War Amputees- Iraq and Afghanistan

Stats--862

2009-04-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

Of the 862 service members who have had a limb amputated since the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, 57 delayed the procedure for months, including 35 who waited a year or more. -source

Job Fairs Help Wounded Veterans Find Work

2009-04-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

Job Fairs Help Wounded Veterans Find Work

by Terry Gildea

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Morning Edition, March 11, 2009 · It's hard to find work in a down economy, but imagine being more than 30 percent disabled from an injury suffered in Iraq or Afghanistan. The Defense Department is trying to help. It's calling on federal employers and those in the private sector to find jobs for the veterans who have been wounded during military service. Terry Gildea reports for Texas Public Radio.

Amputee vets learn more than skiing

2009-03-15T12:14:00.000-07:00

Amputee vets learn more than skiing

Matthew B. Stannard, Chronicle Staff Writer

(03-15) 04:00 PDT Tahoe City --

The 20-year-old soldier never skied before. Had never really seen snow, save the icy inch that occasionally gathers around his Texas home.

Wounded warriors: ‘I can do this

2009-03-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

Wounded warriors: ‘I can do this’

By Nick Cruit
BONANZA STAFF WRITER
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Sgt. John Bott, who started the day three tracking — skiing on one ski with outriggers— learns to mono ski Wednesday afternoon during the Wounded Warrior Ability Camp at Alpine Meadows. Bott had mono skied one time before but wanted to try three tracking because it would be more challenging.
Sgt. John Bott, who started the day three tracking — skiing on one ski with outriggers— learns to mono ski Wednesday afternoon during the Wounded Warrior Ability Camp at Alpine Meadows. Bott had mono skied one time before but wanted to try three tracking because it would be more challenging.ENLARGE
Sgt. John Bott, who started the day three tracking — skiing on one ski with outriggers— learns to mono ski Wednesday afternoon during the Wounded Warrior Ability Camp at Alpine Meadows. Bott had mono skied one time before but wanted to try three tracking because it would be more challenging.
Bonanza Photo - Jen Schmidt
Sean White learns to snowboard with a little help from disabled sports instructor Kevin Kuhns during the Wounded Warrior clinics Wednesday at Alpine Meadows. White, now a below-knee amputee on the right side, was wounded during his service when a roadside bomb hit under his Humvee and tossed him out of the vehicle.
Sean White learns to snowboard with a little help from disabled sports instructor Kevin Kuhns during the Wounded Warrior clinics Wednesday at Alpine Meadows. White, now a below-knee amputee on the right side, was wounded during his service when a roadside bomb hit under his Humvee and tossed him out of the vehicle.ENLARGE

Sean White learns to snowboard with a little help from disabled sports instructor Kevin Kuhns during the Wounded Warrior clinics Wednesday at Alpine Meadows. White, now a below-knee amputee on the right side, was wounded during his service when a roadside bomb hit under his Humvee and tossed him out of the vehicle.
Bonanza Photo - Jen Schmidt

After a soft landing in the snow, Army Pvt. Richard Samudio is in high spirits on his first day learning how to ski during the Wounded Warrior Ability Camp Wednesday at Alpine Meadows. Samudio lost his leg when he was hit with two grenades while doing mounted patrol on a humvee in Baghdad.
After a soft landing in the snow, Army Pvt. Richard Samudio is in high spirits on his first day learning how to ski during the Wounded Warrior Ability Camp Wednesday at Alpine Meadows. Samudio lost his leg when he was hit with two grenades while doing mounted patrol on a humvee in Baghdad.ENLARGE

After a soft landing in the snow, Army Pvt. Richard Samudio is in high spirits on his first day learning how to ski during the Wounded Warrior Ability Camp Wednesday at Alpine Meadows. Samudio lost his leg when he was hit with two grenades while doing mounted patrol on a humvee in Baghdad.
Bonanza Photo - Jen Schmidt

After a long day of learning to snowboard wounded soldier Sean White, a below-knee amputee, and instructor Kevin Kuhns, take a break in the sun near the bottom of Subway Chair.
After a long day of learning to snowboard wounded soldier Sean White, a below-knee amputee, and instructor Kevin Kuhns, take a break in the sun near the bottom of Subway Chair.ENLARGE

After a long day of learning to snowboard wounded soldier Sean White, a below-knee amputee, and instructor Kevin Kuhns, take a break in the sun near the bottom of Subway Chair.
Bonanza Photo - Jen Schmidt

ALPINE MEADOWS — In November, 1968, just four months after losing his leg in the Vietnam War, Doug Pringle stood on one ski across from a World War II Veteran who had also lost a leg in war.

He would learn to ski for the first time that day.

On Wednesday, Pvt. Richard Samudio took to the slopes of Alpine Meadows Ski Resort in a similar position.

It was just over three months ago that Samudio, 24, lost his leg in the Iraq War, struck by two grenades while performing mounted patrol atop a humvee in Baghdad. He would also learn to ski for the first time on one leg.

Amputee veterans relearn the lessons of golf

2009-03-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

Amputee veterans relearn the lessons of golf

By Kevin Robbins - Austin (Texas) American-Statesman
Posted : Monday Mar 2, 2009 17:31:01 EST

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas — A roadside bomb near Baghdad led Ryan Clark back to golf.

The 28-year-old Army infantryman from Ohio suffered a badly damaged left leg in 2007 when an improvised explosive device blew up near his vehicle in Iraq. The injury brought Clark to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where much of his leg was removed, and on a bright and breezy Monday three months later, he dressed for his first formal lesson in how to swing a short iron.

Amputee study could benefit Iraq veterans

2009-02-23T12:35:00.000-08:00

Amputee study could benefit Iraq veterans
Chris Centeno
Issue date: 2/23/09 Section: Campus

Researchers from Ohio State and Indiana University are studying the lives of Vietnam veteran amputees.

Stephen Wilson, a principal investigator in the study, spoke to veterans at the Faculty Club Friday afternoon.

The study, funded by a $2 million grant from the Department of Defense, led to the establishment of the Indiana-Ohio Center for Traumatic Amputation Rehabilitation Research. The goal of the research is to collect as much data from Vietnam veteran amputees as possible, in hopes of better understanding their lives after amputation.

Iraq War vet decides to have second leg amputated

2009-02-15T12:40:00.000-08:00

Iraq War vet decides to have second leg amputated
Sunday, February 15, 2009 | 7:22 p.m. CST
BY PHILLIP O'CONNOR/St. Louis Post-Dispatch

GREENFIELD — When Iraq war veteran Derick Hurt lost his right leg in a grenade attack five years ago, he fought with doctors to save his left leg and mangled foot.

Now, he wants to lose that leg, too.

Hurt believes he's used the pain in his remaining leg as an excuse for not moving on with his life. He avoided finding a full-time job, lacked goals and spent too many days at his rural home, depressed.

"I used it as a crutch not to do things," he said.

journal articles published about iraq and afghanistan amputees

2009-01-09T11:45:00.000-08:00

Title: Provider perspectives on rehabilitation of patients with polytrauma
Author(s): Friedemann-Sanchez, G; Sayer, NA; Pickett, T
Source: ARCHIVES OF PHYSICAL MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION 89 (1):171-178 2008
Times Cited: 3
Abstract: Objectives: To describe, from the perspective of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) polytrauma rehabilitation providers, (1) patients with combat-related polytrauma and their rehabilitation, (2) polytrauma patient family member involvement in rehabilitation, and (3) the impact on providers of providing polytrauma rehabilitation. Design: Qualitative study based on rapid assessment process methodology, which included semistructured interviews, observation, and use of a field liaison. Setting: The 4 VA polytrauma rehabilitation centers (PRCs). Participants: Fifty-six purposefully selected PRC providers and providers from consulting services. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcomes Measures: Provider self-report of polytrauma patient characteristics, polytrauma patient family member involvement in rehabilitation, and the impact of polytrauma rehabilitation on providers themselves. Results: According to PRC providers, polytrauma patients are younger than VA rehabilitation patients. Strong military identities affect rehabilitation needs and reactions to severe injury. The public and the media have particular interest in war-injured patients. Patients with blast-related polytrauma have unique constellations of visible (including amputations, craniectomies, and burns) and invisible (including traumatic brain injury, pain, and posttraumatic stress disorder) injuries. Providers have adjusted treatment strategies and involved services outside of rehabilitation because of this clinical complexity. Family members are intensely involved in rehabilitation and have service needs that may surpass those of families of rehabilitation patients without polytrauma. Sources of provider stress include new responsibilities, media attention, increased oversight, and emotional costs associated with treating severely injured young patients and their families. Providers also described the work as deeply rewarding. Conclusions: The VA should prioritize the identification or development and implementation of strategies to address family member needs and to monitor and ensure that PRC providers have access to appropriate resources. Future research should determine whether findings generalize to patients injured in other wars and to people who sustain polytraumatic injuries outside of a war zone, including victims of terrorist attacks.

Title: Patterns of injury in a combat environment
Author(s): Willy, C; Voelker, HU; Steinmann, R; Engelhardt, M
Source: CHIRURG 79 (1):66-76 2008
Times Cited: 0
Abstract:Epidemiological analysis of injury patterns and mechanisms help in identifying the expertise that military surgeons need in a combat setting and also in adjusting training requirements accordingly. This paper attempts to assess the surgical specialties and skills of particular importance in the management of casualties in crisis areas. MEDLINE (1949-2007) and Google search were used. Causes of death among casualties in Afghanistan and the Iraq war were analyzed. The leading causes of injury were explosive devices, gunshot wounds, aircraft crashes, and terrorist attacks. Of the casualties, 55% died in hostile action and 45% in nonhostile incidents. Chest or abdominal injuries (40%) and brain injuries (35%) were the main causes of death for soldiers killed in action. The case fatality rate in Iraq was approximately half as high as in the Vietnam War. In contrast, the amputation rate was twice as high. Approximately 8-15% of the deaths appeared to be preventable. Military surgeons must have excellent skills in the fields of thoracic, visceral, and vascular surgery as well as practical skills in neurosurgery and oral and maxillofacial surgery. It also is of vital importance to ensure the availability of sufficient medical evacuation capabilities. Furthermore, there is a need for a standardized registration system for all injuries similar to the German Trauma Registry.

