at the data before concluding that amputation is superior.
Patients were included in the Military Extremity Trauma
Amputation/Limb Salvage study if their injury occurred
between 2003 and 2007.
7
During this period, there was a
patient-centric rehabilitation program for amputees (The
Armed Forces Amputee Patient Care Program), but, until late
2008, there was no such similar program for patients with
limb salvage. In another retrospective comparison, service
members with early amputation improved in several areas to
include psychiatric diagnoses, but it is also important to note
that they had more outpatient visits for psychiatry, occupa-
tional therapy) and physical therapy.
25
Before acceptance of
these results as de
finitive evidence the following question
must be answered,
“Did amputees do better compared to
those service members who underwent limb salvage because
they received more attention and more support?
”
In answering this question, it is helpful to further de
fine
the clinical problem and answer the questions,
“How many
patients fail limb salvage and why?
” Stinner et al initially
reported that 15% of amputations occurred more than 90 days
following injury, with many of those occurring more than a
year after injury.
26
A comprehensive analysis by Krueger
et al determined that during the
first 10 years of conflicts
in Afghanistan and Iraq, approximately 10% of all ampu-
tations were performed more than 90 days following
injury.
27
The 90-day time period was chosen to take into
account time to attempt limb salvage. When evaluating
outcomes of combat-related type III open tibia fractures,
Huh et al found that those undergoing late amputation had
several common characteristics: (a) more
flaps, (b) higher
rates of infection (both deep soft tissue and osteomyelitis),
and (c) more reoperations.
28
This is similar to data reported
by the LEAP Study Group, who noted that patients undergo-
ing limb salvage for a mangled foot and ankle were likely
to have a longer time to full weight bearing and more
rehospitalizations. In addition, those that went on to an ankle
arthrodesis (fusion) or required a free
flap for soft tissue cov-
erage were likely to have worse outcomes.
29
Optimizing the
management of these severe injuries to minimize the post-
operative complications that more commonly lead to poor
outcomes should be a focus of future research efforts.
SUMMARY
Ultimately, the surgeon should be armed with an evidence-
based plan to treat severe combat-related extremity injuries
and patients must be given the individualized tools to suc-
ceed. For some, the tools to succeed may simply be follow-
ing their fracture to union with periodic clinic visits to be
reassured that they are on the right path. For others, it may
consist of custom orthotics and/or intense physical therapy.
5
And, yet, for others, it may be a wide range of vocational,
behavioral health, and other social support services to opti-
mize their individual outcome.
9
Military treatment facilities
have recognized the importance of this and have established
well rounded integrated rehabilitation programs that are
pushing beyond the boundaries of traditional rehabilitation,
which is resulting in improved outcomes for injured service-
men and women.
3,11
–13,18–22
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