Orthopedic research looks to war zone

[unhappycamper]

Orthopedic research looks to war zone
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Mar 9, 2008 9:00:15 EDT

When thousands of orthopedic surgeons gathered in San Francisco the week of this week for their annual meeting, one topic popped up again and again: blast injuries.

On the battlefield, doctors push the limits of orthopedic medicine every time they fight infection, fit an Iraqi soldier with a prosthetic hand, or piece together broken bones using bits of metal.

In the research field, scientists look at the same injuries and try to figure out how to use stem cells to grow new bone, permanently implant a prosthetic foot to a living shin, or spread knowledge about controlling infections.

For civilian surgeons, much of what’s new these days in the orthopedic field comes from what U.S. troops face in Iraq and Afghanistan.

With 31,000 wounded — and 60 to 70 percent of those injuries being musculoskeletal — there are, unfortunately, lots of opportunity for new ideas, said Navy Capt. Dana Covey, who has deployed to Iraq twice and is chairman of orthopedic surgery at Naval Medical Center San Diego.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/military_iraqorthopedic_030908w/