My Holes Closed After Lipo.
Can I Still Get Massages?

The Short Answer is: YES.

The longer answer is more complicated (See below),
but is SUPER important for you to understand
for your safety when getting post op massages.

“How Can That Be True?” you ask.

“But in Miami/Tijuana/the DR (fill in the blank with wherever you went),
they opened my incisions and pushed out the fluid.
How can you possibly get it out without doing that?
The holes are CLOSED.”

I understand your confusion.  
That info may even have come from your doctor. 
That information is WRONG – even if a doctor says it (and they will).

Please let me explain.

Why Should You Take My Word For It?

Let me quickly introduce myself so that you know my qualifications, because they are important for you to know why you should trust what I am telling you vs what you have probably seen on Instagram or TikTok and/or had done to you right after surgery.

My name is Shannon Goins-Blair.  I am a LANA Certified Lymphedema Therapist.  This is the highest level of training/qualification that exists in the discipline of lymphatics.  

The LANA exam I passed is similar in nature to that of a Board exam that a surgeon might take in that it is optional, and it shows an exceptional level of knowledge – far above that of people with similar credentials.  People take these kinds of exams because they want to prove that they know more than their peers.  These are the folks that go above and beyond to learn.  They don’t stop with the bare minimum amount of training necessary just to maintain a license.  It’s not an ego thing (although I realize it might sound that way), it’s about being able to help people distinguish which professionals are above average.

As a Certified Lymphedema Therapist, I have the qualification to work with people with severe lymphatic disease.  That is something much, much harder than working on simple post operative swelling after plastic surgery.  I do plastic surgery recovery as the vast majority of the work that I do.  I enjoy seeing people transition from a bloated mess in a bathrobe and house shoes to a person who looks and feels amazing in their own skin.  I truly love what I do.

Why Am I Writing This?

Although I love my job, there is a really hard part to it.  That is hearing stories of people who have been subjected to “post op care” that is unsafe, painful, and dangerous.  Many of them have come to harm – or at least have PTSD after their massages – so much so that they cry on my table when they feel the difference of what it should have been like.

My voice is no more than a drop in the ocean compared to the people doing post op care who don’t have any legitimate training, licensure, or insurance.  These folks are much more flashy in their presentation, and frankly they are better at social media than I am.  

I’m a nerd and an introvert, so I don’t try to compete with those people on social media.  What I do instead is put the info out there for people who will take the time to read and really educate themselves about what good post op care should be.  If you want to have the best, safest post-op recovery, please read on.

Why Did I Have Fluid Pushed Out of My Holes In the First Place?

The origin of this practice comes from the surgeons themselves.  It is not uncommon for a surgeon to push fluid out of holes the very next day after lipo because the fluid that was injected into the body right before lipo is performed becomes a bit of an irritant.  Surgeons can legally do this, and if they are the ones doing it only once the day after surgery at their office under sanitary conditions.  

This is the only time and the only circumstance under which such a practice is acceptable.  (It’s not necessary, but if your surgeon does it that one time because they don’t know how to do actual lymphatic work, I’m not going to have a hissy fit.)

What is actually happening is that surgeons (again, in the absence of knowing anything about what actual lymphatic work is) give instructions to their patients to have a massage therapist do the same thing. (!?!?!?!?!?)

This practice then got taught from one therapist to another to another – each time losing even more of the (this should really only be done by the surgeon on the first day post op – if at all).  Then it got put on YouTube, and then (even worse) an industry came along to train people who are not even licensed therapists.  “Oh, you’ve worked doing retail at Target for the last 10 years and don’t have a license? No problem. Just pay me $5,000 for a 2 day long course, and you are ‘certified.'”  (I can’t roll my eyes far enough back in my head to express my disbelief about this, but it is the God’s honest truth.)

Why Is This Pushing Fluids Out of Incisions Wrong?

Surgeons, as we all know, live in their own little world.  They do not know what laws govern massage therapists.

As a massage therapist with a decade of experience – and having been licensed in 4 states –  I can state without question that: PUSHING FLUIDS OUT OF INCISIONS IS COMPLETELY ILLEGAL for a massage therapist to do.

Massage Therapists are ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN TO WORK WITH BODILY FLUIDS OR ON ANY WOUND OF ANY KIND.  Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. Flat out.  This is true in all states in the United States.  See this article about the Dirty Little Secrets About the Plastic Surgery Recovery Industry to find out more about this dangerous and illegal practice.

If someone tells you that it’s ok because they have had “Post Op Certification” give the local massage board a call and ask them how legal it is.  It. Is. NOT.  The End.

Why Should You Care?