Title: Amputations in US military personnel in the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq
Author(s): Stansbury, LG; Lalliss, SJ; Branstetter, JG; Bagg, MR; Holcomb, JB
Source: JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC TRAUMA 22 (1):43-46 2008
Times Cited: 2
Abstract:Objectives: To determine rates of major limb amputation in U.S. military casualties in the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, to correlate these with mechanism of injury, and compare the rate with that seen in U.S. casualties from the Vietnam War. Design: Retrospective study of all US. casualties recorded for the current conflicts from the start in October 1, 2001 to June 1, 2006. Setting: Records from U.S. military forward surgical teams (Level IIb) and combat support hospitals (Level III) in theater, evacuation (Level IV, Germany), and major military medical centers (Level V, United States). Patients/Participants: All recorded U.S. military casualties from the Afghanistan and Iraq theaters with injuries requiring evacuation out of theater or prohibiting the individual from returning to duty for more than 72 hours. Intervention: None. Main Outcome Measurements: Major limb injury, level of amputation, principal mechanism of injury. Results: Over the past 56 months, of the 8058 military casualties meeting the listed criteria, 5684 (70.5%) were recorded as having major limb injuries. Of these, 423 (5.2% of all serious injuries; 7.4% of major limb injuries) under-went major limb amputation or amputation at or proximal to the wrist or ankle joint. The mechanism of injury for 87.9% was some form of explosive device. The major amputation rate during Vietnam was 8.3% of major limb injuries. Conclusions: overall, major limb amputation rates for the current U.S. engagement in Afghanistan and Iraq are similar to those of previous conflicts.

Title: Practical use of emergency tourniquets to stop bleeding in major limb trauma
Author(s): Kragh, JF; Walters, TJ; Baer, DG; Fox, CJ; Wade, CE; Salinas, J; Holcomb, JB
Source: JOURNAL OF TRAUMA-INJURY INFECTION AND CRITICAL CARE 64 (2):S38-S49 2008
Times Cited: 1
Abstract:Background: Previously we showed that tourniquets were lifesaving devices in the current war. Few studies, however, describe their actual morbidity in combat casualties. The purpose of this study was to measure tourniquet use and complications. Methods: A prospective survey of casualties who required tourniquets was performed at a combat support hospital in Baghdad during 7 months in 2006. Patients were evaluated for tourniquet use, limb outcome, and morbidity. We identified potential morbidities from the literature and looked for them prospectively. The protocol was approved by the institutional review board. Results: The 232 patients had 428 tourniquets applied on 309 injured limbs. The most effective tourniquets were the Emergency Medical Tourniquet (92%) and the Combat Application Tourniquet (79%). Four patients (1.7%) sustained transient nerve palsy at the level of the tourniquet, whereas six had palsies at the wound level. No association was seen between tourniquet time and morbidity. There was no apparent association of total tourniquet time and morbidity (clots, myonecrosis, rigor, pain, palsies, renal failure, amputation, and fasciotomy). No amputations resulted solely from tourniquet use. However, six (2.6%) casualties with eight preexisting traumatic amputation injuries then had completion surgical amputations and also had tourniquets on for >2 hours. The rate of limbs with fasciotomies with tourniquet time <= 2 hours was 28% (75 of 272) and >2 hours was 36% (9 of 25, p = 0.4). Conclusions: Morbidity risk was low, and there was a positive risk benefit ratio in light of the survival benefit. No limbs were lost because of tourniquet use, and tourniquet duration was not associated with increased morbidity. Education for early military tourniquet use should continue.

Title: Complications after fasciotomy revision and delayed compartment release in combat patients
Author(s): Ritenour, AE; Dorlac, WC; Fang, R; Woods, T; Jenkins, DH; Flaherty, SF; Wade, CE; Holcomb, JB
Source: JOURNAL OF TRAUMA-INJURY INFECTION AND CRITICAL CARE 64 (2):S153-S161 2008
Times Cited: 0
Abstract:Background: Incomplete or delayed fasciotomies are associated with muscle necrosis and death in civilian trauma. Combat explosions severely damage tissue and distort normal anatomy making fasciotomies challenging. Rapid air evacuation may delay treatment of patients with evolving extremity compartment syndrome. We investigated the impact of fasciotomy revision and delayed compartment release on combat casualties after air evacuation. Methods: A retrospective review was performed of combat casualties who underwent fasciotomies in Iraq, Afghanistan, or at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center between January 1, 2005 and August 31, 2006. Outcomes were rates of muscle excision, major amputation, and mortality. Results: A total of 336 patients underwent 643 fasciotomies. Most were to the lower leg (49%) and forearm (23%). Patients who underwent a fasciotomy revision had higher rates of muscle excision (35% vs. 9%, p < 0.01) and mortality (20 % vs. 6 %, p < 0.01) than those who did not receive a revision. The anterior and deep compartments of the-lower leg were the most commonly unopened. Patients who underwent fasciotomy after evacuation had higher rates of muscle excision (25% vs. 11%), amputation (31 vs. 15%), and mortality (19% vs. 5%) than patients who received their fasciotomies in the combat theater (p < 0.01). Patients who underwent revisions or delayed fasciotomies had higher Injury Severity Score and larger burns as well as lower systolic blood pressure, acidosis, and more pressor use during air evacuation. These patients also received more blood products at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. Conclusion: Fasciotomy revision was associated with a fourfold increase in mortality. The most common revision procedures were extension of fascial incisions and opening new compartments. The most commonly unopened compartment was the anterior compartment of the lower leg. Patients who underwent delayed fasciotomies had twice the rate of major amputation and a threefold higher mortality.

Title: Treatment for the service member: A description of innovative interventions
Author(s): Yancosek, K; Daugherty, SE; Cancio, L
Source: JOURNAL OF HAND THERAPY 21 (2):189-194 2008
Conference Title: Conference on the Contributions of the Military Hand Therapist in Combat and Postdeployment Rehabilitation
Conference Date: 2005
Conference Location: San Antonio, TX
Times Cited: 0
Abstract:This article describes advances to the rehabilitation programs at major military medical centers since the onset of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The demands on military health care in times of war produce advances in the various rehabilitation professions. This article describes two programs that use new technologies for the care of military patients with devastating injuries to the upper extremity. One project relates to the application of voice-sensitive technology. The other project describes the utilization of virtual reality technology through a Firearm Training System. The article also explains an adaptive sports program and how recreation is part of a robust community reintegration program. Lastly, this article discusses the Center for the Intrepid, which is one of two new amputee care centers built to support the advanced rehabilitation of war-wounded amputees.

Title: Recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 for grade III open segmental tibial fractures from combat injuries in Iraq
Author(s): Kuklo, TR; Groth, AT; Anderson, RC; Frisch, HM; Islinger, RB
Source: JOURNAL OF BONE AND JOINT SURGERY-BRITISH VOLUME 90B (8):1068-1072 2008
Times Cited: 0
Abstract:This is a retrospective consecutive case series of 138 Gustillo-Anderson type IIIB and IIIC segmental tibial fractures treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in soldiers injured in Iraq between March 2003 and March 2005. Five patients with a head injury and four who were lost to follow-up were excluded. The patients were treated definitively with either a ringed external fixator or a reamed intramedullary nail, evaluated in terms of supplementary bone grafting with either autogenous bone (group 1, 67 patients) or recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 at 1.50 mg/ml applied to an absorbable collagen sponge (group 2, 62 patients). The mechanism of injury, defect size and classification, associated injuries, presence of infection, preliminary treatment/fixation, number of procedures before definitive management, time to and details of definitive management, subsequent infection, re-operation, smoking history and other complications were noted. Radiographs were assessed for union, delayed union or nonunion by an independent investigator. All the patients were male. Their mean age was 26.6 years (20 to 42) and the mean follow-up was for 15.6 months (12 to 32). Group 2 had a slightly higher profile of concomitant injuries and a slightly worse fracture classification, but these were not significant. The rate of union was 76% (51 of 67) for group 1 and 92% for group 2 (57 of 62; p = 0.015). There was also a higher rate of subsequent infection in group 1 (14.9%) compared with group 2 (3.2%; p = 0.001) and a higher rate of re-operation (28%) in group 1 (p = 0.003). There were no observed hypersensitivity reactions to the recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 implant.

Title: Developing a polytrauma rehabilitation center: A pioneer experience in building, staffing, and training
Author(s): MacLennan, D; Clausen, S; Pagel, N; Avery, JD; Sigford, B; MacLennan, D; Mahowald, R
Source: REHABILITATION NURSING 33 (5):198-+ 2008
Times Cited: 0
Abstract:The military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in patterns of injury not commonly seen in previous conflicts. Improvised explosive devices are the primary weapon, and exposure to blast is the most common mechanism of injury. Blasts can result in polytrauma injury, in which multiple body systems, including the head and brain, are injured. Nursing and rehabilitation care can be further challenged by other blast sequelae such as pain, amputation, blindness or low vision, hearing impairment, and aphasia. This article describes the process by which one Veterans Affairs Medical Center developed its inpatient rehabilitation service into a polytrauma rehabilitation center to meet the medical and rehabilitation needs of these patients. Special attention is given to the education and training program developed to solidify the membership of the center's nursing staf in the interdisciplinary treatment team.

Title: Orthopedic Injuries in US Casualties Treated on a Hospital Ship during Operation Iraqi Freedom
Author(s): Enad, JG; Headrick, JD
Source: MILITARY MEDICINE 173 (10):1008-1013 2008
Times Cited: 0
Abstract:From March to May 2003. the USNS Comfort was deployed to the Persian Gulf in Support of combat operations for Operation Iraqi Freedom. The onboard orthopedic service treated 58 U.S. casualties during that period. Eighty-seven percent of the injuries were to the appendicular skeleton. Twenty-four percent were battle injuries, and 72% were nonbattle injuries. Patients with battle injuries tended to be younger and required more orthopedic operations than did patients with nonbattle injuries. Moreover, all patients with battle injuries were evacuated to higher echelons for further care, whereas 19% of patients with nonbattle injuries returned to duty in the short term. Complications were few, with no infections, amputations, or deaths. A descriptive review of the types of injuries, orthopedic care, and eventual disposition is presented.

