Surgery is common not only as a medical emergency, but as an elective surgery in the case of plastic surgery. From a Western stand point surgery causes trauma to the body and then manipulations are made inside the body. Afterwards your body has to deal with removing anesthetics from the body and the trauma made to the body. In the case of many surgeries it is the incisions that need attention, but in the case of cosmetic surgery, like cheek implants, the trauma can include manipulations of skin, muscle and bone.

First your body goes into an inflammatory response and swelling and inflammation need to be dealt with. Afterwards, scar tissue continues to lay and secure the areas that are cut. Common practice is rest and proper care of the wound. From a Chinese Medicine perspective there is a little more going on here. The cut is viewed as a block of proper Qi flow in the body and the trauma is a stagnation of Qi and blood. In Chinese Medicine it is important to restore proper flow and get rid of the stagnant blood. The scar also needs attention to make sure scar tissue is only superficial and not rooted down into the body (continuing to block flow). Chinese Medicine recommends herbs, tui na, and acupuncture post surgery to quicken healing.

What Herbs Can Help?

A popular Western herb that is often recommended is Arnica /  Arnica Montana. Arnica is poisonous and should only be used externally or from an experienced practitioner. Externally Arnica is used as a liniment for the inflammation and bruising. Coming from someone with Chinese Medicine training this is a far inferior liniment method than Chinese herbal liniment that use complex herbal formulas and traditional techniques to make. Since liniment is very penetrating, poultices should be used externally first as strong teas. Try:

Comfrey Leaf

Dandelion Leaf / Pu Gong Ying

Myrrh Gum / Mo Yao

Goldenseal / Huang Lian

Apply this directly over the wound (when it is allowed to get wet, usually a few days after surgery). After a few days of waiting and a few days of a poultice, you should go to a good liniment.

Internally you can start on herbs almost immediately. You can start yourself on a ‘trauma’ type formula or a formula that is specific for post surgery as both a healing AND a supplementing formula. A good combination for post trauma would be:

San Qi / Tien Qi – Heal wounds, remove blood stagnation

Dang Gui / Tien Quei – Tonify blood, reduce swelling, remove blood stagnation

Comfrey Leaf – heal wounds

Huang Qi / Astragalus – Supplement Qi, increase fluids, avoid exhaustion

Chi Shao / Red Peony – clear inflammation, remove blood stasis, tonify blood

Mo Yao / Myrrh Gum – heal wounds, remove blood stasis

Yu Jin or Huang Jing / Tumeric Tuber – clear inflammation, heal wounds

A good tincture of this combination would be great and easily assimilated after surgery. Pills or tea would work fine as well.

Some prefer to use a single formula for a few weeks post surgery that will remove stasis, heal wounds, and supplement the body all at the same time. A basic combination of this would be:

Ren Shen / Ginseng – The number one herb for this. Build original Qi

Di Huang / Foxglove / Rhemania Root – Fresh or prepared can be used to support the blood with will, in the long run, heal the wound and supplement the body

Dang Gui / Tien Quei – Tonify blood, reduce swelling, remove blood stasis

San Qi / Tien Qi – Remove blood stasis, heal wounds

Bai Shao / White Peony – tonify the blood and relax spasms

Chuan Xiong – Correct the movement of qi and blood

Again a tincture or elixir would be preferred, but a tea or pills can be used as well.

There is a growing number of doctors and surgeons that are well aware of holistic medicine and can give you a good referral of someone to see or even some products. A good place to find out information of these elective cosmetic surgeries and recommendations of doctors, I would recommend you find some forums to chat with others about. There are numerous forums with a wealth of information on health, including popular cheek, breast augmentation, and tummy tuck forum. Always do as much research as you can from many sources, from many sides! Brain injury rehabilitation is a slow and very important process after your brain surgery. If you need more information contact head injury site.