What is Lymphatic Enhancement Therapy (L.E.T)?

It is a device-assisted lymphatic drainage session. Alongside the hands-on work, your therapist uses the Aria Elite LymphStar Pro, a set of lymph wands with red and blue light, to help stimulate and move lymph. At National Lymphatic Centers it complements manual drainage rather than replacing it.

Is L.E.T better than manual lymphatic drainage?

Neither is better. They do different jobs. Manual MLD is the foundation and where the assessment happens. L.E.T adds a device that, for some patients and conditions, helps the fluid move more readily. Your therapist decides which approach fits you at the table.

Does Lymphatic Enhancement Therapy hurt?

No. The work stays light throughout. The hands use a gentle skin-level technique, and the device is added along the same pathways once they are open. Most patients find the session calm, even relaxing. If anything feels tender, tell your therapist and we adjust.

What device do you use for L.E.T?

We use the Aria Elite LymphStar Pro, which pairs lymph wands with red and blue light. A trained therapist works it along the drainage routes they have already opened by hand. The device supports the manual work, it does not run on its own.

Who performs Lymphatic Enhancement Therapy?

Stephanie Kos, CLT, LMT, is our Lymphatic Enhancement Therapy specialist. Every session at National Lymphatic Centers is delivered by therapists trained in manual lymphatic drainage, so the device is always added by someone who understands your anatomy and your condition.

Who should not have L.E.T?

Patients with AFib, COPD, emphysema, blood clots, or an active infection should not have this work with us. Those are medical conditions that are outside our scope of care. Every session at our Hinsdale, Downers Grove, and Joliet clinics starts with a health review, so we can flag anything before we begin.

How soon will I feel a difference?

Many patients feel lighter soon after a session, sometimes the same day. That first result is fluid moving, so it is real but not lasting. For swelling that keeps returning or post-surgical recovery, relief tends to build over a short series rather than one visit.

Can I have L.E.T after surgery?

Often, yes, once your surgeon clears you. Post-surgical swelling is a common reason patients ask about device-assisted drainage. We time the work to your recovery and coordinate with your surgeon's guidance. Always clear any post-op massage with your surgeon first.

Do I need a prescription for L.E.T?

Most patients do not need a prescription. If you are recovering from surgery, we ask you to clear the work with your surgeon first. If you are in cancer treatment, we coordinate timing with your care team before booking.

The Vogel Method · Since 1991

Lymphatic Enhancement Therapy

Some patients drain beautifully with hands alone. Others do better when we add a device that helps stimulate and move lymph. Lymphatic Enhancement Therapy (L.E.T) is that added layer, calm and gentle, chosen at your assessment. Delivered by therapists trained in manual lymphatic drainage across three clinics in Chicago's western suburbs.

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35 years of clinical practiceFounder Sharon M. Vogel, LMT · CLT · CDT3 Illinois locationsPhysician-referred · BBB A+

What Brings You In

Concerns Lymphatic Enhancement Therapy Treats

Persistent swelling from a lymphatic system that cannot drain on its own. Managing diagnosed lymphedema is core to what we do, and for some patients L.E.T adds device-assisted stimulation to the hands-on work, chosen at the assessment when a session calls for it.

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Lighter feeling

Many patients feel less puffy soon after a session, sometimes the same day

Fluid on the move

Added stimulation helps stubborn lymph clear a little more readily

Calm and gentle

A light touch throughout, and many patients nearly fall asleep

Builds with a series

Relief tends to grow over a short course rather than one visit

The NLC Experience

Why patients choose NLC.

Founder Sharon M. Vogel has spent more than three decades devoted to lymphatic drainage. A Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Lymphedema Therapist and Board-Certified in Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork (LMT, CLT, BCTMB), she developed the Vogel Method and founded National Lymphatic Centers in 1991. Today her team of certified therapists carries that same standard across three clinics in Chicago's western suburbs: Hinsdale, Downers Grove and Joliet.

Honest Scope

When device-assisted drainage isn't the right call

Contraindications: we refer you on

Some conditions are outside our scope, device or not.

• We do not perform drainage on AFib, COPD, emphysema, blood clots, or active infection
• These are outside our scope of care
• Severe or acute cases can need a hospital lymphedema clinic with emergency care on site
• L.E.T follows the same rules as the hands

We screen at consultation

Every session opens with a health review before we begin.

• Each visit at our Hinsdale, Downers Grove, and Joliet clinics starts with a health review
• If you are recovering from surgery, clear the work with your surgeon first
• In cancer treatment, we coordinate timing with your care team before booking

The device supports, it does not replace

The device adds to the hands; it never replaces them.

• Not everyone needs the device; some get all they need from the hands
• Others do better with L.E.T added, and the assessment tells us which
• Manual drainage stays the foundation; the wands are one more tool
• A person leads the whole session from first stroke to last

Lymphatic Enhancement Therapy Process

What a device-assisted session looks like.

Every session follows your anatomy and your condition rather than a fixed routine. The room is quiet and the pace is unhurried, nothing happens without your say so, and the device is only ever added once the hands have opened your drainage.

Step 01 · Assess

Review and assessment before any work begins.

Your therapist looks at how your body is holding fluid, sets the plan for that session, and decides whether L.E.T belongs in it at all. Nothing happens without your say so.

Details+

• Health history, prior surgeries, current conditions, medications
• A look at how your body is holding and moving fluid
• Candidacy screen against the contraindications list
• A decision on whether the device belongs in this session

Reserve your consultation

Review and assessment before any work begins.

From the Vogel Method

The work, explained by Sharon

The full team.

Hover to read each name. Certified care across all three Illinois clinics, every session to the Vogel Method standard.

Sharon M. Vogel

LMT · CLT · CDT · BCTMB · CVMLD™

All three clinics

Abdul Alagha

LMT · CLT · LANA

Downers Grove

Ludmila Lynch

LMT · CVMLD™ · CLT

Joliet

Stephanie Kos

LMT · CVMLD™ · CLT · LET

Hinsdale

Hana Echevarria

LMT · OMT · CDT

Downers Grove