Title: In-theater management of vascular injury: 2 years of the balad vascular registry
Author(s): Clouse, WD; Rasmussen, TE; Peck, MA; Eliason, JL; Cox, MW; Bowser, AN; Jenkins, DH; Smith, DL; Rich, NM
Source: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS 204 (4):625-632 2007
Conference Title: 92nd Annual Clinical Congress of the American-College-of-Surgeons
Conference Date: OCT, 2006
Conference Location: Chicago, IL
Times Cited: 10
Abstract:BACKGROUND: Wartime vascular injury management has traditionally advanced vascular surgery. Despite past military experience, and recent civilian publications, there are no reports detailing current in-theater treatment. The objective of this analysis is to describe the management of vascular injury at the central echelon III surgical facility in Iraq, and to place this experience in perspective with past conflicts. STUDY DESIGN: Vascular injuries evaluated at our facility between September 1, 2004 and August 31, 2006 were prospectively entered into a registry and reviewed. RESULTS: During this 24-month period, 6,801 battle-related casualties were assessed. Three hundred twenty-four (4.8%) were diagnosed with 347 vascular injuries. Extremity injuries accounted for 260 (74.9%). Vascular injuries in the neck (n = 56; 16.1%) and thoracoabdominal domain (n = 3 1; 8.9%) were less common. US forces accounted for 149 casualties (46%), 97 (30%) were local civilian, and 78 (24%) were Iraqi forces. One hundred seven (33%) patients with vascular injury were evacuated from forward locations after treatment initiation. Fifty-four (50%) of these had temporary shunts placed. Of 43 proximal shunts placed in-field, 37 (86%) were patent at the time of our assessment. Early amputation rate was 6.6% for those extremity injuries treated for limb salvage. Perioperative mortality was 4.3%. CONCLUSIONS: This evaluation represents the first in-theater report of wartime vascular injury since Vietnam. Extremity injuries continue to predominate, although the incidence of vascular injury appears to be somewhat increased. Local forces and civilians now represent a substantial proportion of those injured. The principles of rapid evacuation, temporary shunting, and early reconstruction are effective, with satisfactory early in-theater limb salvage. (J Am Coll Surg 2007;204: 625-632. (C) 2007 by the American College of Surgeons).

Title: Infectious complications of open type III tibial fractures among combat casualties
Author(s): Johnson, EN; Burns, TC; Hayda, RA; Hospenthal, DR; Murray, CK
Source: CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES 45 (4):409-415 2007
Times Cited: 14
Abstract:Background. Combat is associated with high-energy explosive injuries, often resulting in open tibial fractures complicated by nonunion and infection. We characterize the infections seen in conjunction with combat-associated type III tibial fractures. Methods. We performed a retrospective medical records review to identify US military service members wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan with open diaphyseal tibial fractures who were admitted to our facility (Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas) between March 2003 and September 2006. Results. Of the 62 patients with open tibial fractures who were identified in our initial search, 40 had fractures that met our inclusion criteria as type III diaphyseal tibial fractures. Three patients were excluded because their fractures were managed with early limb amputation, and 2 were excluded because of incomplete follow-up records. Twenty-seven of these 35 patients had at least 1 organism present in initial deep-wound cultures that were performed at admission to the hospital. The pathogens that were identified most frequently were Acinetobacter, Enterobacter species, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Thirteen of the 35 patients had union times of 19 months that appeared to be associated with infection. None of the gram-negative bacteria identified in the initial wound cultures were recovered again at the time of a second operation; however, all patients had at least 1 staphylococcal organism. One patient had an organism present during initial culture and in the nonunion wound; this organisim was a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain that was inadvertently not treated. Five of 35 patients ultimately required limb amputation, with infectious complications cited as the reason for amputation in 4 of these cases. Conclusions. Combat-associated type III tibial fractures are predominantly associated with infections due to gram-negative organisms, and these infections are generally successfully treated. Recurrent infections are predominantly due to staphylococci.

Title: Hearing regeneration in a dog after deafness due to unprofessional excision of the external ear during puppyhood
Author(s): Konig, F
Source: KLEINTIERPRAXIS 52 (5):291-+ 2007
Times Cited: 0
Abstract:In some areas of Asia, the unprofessional excision of the external ear and tail of male puppies is often practiced. By this treatment, dog owners from Turkey, over Russia to Afghanistan try to evoke aggressive and guarding behaviour in their dogs. Due to increasing intercontinental travel, more and more dogs mistreated in this way have been imported to Germany. The diagnosis of hearing loss and treatment options in the dog are discussed on the basis of a case report concerning a male dog deafened as a puppy. We could resolve his conductive deafness by opening the remnants of his ear canals. Postoperatively, he showed disturbances in sound interpretation and possibly somatosensory pain phenomena. The observed postoperative phenomena are compared with the literature and reports about experiences with prelingually deafened children after prosthetic implant surgery.

Title:The complete management of extremity vascular injury in a local population: A wartime report from the 332nd expeditionary medical Group/Air Force Theater Hospital, Balad Air Base, Iraq
Author(s): Peck, MA; Clouse, WD; Cox, MW; Bowser, AN; Eliason, JL; Jenkins, DH; Smith, DL; Rasmussen, TE
Source: JOURNAL OF VASCULAR SURGERY 45 (6):1197-1204 2007
Conference Title: 20th Annual Meeting of the Eastern-Vascular-Society
Conference Date: SEP 28-30, 2006
Conference Location: Washington, DC
Times Cited: 5
Abstract: Background: Although the management of vascular injury in coalition forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom has been described, there are no reports on the in-theater treatment of wartime vascular injury in the local population. This study reports the complete management of extremity vascular injury in a local wartime population and illustrates the unique aspects of this cohort and management strategy. Methods: From September 1, 2004, to August 31, 2006, all vascular injuries treated at the Air Force Theater Hospital (AFTH) in Balad, Iraq, were registered. Those in noncoalition troops were identified and retrospectively reviewed. Results: During the study period, 192 major vascular injuries were treated in the local population in the following distribution: extremity 70% (n = 134), neck and great vessel 17% (n = 33), and thoracoabdominal 13% (n = 25). For the extremity cohort, the age range was 4 to 68 years and included 12 pediatric injuries. Autologous vein was the conduit of choice for these vascular reconstructions. A strictwound management strategy providing repeat operative washout and application of the closed negative pressure adjunct was used. Delayed primary closure or secondary coverage with a split-thickness skin graft was required in 57% of extremity wounds. All patients in this cohort remained at the theater hospital through definitive wound healing, with an average length of stay of 15 days (median 11 days). Patients required an average of 3.3 operations (median 3) from the initial injury to definitive wound closure. Major complications in extremity vascular patients, including mortality, were present in 15.7% (n = 21). Surgical wound infection occurred in 3.7% (n = 5), and acute anastomotic disruption in 3% (n = 4). Graft thrombosis occurred in 4.5% (n = 6), and early amputation and mortality rates during the study period were 3.0% (n = 4) and 1.5% (n = 2), respectively. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this study represents the first large report of wartime extremity vascular injury management in a local population. These injuries present unique challenges related to complex wounds that require their complete management to occur in-theater. Vascular reconstruction using vein, combined with a strict wound management strategy, results in successful limb salvage with remarkably low infection, amputation and mortality rates.
ISSN: 0741-5214
DOI: 10.1016/j.jvs.2007.02.003
Record 14 of 42
Title: Key factors for civilian injuries and deaths from exploding landmines and ordnance
Author(s): Surrency, AB; Graitcer, PL; Henderson, AK
Source: INJURY PREVENTION 13 (3):197-201 2007
Times Cited: 0
Abstract:Objective: To identify risk factors for death or injury from landmines and ordnance in Kabul City, Afghanistan, so programs can target preventive actions. Methods: Active surveillance in hospitals and communities for injuries and deaths from landmine and ordnance explosions in Kabul City. Results: Of the 571 people the authors identified during the 25-month period, 161 suffered a traumatic amputation and 94 were killed from a landmine or ordnance explosion. Of those asked, 19% of victims had received mine awareness education before the incident, and of those, the majority was injured while handling or playing with an explosive device. Most victims were young males with a few years of education. The occupation types most at risk were students and laborers, and unemployment was common among the victims. Collecting wood or paper and playing with or handling an explosive were the most frequent activities associated with injuries and deaths. Conclusions: From May 1996 to July 1998, explosions from landmines and ordnance claimed 571 victims and were an important preventable cause of injury and death among people in Kabul City. Prevention strategies should focus on high-risk groups and changing risky behaviors, such as tampering with explosive devices.

Title: Traumatic transfemoral amputation with concomitant ipsilateral proximal femoral fracture - A report of two cases
Author(s): Pickard-Gabriel, CJ; Ledford, CL; Gajewski, DA; Granville, RR; Andersen, RC
Source: JOURNAL OF BONE AND JOINT SURGERY-AMERICAN VOLUME 89A (12):2764-2768 2007
Times Cited: 0
Abstract:In contrast to civilian amputations, military amputations today are almost entirely due to trauma(1-6). The current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have resulted in more than 700 major limb amputations(7). We present the cases of two patients who sustained traumatic transfemoral amputations with concomitant ipsilateral femoral fractures. The injuries in these two patients represent particularly complex injuries that are rarely, if ever, seen in the civilian trauma setting. These patients represent a different segment of the population than do traditional civilian amputees because of their young age, excellent physical conditioning prior to injury, high capacity for healing, and long life expectancy following amputation(8-11). When a traumatic lower-limb amputation occurs in a young healthy adult, the best outcome is attained with use of a prosthetic limb to restore as much function and mobility as possible(12). More distal levels of amputation (e.g., trans-tibial compared with transfemoral) allow more efficient walking(8,10,11,13-16) and better overall function(14.17). It is therefore important to maintain as much skeletal length as possible to optimize outcome. The current standard suggests that a minimum length of 5 to 10 cm distal to the lesser trochanter (approximately one-third of the original femoral length) is necessary to fit a patient with a transfemoral total-contact ischial-containment narrow-medial-lateral socket prosthesis rather than a hip-disarticulation total-contact ischial-containment prosthesis. Ideally, the residual length should be approximately 20 cm distal to the lesser trochanter (approximately two-thirds of the original femoral length).

