By the way, doctor: HGH after surgery

Published: May, 2008

Q. I heard that human growth hormone can help people after surgery. Is that true?

A. The human growth hormone (HGH) that athletes take because they believe it helps them recover from injuries has been used successfully in burn patients for a number of years. The healing process from a severe burn can sometimes put the body into a hypermetabolic state that ends up tearing down muscle and other tissue. In those circumstances, injections of HGH can reverse the destructive (catabolic) processes and promote constructive (anabolic) ones.

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