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Someone who just had buccal fat removal (a cosmetic surgery to slim the cheeks) asked when it's safe to restart three peptides they had been using: GHK-Cu, BPC-157, and KPV. They stopped the peptides a week before surgery and are unsure how long to wait to begin again. They also wondered whether slowing or speeding healing matters, and whether stopping the peptides caused their painless recovery. GHK-Cu, BPC-157 and KPV are short chains of amino acids that people sometimes use for wound healing, inflammation, or skin and tissue repair. GHK-Cu is a copper-binding peptide that shows up in skincare claims for collagen and skin regeneration. BPC-157 is a peptide derived from stomach proteins that some experimental studies (mostly in animals) suggest can help tissue repair. KPV is a small peptide with reported anti-inflammatory effects in lab studies. None of these are standard, FDA-approved medical treatments for post-surgical care; most human data are limited or preliminary. What you can actually take from this question is that there’s no strong, clear-cut clinical guideline about exactly when to restart these specific peptides after cosmetic surgery. Most of the evidence for these peptides comes from animal studies or small, early human reports, not large clinical trials. Surgeons usually advise stopping anything that could affect bleeding, inflammation, or immune response before and shortly after surgery, but how long to wait varies by procedure, the drug, and the surgeon’s preference. One week off before surgery is sensible for many supplements, but whether to resume at one week, two weeks, or later depends on the surgeon’s assessment of your wound healing and the specific peptide. The person’s painless recovery could be due to good surgical technique, normal individual variation, or placebo — there’s no proof it was caused by stopping the peptides. For a regular person wondering what to do, the practical takeaway is to treat peptides like any other supplement or medication around surgery: follow your surgeon’s instructions. If your surgeon hasn’t given specific guidance about GHK-Cu, BPC-157, or KPV, ask them directly or ask for clarification on when things like anti-inflammatories, blood-thinners, or immune-affecting supplements can be resumed. If you’re focused on optimized healing, most surgeons allow you to restart non-prescription supplements once the incision looks well-closed and there’s no active redness, drainage, or infection — often after 1–3 weeks — but that’s individualized. Caveats are important. These peptides are not free of uncertainty. Side effects, interactions with anesthesia, infection risk, or impacts on scarring are not well studied for all of them. If a peptide affects inflammation or immune activity, there’s a theoretical risk it could change the normal healing process — either helping or, less commonly, causing problems like abnormal scarring. Also consider product quality: over-the-counter peptide supplies are not uniformly regulated, so contamination or dosing errors are possible. If you’re pregnant, immunocompromised, on other medications, or if the surgical wound shows any signs of infection, do not restart without medical advice. Bottom line: Check with your surgeon before restarting GHK-Cu, BPC-157, or KPV; there’s limited evidence and no universal rule, but waiting until the wound is clearly healing and getting your surgeon’s go-ahead is the safest approach.
Source: r/Peptides