Title: Developing a trauma registry in a forward deployed military hospital: Preliminary report
Author(s): Acosta, JA; Hatzigeorgiou, C; Smith, LS
Source: JOURNAL OF TRAUMA-INJURY INFECTION AND CRITICAL CARE 61 (2):256-260 2006
Times Cited: 1
Abstract:Background. The 325th Field Surgical Team (FST), a US Army trauma surgical group, was deployed to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. Unlike civilian trauma centers, complete trauma registries are lacking from the FST care model. Methods. A trauma registry was created using a commercially available relational database. Data entry was done using a handheld personal data organizer (PDA). Results. In 82 days, 125 trauma patients were evaluated and treated. The mean age was 23 +/- 11.69 and 85 (68%) were local Afghan nationals. Most patients were transported by helicopter (83; 66%); the remaining arrived by ground transportation (42; 34%). The average US military casualty arrival time from injury was 1 hour 38 minutes +/- 46. The most common injury was gunshot wounds 47(38%) and the mean Injury Severity Score was 9, with 29 (23%) patients scoring >= 15. Initial mean vitals were systolic blood pressure (SBP); 119 +/- 23.7, heart rate; 103 +/- 7.35, respiratory rate; 20 +/- 7.35, and temperature (degrees C); 36.6 +/- 1.6. The median Glasgow Coma Scale was 15, and presenting mean hematocrit and base deficit were 35 +/- 9.56 and -5.02 +/- 5.03, respectively. Operative procedures were performed in 54 (43.2%) patients, and the mean time to surgery from admission was 80 +/- 11.5 minutes. The most common operative procedure was debridement or completion of amputation of lost limb debridement and completion of amputations (13). The average length of stay was 4.37 +/- 2.88 days. The mortality rate was 8%. Conclusion. The collection of comprehensive prospective data using a PDA can be an efficient and effective method in expanding trauma base registries in forward deployed surgical units.

Title:Tactical surgical intervention with temporary shunting of peripheral vascular trauma sustained during Operation Iraq Feedom: One unit's experience
Author(s): Chambers, LW; Green, DJ; Sample, K; Gillingham, BL; Rhee, P; Brown, C; Narine, N; Uecker, JM; Bohman, HR
Source: JOURNAL OF TRAUMA-INJURY INFECTION AND CRITICAL CARE 61 (4):824-830 2006
Times Cited: 7
Abstract: Background: Rapidly restoring perfusion to injured extremities is one of the primary missions of forward military surgical teams. The austere setting, limited resources, and grossly contaminated nature of wounds encountered complicates early definitive repair of complex combat vascular injuries. Temporary vascular shunting of these injuries in the forward area facilitates rapid restoration of perfusion while allowing for deferment of definitive repair until after transport to units with greater resources and expertise. Methods. Standard Javid or Sundt shunts were placed to temporarily bypass complex peripheral vascular injuries encountered by a forward US Navy surgical unit during a six month interval of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Data from the time of injury through transfer out of Iraq were prospectively recorded. Each patient's subsequent course at Continental US medical centers was retrospectively reviewed once the operating surgeons had returned from deployment. Results. Twenty-seven vascular shunts were used to bypass complex vascular injuries in twenty combat casualties with a mean injury severity score of 18 (range 9-34) and mean mangled extremity severity score of 9 (range 6-11). All patients survived although three (15%) ultimately required amputation for nonvascular complications. Six (22%) shunts clotted during transport but an effective perfusion window was provided even in these cases. Conclusion. Temporary vascular shunting appears to provide simple and effective means of restoring limb perfusion to combat casualties at the forward level.

Title: Upper extremity vascular injury: A current in-theater wartime report from Operation Iraqi Freedom
Author(s): Clouse, WD; Rasmussen, TE; Perlstein, J; Sutherland, MJ; Peck, MA; Eliason, JL; Jazerevic, S; Jenkins, DH
Source: ANNALS OF VASCULAR SURGERY 20 (4):429-434 2006
Conference Title: 16th Annual Winter Meeting of the Peripheral-Vascular-Surgery-Society
Conference Date: JAN 27-29, 2006
Conference Location: Pk City, UT
Times Cited: 6
Abstract:Past wartime experience and recent civilian reports indicate upper extremity (UE) vascular injury occurs less often and with less limb loss than lower extremity (LE) injury. Given advances in critical care, damage control techniques, and military armor technology, the objective of this evaluation was to define contemporary patterns of UE injury and effectiveness of vascular surgical management in UE vascular injury during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). From 1 September 2004 through 31 August 2005, 2,473 combat-related injuries were treated at the central echelon III surgical facility in Iraq. Patients with UE vascular injuries upon arrival were reviewed. Vessels injured were delineated. Therapeutic interventions, early limb viability, and complication rates following vascular repair were recorded. Of casualties treated during the study period, 43 (1.7%) UE and 83 (3.3%) LE vascular injuries were identified. Of the UE injuries, 11 (26%) had been operated on at forward locations and six (14%) had temporary shunts in place upon arrival at our facility. Injury levels included 10 (23%) subclavian-axillary, 25 (58%) brachial, and 10 (23%) distal to the brachial bifurcation. Two patients had multilevel injury. Twenty-eight grafts were placed, and 10 vessel repairs and eight ligations were performed. Two (4.7%) brachial interposition grafts required removal due to infection. Four (9.3%) subacute brachial graft thromboses occurred. Four (9.3%) patients underwent early UE amputation. In this most recent U.S. military evaluation of wartime UE vascular injury, UE injury appears rare, with LE injury twice as frequent. Yet, UE limb loss appears more substantial than noted previously. These findings are likely related to significant tissue destruction occurring with the combined mechanisms of injury sustained in OIF.

Title: Long-term follow-up of Iranian veteran upper extremity amputees from the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988)
Author(s): Ebrahimzadeh, MH; Fattahi, AS; Nejad, AB
Source: JOURNAL OF TRAUMA-INJURY INFECTION AND CRITICAL CARE 61 (4):886-888 2006
Times Cited: 1
Abstract:Background: Despite their frequency, there are limited reports concerning long-term follow up of upper limb amputation among battle-injured patients, which occurred at a young age. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how well these patients function years after their injury. Methods: The study consisted of a thorough assessment and examination and review of the history and war time medical records of 25 Iranian veteran amputees from imposed Iran-Iraq war with a comprehensive survey including a detailed questionnaire. Information was analyzed and compared with limited similar reports in the literature. Results: Out of 200 war amputees there were 25 unilateral upper limb amputees; all others were lower limb amputees. The average age at the time of injury was 23.06 years, average age at follow-up was 41.55 years, and the average time between injury and follow-up was 17.5 years. The most common level of amputation was below elbow (40%), and the most common cause of war injury was artillery shells, mortar or rocket shells. The prevalence of clinical symptoms of phantom sensation, phantom pain, phantom movement and stump pain were; 64%, 32%, 20%, 24%, respectively. All patients were married (100%) and had children except one case (96%). Sixty percent of patients were employed. Thirty-six percent had a documented psychiatric history ranging from minor depression to post-traumatic stress disorders. Conclusion: The study showed-despite long period of time between war, amputation, and follow-up-there is a significant rate of amputation symptoms, but on the other hand good family and social function of the patients.

Title:A case report on the collaboration of health care professionals in fitting and training seven Iraqi clients with right wrist disarticulations 9 years postamputation
Author(s): Krenek, SM; Vasquez, M
Source: AMERICAN JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY 60 (3):340-347 2006
Times Cited: 0
Abstract: In 1995, seven men from Iraq had their right hands surgically amputated under the regime of Sad dam Hussein. The men have lived with the shame, that is associated with miss in g a right hand in their culture, since that time. Recently, the media and a team of health care providers collaborated to bring these seven men to Houston, Texas, for surgical revisions, prosthetic hands, and occupational therapy services. The preprosthetic, interimprosthetic, and postprosthetic interventions are discussed, as well as the typical time frames for each. This case report outlines the time restrictions that were placed on the health care team and demonstrates the continuous collaborative approach between occupational therapists, prosthetists, and other health care professionals, which contributed to the initial successful outcomes for these men.

Title:Evaluation of quality of life in self-care of stumps skin in Janbazan: Persons who suffered an injury in imposed Iran-Iraq war leading to lower limb amputation
Author(s): Saeidolzakerin, MA
Source: OSTEOPOROSIS INTERNATIONAL 17S272-S273 2006
Conference Title: 7th International Symposium on Osteoporosis
Conference Date: APR 18-22, 2007
Conference Location: Washington, DC

Title: Extremity vascular injuries on the battlefield: Tips for surgeons deploying to war
Author(s): Starnes, BW; Beekley, AC; Sebesta, JA; Andersen, CA; Rush, RM
Source: JOURNAL OF TRAUMA-INJURY INFECTION AND CRITICAL CARE 60 (2):432-442 2006
Times Cited: 13
Abstract: Background: Recent events have refocused attention on certain principles regarding the surgical management of casualties on the battlefield. Extremity vascular injuries predominate, representing 50 to 70% of all injuries treated during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and exsanguination from extremity wounds is the leading cause of preventable death on the modern battlefield. Recent advances in military medicine have translated into a greater percentage of wounded soldiers surviving during Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom than in any other previous American conflict. The combat-experienced military surgeon, a fraction of those in uniform until recently, rarely has had the opportunity to convey lessons learned to the newly indoctrinated war surgeon. The purpose of this review is to do exactly that. Methods: We collectively reviewed the experience and opinions of five U.S. Army surgeons with regard to management of extremity vascular injuries in a combat zone Results: The modern battlefield has a staunch reputation of being unclean, noisy, and lacking of valuable resources. High-kinetic energy injuries such as those resulting from high explosives, munitions, and high-velocity missiles often cause soft-tissue destruction that is not routinely seen in civilian settings. Military-specific considerations in the management of these injuries are reviewed. Conclusions: The management of extremity vascular injuries on the modern battlefield presents many unique and demanding challenges to even the most seasoned of surgeons. Preparation goes a long way in overcoming some of the obstacles to seamless patient care.

