I work with my hands, in slow movements, along the lymphatic flow — usually from the part of the body furthest away towards the nodes closest to the trunk. If an area is still tender or has a dressing, tell me beforehand and I adapt the touch there.
Why coming to you matters in this phase
Soon after an operation, leaving the house for an appointment is one more effort: putting on clothes that press, sitting in traffic, waiting in a room. When the session happens where you are, you stay exactly where you are already recovering. In practice, that is often what decides whether the series of sessions is finished or abandoned halfway.
Outside the post-operative period I also work with relaxing massage, deep tissue and other techniques — the full list is on the services and prices page. If this is your first time receiving a massage where you are staying, how a visit works answers the usual questions.
