re:
> If the shape data is retained when a portion is trimmed out of a surface (creating this inactive area
> you mentioned) Is there some kind of heal command that would remove this inactive area?
There is indeed, it's called an "untrim".
It's done by selecting all the edges that make up a trim boundary and doing a Delete. The trim boundary must belong to a single surface, if there are multiple surfaces that are joined together use Edit > Separate on them first to break them into individual separate surfaces.