Title: Responding to challenges in modern combat casualty care: Innovative use of advanced regional anesthesia
Author(s):Stojadinovic, A; Auton, A; Peoples, GE; McKnight, GM; Shields, C; Croll, SM; Bleckner, LL; Winkley, J; Maniscalco-Theberge, ME; Buckenmaier, CC
Source: PAIN MEDICINE 7 (4):330-338 2006
Times Cited: 8
Abstract: Background. The war in Iraq has resulted in a high incidence of severe extremity injury requiring multiple surgical procedures and extensive rehabilitation. We describe the use of advanced regional anesthesia to meet this significant medical challenge. Methods. From March 2003 to December 2004, 4,100 casualties have been evacuated to Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC). Of 1,400 inpatients, 750 have been battle-injured with 500 having extremity injuries. Of these, 287 (57%) received surgical care incorporating regional anesthesia including single-injection peripheral nerve blocks and continuous peripheral and epidural infusion catheters. Wounding, surgical, anesthetic, and outcomes data have been prospectively collected. Results. Over 900 operations (mean 4 +/- 2/patient) were performed on 287 casualties prior to arrival at WRAMC, and 634 operations (mean 2 +/- 1/patient) were performed at WRAMC. Thirty-five percent of this cohort was amputees. In the study group, 646 advanced regional anesthesia procedures, including 361 continuous peripheral nerve blocks (CPNBs), were performed with a mean catheter infusion time of 9 days (1-34). Catheter-related complications occurred in 11.9% of casualties and were technical or minor in nature. Catheter-related infection rate was 1.9%. In 126 casualties with indwelling CPNB catheters, a significant decrease in pain score over 7 days was apparent (mean 3.7 +/- 0.2 to 2.2 +/- 0.2, P < 0.001). Conclusion. Advanced regional anesthetic techniques allowed for safe perioperative surgical anesthesia and analgesia in the management of the modern combat casualty.

Title: Experience of treating gunshot wounds of large vessels in Afghanistan
Author(s): Brusov, PG; Nikolenko, VK
Source: WORLD JOURNAL OF SURGERY 29S25-S29 Suppl. 1 2005
Times Cited: 1
Abstract:The problem of treating injuries of large vessels in times of peace has been sufficiently well developed both in theoretical and practical aspects. In times of war, however, due to the large numbers of the wounded, a shortage of expert angiosurgeons, and multiple gunshot wounds, many theoretical tenets lose their academic regularity. The present study is based on the experience of treating 302 patients wounded during the Afghanistan war (1981-1985). Most of the injuries were to the vessels of the extremities. The gunshot wounds were complex. They included extensive destruction of tissue in the damaged segments of the extremities with simultaneous damage of large veins (42.0% of the cases), nerves (45.5%), and bones (47.4%). Multiple-vessel injuries were encountered in 4% of the cases, with combined injuries comprising 17.5%. Most of the wounded (83.7%) were in a state of shock, with 6.4% in a terminal condition. The blood loss amounted to 15% to 65% of the total volume. Ninety percent of the wounded were admitted to hospitals in the first 6 hours. A two-stage method was used to treat 71 of the wounded. The method included temporary bypass of the injured arteries and veins while evacuating the wounded and during surgery. Two hundred ninety-five wounded underwent vessel surgery. Out of the total number of injuries of arteries and veins, vessel sutures were used in 36.9% and 35.9% of the cases, vessel plastics in 41.4% and 7.1% of the cases, and vessel ligation in 21.7% and 60.0% of the cases, respectively. Surgery was completed by fixing the bone fragments externally with the help of special devices using the Ilizarov method. Amputation was performed in 13.9% of the cases. In 7.3% of the cases amputation was performed according to primary indications (no reconstructive surgery attempted on the vessels). In 6.6% of the cases extremities were amputated during the early postoperative period as a result of vessel thrombosis and an increase of tissue ischemia. The mortality rate after vessel surgery was 5.3%. We believe that for patients with gunshot wounds involving vessel injuries, early one-time reconstruction of the destroyed anatomical structures should be performed.

Title: Contemporary management of wartime vascular trauma
Author(s): Fox, CJ; Gillespie, DL; O'Donnell, SD; Rasmussen, TE; Goff, JM; Johnson, CA; Galgon, RE; Sarac, TP; Rich, NM
Source: JOURNAL OF VASCULAR SURGERY 41 (4):638-643 2005
Conference Title: Joint Annual Meeting of the Society-for-Vascular-Surgery/American-Association-for-Vascular-Surgery
Conference Date: JUN 03-06, 2004
Conference Location: Anaheim, CA
Times Cited: 18
Abstract:Objective: The treatment of wartime injuries has led to advances in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular trauma. Recent experience has stimulated a reappraisal of the management of such injuries, specifically assessing the effect of explosive devices on injury patterns and treatment strategies. The objective of this report is to provide a single-institution analysis of injury patterns and management strategies in the care of modern wartime vascular injuries. Methods: From December 2001 through March 2004, all wartime evacuees evaluated at a single institution were prospectively entered into a database and retrospectively reviewed. Data collected included site, type, and mechanism of vascular injury; associated trauma; type of vascular repair; initial outcome; occult injury; amputation rate; and complication. Liberal application of arteriography was used to assess these injuries. The results of that diagnostic and therapeutic approach, particularly as it related to the care of the blast-injured patient, are reviewed. Results: Of 3057 soldiers evacuated for medical evaluation, 1524 (50%) sustained battle injuries. Known or suspected vascular injuries occurred in 107 (7%) patients, and these patients comprised the study group. Sixty-eight (64%) patients were wounded by explosive devices, 27 (25%) were wounded by gunshots, and 12 (11%) experienced blunt traumatic injury. The majority of injuries (59/66 (88%)) occurred in the extremities. Nearly half (48/107) of the patients underwent vascular repair in a forward hospital in Iraq or Afghanistan. Twenty-eight (26%) required additional operative intervention on arrival in the United States. Vascular injuries were associated with bony fracture in 37% of soldiers. Twenty-one of the 107 had a primary amputation performed before evacuation. Amputation after vascular repair occurred in 8 patients. Of those, 5 had mangled extremities associated with contaminated wounds and infected grafts. Sixty-seven (63%) patients underwent diagnostic angiography. The most common indication was mechanism of injury (42%), followed by abnormal examination (33%), operative planning (18%), or evaluation of a repair (7%). Conclusions: This interim report represents the largest analysis of US military vascular injuries in more than 30 years. Wounding patterns reflect past experience with a high percentage of extremity injuries. Management of arterial repair with autologous vein graft remains the treatment of choice. Repairs in contaminated wound beds should be avoided. An increase in injuries from improvised explosive devices in modern conflict warrants the more liberal application of contrast arteriography. Endovascular techniques have advanced the contemporary management and proved valuable in the treatment of select wartime vascular injuries.

Title:A method for determining the rate of major limb amputations in battle casualties: Experiences of a British Field Hospital in Iraq, 2003
Author(s): Ramalingam, T; Pathak, G; Barker, P
Source: ANNALS OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND 87 (2):113-116 2005
Times Cited: 1
Abstract: Introduction: The majority of battle casualties undergoing surgery at 34 Field Hospital, the sole Coalition field hospital in Iraq during the conflict, sustained injuries to the extremities. To compare our experiences with those from previous conflicts, we report data on major limb amputations and propose a method for determining the rate of major limb amputation in a conflict setting. Patients and Methods: A retrospective review of battle casualties admitted to the hospital was carried out based on casualty records and operating theatre logbooks. Data were collected for the period 26 March and 8 May 2003, focusing on casualties undergoing surgery for battle-injured extremities during the conflict. Results: 68 (55%) casualties underwent surgery for battle injuries to extremities. Six upper and eight lower limb amputations (proximal to carpals and tarsals) were carried out from a total of 87 battle-injured limbs that had surgery, giving an overall amputation rate of 16% (14/87). Conclusions: In presenting our amputation rate of 16%, we highlight the lack of uniformity in describing 'amputation rates' between conflicts. A consistent method for quantifying amputations performed in a conflict setting could prove to be a useful tool.

Title: Human rights abuses and concerns about women's health and human rights in southern Iraq
Author(s): Amowitz, LL; Kim, G; Reis, C; Asher, JL; Iacopino, V
Source: JAMA-JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 291 (12):1471-1479 2004
Times Cited: 16
Abstract:Context Although human rights abuses have been reported in Iraq, the full scope of these abuses has not been well documented. Objective To assess the prevalence of human rights abuses since 1991 in southern Iraq, along with attitudes about women's health and human rights and women's rights and roles in society, to inform reconstruction and humanitarian assistance efforts in Iraq. Design Cross-sectional, randomized survey of Iraqi men and women conducted in July 2003 using structured questionnaires. Setting Three major cities in 3 of the 9 governorates in southern Iraq. Participants A total of 1991 respondents representing 16520 household members. Main Outcome Measures Respondent demographics, information on human rights abuses that occurred among household members since 1991, women's health and human rights, opinions regarding women's rights and roles in society, and conditions for community health and development. Results Respondents were a mean age of 38 years and were mostly of Arab ethnicity (99.7% [1976/1982]) and Muslim Shi'a (96.7% [1906/1971]). Overall, 47% of those interviewed reported 1 or more of the following abuses among themselves and household members since 1991: torture, killings, disappearance, forced conscription, beating, gunshot wounds, kidnappings, being held hostage, and ear amputation, among others. Seventy percent of abuses (408/586) were reputed to have occurred in homes. Baath party regime-affiliated groups were identified most often (95% [449/475]) as the perpetrators of the abuses; 53% of the abuses occurred between 1991 and 1993, following the Shi' a uprising, and another 30% between 2000 and the first 6 months of 2003. While the majority of men and women expressed support for women's equal opportunities for education, freedom of expression, access to health care, equality in deciding marriage and the number and spacing of children, and participation in community development decisions, there was less support among both men and women for women's freedom of movement, association with people of their choosing, and rights to refuse sex. Half of women and men (54% and 50%, respectively) reported agreeing that a man has the right to beat his wife if she disobeys. Fifty-three percent of respondents reported that there were reasons to restrict educational opportunities for women at the present time and 50% reported that there were reasons to restrict work opportunities for women at the present time. Conclusions Nearly half of participating households in 3 southern cities in Iraq reported human rights abuses among household members between 1991 and 2003. The households surveyed supported a government that will protect and promote human rights, including the rights of women. However, currently, neither men nor women appear to support a full range of women's human rights.

