: I assume (perhaps incorrectly) that Elrond used Vilya to heal Frodo's wound from the Nazgul attack, since it was beyong any healing that Aragorn could accomplish (and he had vast powers of healing). Is this, then, the reason for Frodo's recurrent problems with the "old wound" later, as the rings and everything acheived by them had begun to fade?

: -RobRoy

Vilya no doubt helped Elrond. But its power was not simply that crude. Elrond and all of his folk were masters of healing before ever Vilya was forged. Think of Aragorn at Minas Tirith. Part of this is that his folk are well educated (we can assume... Elrond being a lore-master). But Tolkien also implies that this is at least partially due to the virtue of Luthien's descendants.

Vilya contributed to (one might even say the cause of) the restorative powers of staying in Rivendell. The Last Homely House East of the Sea. A place of rest and comfort and ease. In the same way that Nenya seemed to warp time itself around the woods of Lothlorien, and Narya helped Gandalf to inflame the hearts and courage of those he came across, so too Vilya had an effect on the surrounding area and the people in it.

Cheers.

Dave C-Q