M.D. E ven the best of natural and preventive health programs can do only so much, and it is sometimes necessary to use surgery as a treatment. In fact, preparing and going through surgery are good times to demonstrate a true complementary medicine approach.
Good nutrition is as important before and after surgery as it is at any other time.
Years ago, Dr. George Blackburn at N.E. Deaconness Hospital demonstrated the improvement in post-operative healing that accompanied better attention to what the patient ate. Sugar and alcohol are well known to suppress wound healing, and should be eliminated. Caffeine withdrawal is bad enough at any time, but worse when compounding a post- operative experience. Several vitamins and minerals help to speed the rate of healing, and to limit the formation of scar tissue. Vitamin C is known to increase wound healing, as are the minerals zinc and copper.