Title: Prosthetic device provision to landmine survivors in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Outcomes in 3 ethnic groups
Author(s): Burger, H; Marincek, C; Jaeger, RJ
Source: ARCHIVES OF PHYSICAL MEDICINE AND REHABILITATION 85 (1):19-28 2004
Times Cited: 0
Abstract:Objective: To determine differences in prosthetic provision, use, and effectiveness among unilateral lower-extremity amputees from 3 ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Design: Case series with a consecutive sample of patients seen in field clinics. Setting: Multiple field clinics in Bosnia and Herzegovina from October 1998 to May 2002. Participants: A total of 671 patients were examined, and information about their prosthetic history was recorded from observation or verbal responses. The majority of the amputations resulted from injuries inflicted by landmines. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Self-reported walking distance per day, prosthesis functionality (functional or nonfunctional as assessed by a physician and a prothetist), prosthesis status (broken or nonbroken as assessed by a physician and a prothetist), and employment status. Results: Ethnic groups differed significantly in types of prostheses provided, functional status of the prostheses, and use of the prostheses for community ambulation. Conclusion: Prosthetic devices and delivery of rehabilitation services for unilateral lower-extremity amputees differed between ethnic groups. Despite these differences, functional prosthetic devices increased mobility. Persons in all 3 ethnic groups with functional prostheses were more mobile than persons with nonfunctional prostheses. The employment rate was higher for people with functional prostheses.

Title: Extremity injuries remain a high surgical workload in a conflict zone: experiences of a British Field Hospital in Iraq, 2003.
Author(s): Ramalingam, T
Source: J R Army Med Corps 150 (3):187-90 2004
Times Cited: 0
Abstract:Background: During this conflict 34 Field Hospital, the sole Coalition field hospital located in Iraq, received and treated casualties with a wide range of injuries. Located very close to the front line during the period of combat hostilities, it was potentially going to deal with relatively fewer battle-injured extremities. Method: A retrospective review of battle casualties admitted to the hospital was carried out based on casualty records and operating theatre logbooks. Data was collected for the period between the 26th March and the 8th May, focusing on casualties who had surgery for battle-injured extremities during the conflict. Results: Sixty eight (55%) of the 124 casualties who underwent surgery did so for battle injuries to extremities. 139 (58%) of all operating theatre episodes and 189 (53%) of all surgical procedures undertaken were for battle-injured extremities. Fourteen major limb amputations were carried out from a total of 87 battle-injured limbs that had surgery, giving an amputation rate of sixteen percent (14/87). Conclusion: The experience at 34 Field Hospital confirms that extremity injuries do confer a high surgical workload in war. Surgical resources should, therefore, be aimed at this and surgical teams deployed to such environments should be well versed in the surgical management of casualties with limb trauma.

Title: Physician participation in human rights abuses in southern Iraq
Author(s): Reis, C; Ahmed, AT; Amowitz, LL; Kushner, AL; Elahi, M; Iacopino, V
Source: JAMA-JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 291 (12):1480-1486 2004
Times Cited: 6
Abstract: Context Physicians are known to have participated in human rights abuses in Iraq during Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime, but the nature and extent of that participation are not well documented., Objectives To characterize the nature of physician participation inhuman rights abuses, identify structural factors that facilitated physician participation, and assess approaches for accountability and for prevention of future physician participation in abuses. Design, Setting, and Participants A self-administered survey in June and July, 2003, of a convenience sample of 98 physicians and semistructured interviews of hospital directors and physicians in 3 major hospitals with general surgical units in 2 cities in southern Iraq. Main Outcome Measure Respondent reports of peer and self-participation in. human rights abuses in Iraq since 1988. Results The majority of participants were male (88% [86/98]) and Shi'a Muslims (97% [95/98]). Respondents reported a mean of 6.8 years in practice. A total of 71% of respondents (65/91) reported that torture was a problem to an extreme extent in Iraq since 1988. The proportion of respondents indicating that, since 1988, their physician peers as a group were extremely or quite a bit involved in human rights abuses included 50% (42/83) for nontherapeutic amputation of ears as a form of punishment, 49% (39/ 79) for falsification of medical-legal reports of torture, and 32% (25/78) for falsification of death certificates. Fewer numbers of respondents (range, n=2 to 6) reported participation in abuses themselves. More than half (52% [48/92]) indicated that physicians did not willingly participate in these abuses; 93% (52/71) reported that the Iraqi paramilitary force Fedayeen Saddam was responsible for initiating physician complicity. Fear of harm to oneself or family members was a common explanation for complicity. Respondents reported that physicians who refused to participate in abuses faced consequences including loss of job, imprisonment, torture, and disappearance. Respondents reported on preventive measures that should be undertaken to prevent physician involvement in future abuses, including increasing human rights and ethics education of physicians (99% [79/80]), legal provisions to ensure effective monitoring (97% [73/75]), punitive sanctions for physicians who commit abuses (96% [77/80]), and ensuring the independence of physicians from state authorities (95% [76/80]). Conclusions Although not generalizable beyond the study participants, the findings of this study suggest that among those surveyed, physician participation in human rights abuses included falsification of medical-legal reports of alleged torture, physical mutilation as a form of punishment, and falsification of death certificates. As Iraq rebuilds, it is essential that the country address these violations and enact measures to prevent physicians from future complicity in human rights abuses.

Title: Land mine injuries: A study of 708 victims in North Iraq and Cambodia
Author(s): Husum, H; Gilbert, M; Wisborg, T; Van Heng, Y; Murad, M
Source: MILITARY MEDICINE 168 (11):934-940 2003
Times Cited: 0
Abstract:Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the effect of low-cost prehospital trauma systems on trauma outcome in land mine victims and to study prehospital risk indicators for better triage of land mine injuries. Methods: A 5-year prospective study of the effect of in-field advanced life support provided by local paramedics was conducted in mine-infested areas in North Iraq and Cambodia. Results: After implementation of a rural rescue system, there was a significant reduction in trauma mortality from 26.2% in 1997 to 11.8% in 2001 (95% confidence interval for difference, 5.1%-23.6%). The mortality rate was significantly higher in fragmentation mine victims, 25.2%, as compared with blast mine victims, 5.7% (95% confidence interval for difference, 14.4%-24.6%). The severity of associated fragment injuries in patients with traumatic amputations is a solid risk predictor (area under the curve in receiver operating characteristics plots >0.9). Conclusions: Low-cost prehospital trauma systems improve trauma outcome in land mine victims where prehospital transit times are high. The fragment wounds represent the main challenge for trauma care providers.

Title: Chronic pain in land mine accident survivors in Cambodia and Kurdistan
Author(s): Husum, H; Resell, K; Vorren, G; Van Heng, Y; Murad, M; Gilbert, M; Wisborg, T
Source: SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE 55 (10):1813-1816 PII S0277-9536(01)00315-X 2002
Times Cited: 3
Abstract:The aims of the study were to study chronic pain in land mine accident survivors, and to study the impact of trauma and trauma care parameters on chronic pain. The level of chronic pain was registered (patient-rated and by clinical examination) in 57 severely injured adult land mine accident survivors in Cambodia and Northern Iraq more than one year after the accident. As all study patients had been managed by a standardized trauma system, we could assess the impact of injury severity and primary trauma care on chronic pain. 64% of the study patients (n = 36) had chronic pain syndromes (non-significant difference between the two countries). 68% of the amputees (19 out of 28) had phantom limb pain. Pre-injury trauma exposure, the severity of the actual trauma, and the quality of trauma care had no impact on end point chronic pain. In 85% of cases (n = 48), the economic standing of the patients' family had deteriorated after the accident. Patient-rated loss of income correlated with the rate of chronic pain syndromes. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Title:Causes of locomotor disability and need for orthopaedic devices in a heavily mined Taliban-controlled province of Afghanistan: issues and challenges for public health managers
Author(s): Francois, I; Lambert, ML; Salort, C; Slypen, V; Bertrand, F; Tonglet, R
Source: TROPICAL MEDICINE & INTERNATIONAL HEALTH 3 (5):391-396 1998
Times Cited: 6
Abstract: We conducted a locomotor disability survey on a heavily mined Taliban-controlled province of Afghanistan to document the problem of locomotor disability and to assess the need for orthopaedic rehabilitation devices in a study population of 12065. Global prevalence of locomotor disability was 23/1000 (95% CI: 20-26). War-related injuries were the leading cause of disability, affecting almost exclusively adult males. Leading causes of disability among women and children were medical and poliomyelitis. Devices most needed were lower limb ortheses (8.2 devices/1000 people; 95% CI: 5.9-10.4) and orthopaedic shoes (6.0/1000; 95% CI:4.3-8.0). The need for lower limb prostheses was less frequent (2.0/1000; 95% CI: 1.1-2.8). Most lower limb amputees (mainly victims of landmine injuries) were fitted with an artificial leg, while rehabilitation needs for other types of disability remained largely unmet. We estimated that it would take at least 3 years to provide enough orthopaedic shoes and 10 years for ortheses, whereas the need for lower limb prostheses could be met in less than 4 months. None of the 27 women with lower limb disability were equipped with an orthopaedic device, although this was the case for 31 of 89 men (35%). The problem of landmines should not divert attention from other causes of disability such as poliomyelitis or from other rehabilitation requirements. Immunization programmes and restoration of the public health infrastructure should be given high priority; rehabilitation services are largely insufficient and should be developed. Extreme gender difference in needs coverage is a matter of concern. Researching culturally sensitive strategies to tackle this problem should be a priority for donors and implementing agencies.

