The Ancestral Xiaoyan Paste of the Late Veteran TCM Physician Li Jifang
The late veteran TCM physician Li Jifang of Jiading, Shanghai, had an ancestral “Xiaoyan Gao” (Nodule-Dissolving Paste), said to have been purchased by his ancestors for a hundred taels of gold. It treats with excellent effect yang-away (yin-pattern) scrofula (luoli, e.g., lymph node tuberculosis and lymphoma), breast rock (ruyan, e.g., breast cancer and breast fibroadenoma), and goiter/thyroid lumps (yingliu, e.g., goiter and thyroid cancer). Dr. Li used this formula clinically for over 20 years and obtained certain efficacy, so he contributed this ancestral secret recipe to the public.The composition of the formula is: Shancigu (Cremastra/Pseudobulbus) 30 g, Tubelium (Paniculate Bolbostemma) 30 g, Wubeizi (Galla Chinensis, toasted through on a tile) 30 g, Chuan Duhuo (Sichuan Angelica pubescens) 30 g, raw Xiangfu (Cyperus) 30 g, raw Tiannanxing (Arisaema) 15 g, raw Banxia (Pinellia) 15 g. Grind all the above medicines together into a fine powder, mix with vinegar paste into a thick paste, and spread it on the lump.When using it, the area where the plaster is applied should be slightly larger than the lump, also moderately covering the surrounding area—this is the TCM “encircling medicine” method of the past. Once the plaster is applied, change it daily until the lump has completely disappeared. The vinegar paste here is made by simmering aged rice vinegar over low heat until three-quarters of the water has evaporated.Modern use can also spread this plaster on medical cotton and secure it with medical tape. Of course, a simpler method is to buy empty plaster patches online, place the medicine paste on the inner layer of the patch, and use it directly. When buying plaster patches, note the inner diameter: it should be slightly larger than the diameter of the lump.I have not used this formula myself, but each herb in it does have a certain swelling-dissipating and nodule-resolving effect, so it is not surprising that it can shrink surface lumps. Although raw Banxia and raw Tiannanxing are quite toxic, transdermal administration is relatively safe; however, it should be banned for surface tumors that have already ulcerated, and used cautiously by people with easily allergic skin.It should be mentioned that this plaster is indicated for yin-pattern luoli, ruyan, and yingliu—that is, surface lumps of yang pattern are not suitable. So what kinds of surface tumors are yin-pattern and which are yang-pattern? Generally, TCM external medicine holds that if the skin color over the surface lesion is unchanged, with no redness, swelling, pus, or local heat, it is yin-pattern; if the tumor shows signs of redness, swelling, pus, or local heat, it is yang-pattern. Yang-pattern conditions are mostly infectious diseases, for which this Xiaoyan Paste is not appropriate.Raw Banxia and raw Tiannanxing in this formula are controlled medicines and cannot be bought in most pharmacies; pharmacies only carry processed Banxia and Tiannanxing, whose external effect is poor. So when preparing this formula, patients also need to find reliable channels to obtain raw Tiannanxing and raw Banxia themselves.