Pre-op lymphatic drainage in Calgary

Pre-op lymphatic drainage at Renu is a 60-minute classic manual lymphatic drainage session ($130), usually one to three of them in the weeks before your operation. The aim is to drain the tissue, calm the nervous system and give your therapist a picture of your body before surgery, so the post-op plan, garment and timing are ready. It suits cosmetic, orthopedic and cancer-related surgery, though published trials of drainage before surgery are lacking, so treat it as preparation rather than proven prevention.

What a pre-op session is for

A pre-op session prepares your tissue and your plan before the operation. At Renu we recommend one to three sessions before surgery, each booked as a 60-minute classic lymphatic drainage massage at $130. The work is the same gentle manual lymphatic drainage we use for general swelling: flat hands, light pressure and slow rhythmic strokes, focused on the region that will be operated on and the lymph nodes it drains toward.

We use these sessions to drain the tissue and to stimulate the immune system and the parasympathetic, rest-and-digest side of the nervous system. Many people arrive anxious about surgery, and an hour of quiet, predictable touch is part of the value. The other half of the value is practical: your therapist learns how your tissue feels before surgery, which makes changes afterward easier to read.

Whether to have pre-op drainage at all is a separate question, covered on should you have lymphatic drainage before surgery. This page is about booking the session at Renu.

What the evidence does and does not show

We have not found published trials that test manual lymphatic drainage before surgery, so we do not claim it prevents complications. What research does show is why planning ahead helps.

• Surgery can change where lymph drains. A 2022 study mapped the lymphatic drainage of the lower abdomen in 20 women before and after abdominoplasty. Before surgery, every patient drained toward the groin nodes. At one and six months after, only 15 percent still did; 65 percent drained toward the armpit nodes instead, and the rest had mixed or unclear routes. The authors suggest the manual lymphatic drainage technique should be modified for patients after surgery.
• Post-op drainage has some supporting data. A small 2014 clinical study of 18 women after liposuction or lipoabdominoplasty found that twelve sessions of therapeutic ultrasound followed by MLD were associated with less pain, swelling and fibrosis. It had no pre-op arm, so it tells us about recovery, not preparation.
• For people with lymphedema or at risk of it, the National Lymphedema Network’s 2026 position statement calls for a team approach that includes surgeons and preventive care both before and after an operation, and recommends preoperative baseline measurements wherever possible for later comparison.

That is why a pre-op visit is really the first appointment of your recovery. Your therapist can plan the direction of drainage after a tummy tuck, for example, knowing it may differ from what your body did before.

Bring your surgery date and your plan

The more we know before the first session, the better we can plan. Bring:

• your surgery date and the name of the procedure, or every procedure if several are being combined;
• your surgeon’s pre-op and post-op instructions, including when they want drainage to start;
• a list of your medications, including blood thinners;
• for cancer surgery, which lymph nodes are expected to be removed, if your team has told you.

If you are having breast cancer surgery, ask your care team about baseline arm measurements before the operation; our page on baseline arm measurements before breast surgery explains why they matter. Our surgery preparation guide in the Learning Centre covers the rest of the run-up at home.

How pre-op sets up your post-op plan

Your pre-op visit is where we sketch the recovery schedule. After surgery, treatment can begin as soon as 24 hours post-op with your physician’s approval, provided there is no infection or other contraindication, and more often within three to five days depending on your surgeon and the procedure. Recovery is then planned in two stages: gentle swelling reduction over 4 to 6 sessions, then fibrosis management over 6 or 10, typically two to three sessions a week for the first two weeks.

Your compression garment is part of the same plan. Compression garment fitting and ordering are available at Renu for every kind of surgery, as a 30-minute fitting ($25) with Meeghan Mackenzie, our Certified Compression Fitter; see compression garment fitting in Calgary. Garments are ordered through medical suppliers, so ask early if you want us to handle yours.

With your written consent, we can share treatment updates with your surgeon. What happens at the first session after surgery is described on your first post-op lymphatic drainage session.

Who you will see and how to book

Pre and post-op lymphatic drainage at Renu is delivered by a Certified Lymphedema Therapist and lymphatic-trained Registered Massage Therapists: Meeghan Mackenzie, RMT, CLT; Sasha Bernard, RMT, trained in Lymphatic Drainage Therapy through the Chikly Health Institute; and Leah Buschau, RMT, with Vodder Level One certification. All oncology and orthopedic lymphatic work is performed by Meeghan.

Book the pre-op session online through Jane, or phone the clinic if you want help timing sessions around your date. We are on 19 Street NW in West Hillhurst, a short drive from Foothills Medical Centre, with free street parking and evening appointments on weekdays until 8:30 pm.

When to check with your surgeon or doctor first

Pre-op drainage should never compete with your surgeon’s instructions. Check with them first if they have set limits on massage or other treatments before the operation. The Cleveland Clinic advises avoiding lymphatic drainage with blood clots or deep vein thrombosis, cellulitis or other infection, fever, heart disease, kidney failure or a recent stroke, and therapists do not work directly over cancerous tissue or skin damaged by radiation.

Contact your doctor rather than booking if you develop pain, warmth or swelling in one calf, a fever, or any new symptom your surgical team has asked you to report. A surgery date can move if you are unwell, and your safety on the day matters more than any preparation session.

Questions people ask

How close to my surgery date can I have a pre-op session?

There is no published rule, so follow your surgeon's instructions first. If your surgeon has given you a cut-off for treatments before the operation, we book around it; otherwise we spread one to three sessions across the weeks you have.

Is a pre-op session priced differently from a post-op session?

Yes. The pre-op session is booked as a 60-minute classic lymphatic drainage massage at $130. Post-op lymphatic drainage is $105 for 30 minutes, $115 for 45 minutes and $140 for 60 minutes, because healing tissue, incisions and garments take more assessment.

Do I need to stop wearing anything or change my routine before a pre-op session?

Wear loose clothing, drink water and skip heavy lotions so the therapist's hands can move your skin. Keep taking your medications unless your doctor has told you otherwise, and tell us about all of them, including blood thinners.

Can my pre-op therapist also see me after surgery?

Usually, yes, and that is part of the point. Meeghan Mackenzie, Sasha Bernard and Leah Buschau all provide post-op lymphatic drainage at Renu, so the person who felt your tissue before surgery can often follow you through recovery.

Sources

1. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (2022): Changes in the pattern of superficial lymphatic drainage of the abdomen after abdominoplasty
2. Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery (2014): Manual lymphatic drainage and therapeutic ultrasound in liposuction and lipoabdominoplasty post-operative period
3. Cleveland Clinic: Lymphatic drainage massage
4. National Lymphedema Network: Evidence-based practices for lymphedema risk reduction (position statement, 2026)

Page reviewed October 5, 2026. This page is education, not a diagnosis. For your own situation, talk to your doctor, surgeon or care team, or ask us.