Title: Rehabilitation of lower limb traumatic amputees: The Sandy Gall Afghanistan Appeal's experience
Author(s): Hettiaratchy, SP; Stiles, PJ
Source: INJURY-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE CARE OF THE INJURED 27 (7):499-501 1996
Times Cited: 1
Abstract:Physical rehabilitation after lower limb traumatic amputation due to acts of war has not yet been investigated. It has been shown that patients suffering non-war injuries rehabilitate well. This study shows that despite the difficult circumstances and limited resources available in an area of conflict, good rehabilitation of war victims is possible. However, economic rehabilitation is worse than that seen in non-war populations. Given that this type of injury is very common in war zones worldwide, this failure of economic rehabilitation may represent a major healthcare issue. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.
ISSN: 0020-1383
Record 35 of 42
Title: DOCTORS IN IRAQ FACE AMPUTATION DILEMMA
Author(s): COURT, C
Source: BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL 309 (6957):760-760 1994

Title: PRIMARY-TREATMENT OF GUNSHOT AND EXPLOSION INJURIES OF THE EXTREMITIES USING THE ILISAROW TECHNIQUE
Author(s): RAMEZ, S; STRECKER, W; SUGER, G; KARIM, H
Source: UNFALLCHIRURG 96 (8):438-442 1993
Times Cited: 2
Abstract:High-energy missile and explosion injuries of the upper and lower extremities are complex and require treatment over a long time. Following classic strategies of surgical therapy, bone defects can be reconstructed only after the injured soft tissue has healed. The callus distraction technique now permits the beginning of bony reconstruction at the same time as the initial surgical debridement. During the period 1 July 1987 ot 30 June 1990, 25 grade III open fractures in 24 patients were primarily treated with the Ilisarow technique at Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital, Kabul, Afghanistan. Twelve months after the removal of the fixation devices the patients were examined and the following results were demonstrated: no amputations; bony, aseptic healing in 22.cases (88%); 3 non-unions, including 2 infected non-unions; 2 axial deviations > 10-degrees. The primary initiation of bony reconstruction by callus distraction offers numerous advantages in the treatment of gunshot and explosion injuries.

Title: AN EXPERIENCE IN THE TREATMENT OF WAR-WOUNDED FROM AFGHANISTAN
Author(s): NAZIR M
Source: Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegeforening 112 (8):1026-1028 1992
Times Cited: 0
ISSN: 0029-2001
Record 38 of 42
Title: Injuries from mines
Author(s): Pillgram-Larsen, Johan; Mellesmo, Sindre; Peck, Richard
Source: Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegeforening 112 (17):2183-2187 1992
Times Cited: 0
Abstract:In autumn 1991, 157 patients injured by mine explosions were taken care of by a Norwegian military medical unit attached to the United Nations mission in the demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait. 146 of the patients were seen during a three week period of Iraqi mine harvesting in the desert. The detachment worked according to the principles of a second echelon surgical installation. The patients were operated upon if necessary, stabilized and evacuated to Iraqi hospitals. 20 patients in all (13%) died primarily. Four of 109 patients evacuated to the field hospital died (4%). 68 patients had major amputations, in seven of them two extremities were blown off. One patients had an open chest wound, two had tracheal puncture wounds, and one had penetrating head injury. 27 patients had eye injuries, 13 of which were penetrating, 64 major surgical procedures were performed. When evacuation times are long after mine injuries, approximately six hours, almost only patients with injuries to the extremities can be expected to reach hospital for treatment. The pattern of injury was regular, with crushed extremities, amputations and damaged eyes.

Title: Tight compression dressing without tourniquet: Experiences with 68 traumatic amputations after injuries from mines
Author(s): Pillgram-Larsen, Johan; Mellesmo, Sindre
Source: Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegeforening 112 (17):2188-2190 1992
Times Cited: 0
Abstract: In autumn 1991, 68 patients with traumatic amputations after injuries caused by mines were evacuated to the United Nation's field hospital in the demilitarized zone between Iraq and Kuwait. Most were seen during a three week period when civilians harvested mines. During the first days of this period, continuous bleeding distally to applied tourniquets was frequently observed. Orders were issued to remove any tourniquets and cover the wounds with a very tight elastic bandage. Prehospital intravenous infusions were decreased. Three out of 18 patients died prior to the change of routine compared with one out of 50 afterwards. The new directives led to visibly less hemorrhage. Hemoglobin on admission was mean 8.6 g/100 ml during the first part of the observation period compared with mean 10.5 g/100 ml with the new routine. 23 patients received blood transfusions. Fewer patients needed transfusions after the use of tourniquets was discontinued. A tourniquet should not be used in the treatment of bleeding extremity injuries. In extensive crush injuries and traumatic amputations, a compressive dressing should be used, applied from the end of the extremity in a proximal direction.

Title: VASCULAR INJURIES - EXPERIENCE DURING THE AFGHANISTAN WAR
Author(s): SHERIF, AA
Source: INTERNATIONAL SURGERY 77 (2):114-117 1992
Times Cited: 6
Abstract: This is a prospective study done over an 18-month period in three base evacuation hospitals serving the Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Out of 224 patients, 78 had major and 146 had minor arterial injuries. Late presentation was a common finding. Mine explosions ranked first as a causative agent. This explains the high incidence of lower limb affections and minor vascular injuries. In the major arterial injury group, the superficial femoral artery was the commonest injured (33.4%), followed by the brachial (28.2%). Associated major venous injury occurred in 41% of cases while 25.6% had a compound fracture of the nearby bone. All subclavian and axiliary artery injury patients had concomitant brachial plexus injury. Arterial repair was done in 73 patients (93.6%) and ligation in 5. The importance of venous repair was emphasised; venous ligation was done in 6 patients only (19.4%). Repeated extensive debridement was done in 4 patients and useful limbs were left. This is believed to be a good alternative for selected cases with extensive muscle laceration. 3 patients died in the early post-operative period and 3 needed amputation (4%). Other complications were graft sloughing (1.3%) thrombosis (6%) and stenosis (9%). Only 56.9% of patients were followed up for 3-6 months.

Title:THE MANAGEMENT OF ANEURYSMS AND ARTERIOVENOUS-FISTULAS OF THE POPLITEAL ARTERY ARISING FROM WAR TRAUMA - EMPHASIS ON SIGMOID OPERATIVE APPROACH
Author(s): HAMZA, N; MARATH, A; ALFAKHRY, MR
Source: JOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY 31 (4):457-461 1990
Conference Title: 19TH WORLD CONGRESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOC FOR CARDIOVASCULAR SURGERY
Conference Date: SEP 05-09, 1989
Conference Location: TORONTO, CANADA
Times Cited: 1

Title: MISSED INJURIES IN CASUALTIES FROM THE IRAQI-IRANIAN WAR - A STUDY OF 35 CASES
Author(s): HAMDAN, TA
Source: INJURY-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE CARE OF THE INJURED 18 (1):15-17 1987
Times Cited: 12
ISSN: 0020-1383

War Amputee

2009-01-09T11:02:00.000-08:00

War amputee
By MICHELLE ROBERTS

Even the simplest task becomes monumental for a US Army bomb technician who lost her arms to a bomb in Iraq.

MARY Dague hears the catty whispers sometimes. “So ugly,” the strangers say when they think she can’t hear.

The 24-year-old has bright green eyes, a quick smile, and on the days she gets her husband’s help, perfectly applied mascara and blush.

But all the gawkers really see are her arms, each amputated above the elbow.

Traumatic Brain Injuries and PTSD

2008-12-17T20:19:00.000-08:00

In addition to the wounds on his legs, McBride suffered a mild case of traumatic brain injury, one of the estimated 320,000 service members who may have experienced such injuries during deployment, according to a 2008 Rand Corporation study.

Prior to the mortar incident, when he was home on leave during the summer, McBride suffered bouts of post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD. He experienced sleeplessness, flashbacks and nightmares but said he has not had repeat episodes since he was wounded.

The Rand Corporation says McBride is hardly unique and that nearly 20 percent of military personnel returning from Afghanistan and Iraq, about 300,000 soldiers, have symptoms of PTSD or major depression. (source)

Young Medic Starts Long Road To Recovery

2008-12-17T20:14:00.000-08:00

Young Medic Starts Long Road To Recovery
Thomas McBride Jr. of Long Valley helps an Afghani child who suffered a burn from an explosive. McBride is a Navy medic who was assigned to a Marine unit in Afghanistan until he was severely injured in a mortar attack.

Family, friends support West Morris Central graduate’s return
By PHIL GARBER, Managing Editor
Published: Dec 12th, 7:00 AM
Thomas J. McBride looks younger than his 25 years and the 2002 West Morris Central High School graduate wouldn’t stand out in a crowd were it not for the fact that his right leg had to be amputated after he was wounded in a mortar attack in Afghanistan.

That also goes for the more than 1,000 soldiers who have lost limbs during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many like McBride have been treated at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Military Advanced Training Center in Bethesda, Md.

The dark-haired McBride is thin and of average height and like the others in the rehab center, he looks maybe 17.

Six Questions for Francisco Pinedo

2008-12-17T20:09:00.000-08:00

Six Questions for Francisco Pinedo
VA hospital chief of prosthetics
Image

Sam Morris

By Megan McCloskey

Mon, Dec 15, 2008 (2 a.m.)

Francisco Pinedo, chief of prosthetics at the VA hospital, lost part of his right arm in an ambush in Iraq when he was a 25-year-old Army staff sergeant. Now he is in charge of equipping veterans with prostheses such as hearing aids, implants and artificial limbs.

How did you lose your arm?

On one side of the Tigris River in Mosul, the insurgents would fire off mortars. Our job as infantry was to ambush them. The insurgents learned they couldn’t damage our vehicles, so they started going after people poking up from the hatch. One day they placed explosives on a telephone pole at that height, and it got me. I immediately knew I was going to lose my arm. I was conscious the whole time.

Would you still be in the military if it hadn’t happened?

No. There was only a few months left on my contract before I deployed, and I had a job lined up with the San Diego Police Department. I had just gotten married and my wife didn’t want to be a part of the Army life.

