Pre- & Post-Operative
Lymphatic Drainage
Surgery is the decision. Recovery is the result.
Specialist manual lymphatic drainage in Glasgow for the weeks either side of your procedure — trained, hands-on, and worked entirely by hand. No machines. No needles. Just precise, light-touch work that reads what your body needs on the day.
You have spent months choosing your surgeon. You have researched, saved, waited, and booked. Then the surgery happens — and the part nobody quite prepares you for begins.
The swelling that arrives on day three and settles in. The tightness. The heaviness. That strange, congested feeling of a body that is healing but doesn't yet feel like yours. The quiet worry that the result you were promised is somewhere underneath all of it.
That is the area where I work.
Manual lymphatic drainage is a gentle, rhythmic, deeply specific technique that encourages your lymphatic system to move stored fluid away from treated areas. It is not a massage in the usual sense — the pressure is feather-light, the direction is everything, and the whole session is built around where your body is in its healing timeline.
Done well, in the right window, it can make the recovery period feel dramatically more comfortable — and help you feel like yourself again sooner.
WHAT IT HELPS WITH
Swelling, bruising and fluid retention. The most common reason clients come to me. Encouraging lymphatic flow helps your body clear post-surgical fluid, so you feel flatter, lighter and more comfortable through the phase where swelling peaks.
That tight, heavy, congested feeling. Healing tissue holds. Drainage eases the pressure and the stiffness that comes with it.
Comfort and movement. Less tension and less fluid usually means moving more freely, sleeping better, and needing less from the sofa.
Supporting your surgical result. Consistent lymphatic work through the recovery phase is widely used alongside surgical aftercare to help tissue settle evenly and to reduce the likelihood of long-term build-up such as fibrosis, hardness or adhesions.
Your head, as much as your body. The recovery window is emotionally strange for almost everyone. An hour of calm, expert, unhurried hands on you — with someone who has seen this stage many times — does something that no compression garment can.
WHO I WORK WITH
I work with clients recovering from:
Liposuction and lipo 360
Abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) and mummy makeover
Breast augmentation, uplift and reduction
BBL and body contouring
Facelift, neck lift, blepharoplasty and rhinoplasty
Gynaecomastia surgery
Orthopaedic and general surgery — knees, hips, hernia repair and more
Many clients come on a surgeon's or consultant's recommendation, and for a large number of them it is their first-ever lymphatic drainage. You do not need to know anything in advance. That is my job.
THE TWO HALVES
Before surgery — the part most people skip
Most people book their first drainage session after the operation. Coming in beforehand is quietly one of the best things you can do.
A pre-operative session reduces the fluid your system is already carrying, gets your lymphatics moving well, and means you go into theatre with a body that is primed to clear rather than starting from a standstill. It is also a chance to meet me, ask everything you want to ask, and know exactly where you're going and what happens next — so your first post-op appointment feels familiar instead of daunting.
Best booked in the week or two before your date, in line with your surgeon's advice.
After surgery — timing is everything
Post-operative drainage begins only once your surgeon has cleared you. For many procedures that is a few days after surgery; for others it is longer, and your surgeon's guidance always comes first.
From there, frequency matters more than any single session. Swelling is not cleared in one appointment — it is guided out over a series, through the weeks when your body is producing and holding the most fluid. Most clients see the best results from a short, consistent course booked close together in the early weeks, then spaced out as things settle.
I will map out a realistic plan with you at your first appointment, built around your procedure, your date, and your surgeon's instructions.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Before we start. A short consultation covering your procedure, your surgery date, where you are in your recovery, any drains, garments or dressings, and anything your surgeon has specified. We go through contraindications properly.
The session. Slow, rhythmic, precise, light-touch drainage — always working with the direction of your lymphatic system, always adapted around incisions and treated areas. It should never hurt. Most clients find it profoundly relaxing, and a fair few fall asleep.
Afterwards. You will usually feel lighter and looser, and you may need the loo more than usual — that is the point. I will give you simple aftercare and tell you honestly when I think you should come back.
Throughout. Complete discretion. No judgement, no commentary, no photographs unless you ask for them. What you have had done is yours.
IS THIS FOR YOU?
You are booked in for surgery and want to prepare properly rather than just hope for the best.
You have had surgery and are dealing with swelling, tightness or discomfort that is dragging on.
You are being told by your clinic to get lymphatic drainage and don't know where to go.
You want to protect the result you have paid for and give it the best conditions to settle.
Please note: always confirm with your surgeon or GP that manual lymphatic drainage is appropriate for you and for your stage of recovery, and follow their guidance on when it is safe to begin. Manual lymphatic drainage is a complementary therapy and is not a substitute for medical care. If you have an infection, a suspected seroma or haematoma, unexplained pain or any concern about your healing, contact your surgical team first.
SESSIONS & PACKAGES
Every session is 60 minutes, entirely by hand, at my Glasgow studio.
Pre-Operative Preparation — 60 min — £85 One session in the run-up to your procedure. Reduces the fluid you are already carrying, gets your system moving, and gets your questions answered before the day.
Post-Operative Recovery — 60 min — £85 A single recovery session. Ideal if you are testing the water, topping up later in your healing, or your surgeon has recommended occasional drainage.
Prepare & Recover — 1 pre + 3 post — £320 (save £20) The core pathway. One session to prepare, three to carry you through the swelling-and-bruising phase. Suits smaller procedures and facial surgery.
The Full Recovery Pathway — 1 pre + 5 post — £480 (save £30) The complete course, and what I recommend for larger body procedures — lipo 360, abdominoplasty, mummy makeover, BBL — where swelling runs longer and consistency makes the difference.
Post-Operative Course of Six — £450 (save £60) For clients who find me after surgery. Six sessions, scheduled close together at first and spaced as you settle.
Packages are booked as a course and scheduled together around your surgery date, so the sessions land when they actually count. Courses are valid for six months. If your surgery date moves, so does your course — just let me know.
FAQ
When can I start after surgery? Only once your surgeon has cleared you. That is often a few days post-op, but it varies by procedure and by surgeon — theirs is the guidance that counts, and I will always work to it.
How many sessions will I need? It depends on your procedure and how you heal. As a general guide, smaller procedures often do well with three to four sessions, and larger body surgery with five or more. I will give you an honest plan at your first appointment rather than a fixed number over the phone.
Does it hurt? No. The pressure is very light — much lighter than people expect. I work around your incisions and treated areas, never on them.
Is this the same as the machine treatments I have seen advertised? No. This is entirely manual. Hands only, no machines, no needles, no vacuum devices. Machines cannot feel what your tissue is doing on the day; hands can.
Will it get rid of all my swelling? Swelling resolves on your body's own timeline, and no therapist can promise otherwise. What drainage can do is help your system move fluid along more efficiently through the phase where you are holding the most, and make that phase considerably more comfortable.
I have not had surgery — can I still book? Yes. Lymphatic drainage is also lovely for general fluid retention, heaviness and post-travel puffiness. Book a standard session and say so when you book.
Where are you based? Glasgow. Full studio address and parking details are sent with your booking confirmation.