HEALING HANDS Perioperative massage therapy has many benefits for cosmetic surgery patients.

SOOTHING STRATEGY
Try Massage Therapy For Post-Op Pain

A combination of massage and pressure point therapy has delivered pleasing results at our cosmetic surgery center, providing us with some very good word-of-mouth marketing among the patient community.

• For post-op liposuction patients. We first brought a massage therapist on staff in 2006 to treat liposuction patients. Undergoing a session once a week for 6 weeks post-operatively helps to get fluid out and helps to ensure skin consistency, preventing lumps and bumps. So we packaged the massage therapy in with the cost of the case.
• For abdominoplasty and breast augmentation patients, too. We expanded the practice after finding that other patients benefit from massage as well. Abdominoplasty patients, for example, often adopt a hunched-over posture following surgery, which creates muscle tension in the lower back. And breast augmentation patients may feel stiff from uncomfortable sleeping positions. There are a lot of aching backs, arms and legs out there, and our patients love the results.
• To prevent PONV. We've also put the science of massage into use against post-operative nausea and vomiting. Our surgeon performs acupuncture on a radial pressure point in the wrist before surgery, and the massage therapist delivers acupressure afterward to forestall PONV.

Mary Beth Smith, BSN, MSN
Columbus Institute of Plastic Surgery
Columbus, Ohio
[email protected]