Injured Illinois Soldier Home To Celebrate The Holidays

2008-12-17T20:07:00.000-08:00

Injured Illinois Soldier Home To Celebrate The Holidays
Last Edited: Tuesday, 16 Dec 2008, 10:01 PM CST
Created: Tuesday, 16 Dec 2008, 9:21 PM CST
Shaffer Family
SideBar

By: Teresa Woodard

(KTVI - myFOXstl.com) -- An Illinois soldier critically injured in Iraq is home in time for the holidays. His arrival in St. Louis means one of his Christmas wishes are filled, but the others can not be. 2008 has been a year of sad losses for his family.

"To be honest, I'd still rather be over there in Iraq," says Private First Class Chas Shaffer, "but since I'm back in the states it is nice to come home for Christmas."

O'Fallon man recovering at Walter Reed from injuries suffered in Iraq

2008-09-10T06:54:00.000-07:00

O'Fallon man recovering at Walter Reed from injuries suffered in Iraq
Charles "Chas" Shaffer hurt in IED attack

By J.W. Campbell
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 9:19 AM CDT

An O'Fallon man injured in an improvised explosive device blast in Mosul, Iraq, is currently recovering from his wounds at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Charles "Chas" Shaffer had his right leg amputated above the knee as a result of the blast that hit the armored vehicle he was driving on Aug. 31. Shaffer also suffered shrapnel injuries to his left leg as well as bruises to his lungs.

this is a great class

2008-07-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

Iraq veteran finds his home more hospitable thanks to retrofitting by Homes for Our Troops

2008-07-15T20:24:00.000-07:00

Iraq veteran finds his home more hospitable thanks to retrofitting by Homes for Our Troops
Brian Hayden - NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: 07/05/08 10:28 PM

Charles Lewis/Buffalo News
Mark and Denise Beyers show off the master bathroom of their home which was retrofitted for wheelchair access by a national nonprofit that builds and reconfigures homes for disabled veterans.

When Marine Lance Cpl. Mark Beyers first moved into his town of Wales home, daily activities such as showering, cooking food and leaving the house were almost impossible.

Not anymore.

Beyer's home recently was retrofitted by Homes for Our Troops, a national nonprofit that builds and reconfigures homes for disabled veterans.

Beyers, who lost an arm and a leg to a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq in 2005, said he is grateful for the life-changing alterations made to his house.

750 amputees

2008-07-15T20:19:00.001-07:00

So far the Iraq War has led to amputations for more than 750 servicemen and women. The high number is due in part to the body armor that protects the trunk. Without it, many of these soldiers would have died. In fact, about 92 percent of those wounded in Iraq survive their wounds, as opposed to 76 percent in Vietnam. [
She told me my arm was gone. We argued about that for five minutes. I mean, I could feel it.

By Stephen Dobyns | Published Wednesday, July 9, 2008
source]

Local soldier injured in Iraq

2008-07-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

Local soldier injured in Iraq

By Rosalie Currier
Sturgis Journal
Fri Jul 11, 2008, 11:54 PM EDT

Sturgis, Mich. -

Robert Barthel, a sergeant in the U.S. Army and a 2001 Sturgis High School graduate, was injured Tuesday near Nasser Wa Salam in Iraq.

Barthel and his squad were on patrol when their Stryker was struck by an improvised explosive device, according to his mother Sally Cleveland of Sturgis.

Barthel was severely injured in his right leg and foot. After a failed attempt to restore circulation to his right foot, he was flown to Germany, where his right foot was amputated.

More female soldiers serve 'inside the wire'

2008-07-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

More female soldiers serve 'inside the wire'

SAN ANTONIO (AP) Badly wounded and woozy from medication in a chopper speeding over Baghdad, Iraq, Staff Sgt. Sophia Mitchell softly sang the ''I Love You'' song she and her daughter had made up.

''They must have thought I was high on the morphine,'' Mitchell said.

In those fragile hours, clinging to life after a mortar attack, she kept thinking of her 5-year-old girl, Jurnee. Mitchell is one of 599 women wounded in the Middle East and part of the first wave of female combat amputees in U.S. history.

Most people see patriotism and the sacrifices of war as masculine values. A vast majority of the nearly 2.6 million Americans killed or wounded in major conflicts since the Revolutionary War have been men.

But in today's war, women play a larger role and even are at risk ''inside the wire'' of a secured base. Of the 4,650 U.S. troops whose deaths the Defense Department counts relating to the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, 110 were women, and 61 of them were killed in combat.

Day by day, Marine battles adversity

2008-07-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

Day by day, Marine battles adversity

By Sarah Bultema
Loveland Reporter-Herald
Chris Hahn, a Marine, lost his leg a few years ago while serving in Iraq.

Now, back in Loveland, the veteran’s lost his job because of complications from the amputation.

But through it all, he’s kept his faith that life always works out the way it’s supposed to.

“Like I said when I lost my leg, I think everything happens for a reason,” Hahn said from his Loveland home.

What’s left of his left leg, which was amputated just below the knee, was propped up on a couch pillow.

Wounded veterans participate in program established to aid their recovery

2008-07-10T19:59:00.000-07:00

Wounded veterans participate in program established to aid their recovery

By RICK MALWITZ • STAFF WRITER • July 10, 2008

EDISON —The last act John Wayne Walding did when he was perfectly whole was come to the aid of a fellow soldier shot in Afghanistan.
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"My buddy was shot. He said, 'Help me,' and gave his location, and then I got shot,'' said Walding, a 27-year-old U.S. Army staff sergeant from Waco, Texas.

Walding, who suffered a below-knee amputation of his right leg as a result of the attack, was asked if his buddy is recovering. "Yep. We all lived,'' he said.

"I'm fine,'' Walding said. "There's no remorse. I was doing my job.''

She told me my arm was gone. We argued about that for five minutes. I mean, I could feel it.

2008-07-09T20:06:00.000-07:00

She told me my arm was gone. We argued about that for five minutes. I mean, I could feel it.

By Stephen Dobyns | Published Wednesday, July 9, 2008

She told me my arm was gone. We argued about that for five minutes. I mean, I could feel it.

Most stories begin with a person or an event. This one begins with a book.

Last summer I read The Brain That Changes Itself by research psychiatrist and psychologist Norman Doidge, M.D., which discusses developments in neuroscience, especially in the area of neuroplasticity. Now, if I were in a bar and the guy on the next stool leaned over and said to me what I’ve just written here, I’d give a wave to the bouncer. But hang on.

Man crafts walking sticks for wounded soldiers

2008-07-07T20:34:00.000-07:00

Man crafts walking sticks for wounded soldiers

By Ann Bailey - Grand Forks Herald
Posted : Monday Jul 7, 2008 6:07:26 EDT

PORTLAND, N.D — On Independence Day, and every other day, soldiers at Walter Reed hospital in Washington know they can lean on Dennis Enger.

The Portland man has dedicated himself to making willow walking sticks for the soldiers who have had a leg amputated. Enger began carving the sticks from willow tree saplings two years ago.

“I had a friend whose grandson lost a leg over in Iraq, so I thought I had to do something,” he said.

A Vietnam-era Army veteran, Enger has a strong kinship with young men who are serving their country. He contacted a fellow member of the North Dakota Vietnam Veterans of America organization to find out how he could distribute the sticks to veterans at Walter Reed. The organization delivered about 50 of Enger’s walking sticks to the hospital in February 2006.

.Va. vet heads for Iraq to help amputees

2008-07-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

July 6, 2008
W.Va. vet heads for Iraq to help amputees
Dave Evans lost both legs just below the knees in Vietnam. For 34 years now, he has committed and risked his life to help people like him all over the world.
By Paul J. Nyden
Staff writer

Dave Evans lost both legs just below the knees in Vietnam. For 34 years now, he has committed and risked his life to help people like him all over the world.

Next week, Evans heads to Iraq to help upgrade prosthetic clinics and train Iraqis to replace arms, legs and feet for amputees.

"I don't care what side you are on. I don't care what politics you have," Evans said last week. "I will take care of you if you are an amputee."

The U.S. State Department is financing his work and also will pick up costs to train Iraqis to help the wounded.

Injured Marine finds support in community

2008-07-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

Injured Marine finds support in community

BY CATHERINE TRUMBO • Loveland Connection • July 5, 2008

LOVELAND - Chris Hahn, an Iraq war veteran, and his wife, Rachel, were settling into their lives and new jobs earlier this year when Hahn's leg began to hurt.
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Hahn, a Thompson Valley graduate and Marine, served two months in Hit, Iraq, until he was injured the night of Jan. 30, 2006.

Hahn's foot was crushed when the troop carrier he was riding atop as a gunner went off a ravine and flipped on top of him.

"That was the only time I thought I was going to die," he said. "The truck rolled on top of me. It looked like it was going to roll one more time. It rocked toward me, and then it rocked back. I pulled my leg out and crawled back. I was torn up pretty bad. They gave me four shots of morphine."

MLB honors America's heroes at parks

2008-07-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

MLB honors America's heroes at parks
Veterans throw out first pitches in pregame festivities
By Mike Scarr / MLB.com

On Friday it was time to stand and deliver.

To honor our nation's 232nd anniversary of its birth, a select group of veterans tossed honorary first pitches at ballparks hosting games for the Fourth of July holiday.

The gesture is part of Major League Baseball's "Welcome Back Veterans" initiative taking place at big league games across the U.S. this weekend. Baseball will also honor veterans during games on Sept. 11.

Group helps local veteran regain freedom

2008-07-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

Group helps local veteran regain freedom

Updated: July 5, 2008 09:20 PM

WALES, N.Y. (WIVB) - In the fight for freedom, one of America's bravest from western New York lost his independence.

His right arm had to be amputated along with one of his legs below the knee.

Marine Lance Corporal Mark Beyers was severely injured in Iraq nearly three years ago..

Now, he finally has a home where he can regain his independence.

This is reality for Marine Lance Corporal Mark Beyers nearly 3 years after being injured by an improvised explosive device. "When you're a Marine, you kind of think you're a little bit invincible."

Iraq veteran gives back to soldiers

2008-07-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

Iraq veteran gives back to soldiers
By Chris Foreman
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, July 4, 2008

Tim Boots pointed to the logo of the Wounded Warrior Project, a silhouette in which one soldier carries another to safety.

Three years ago, the Connellsville Area High School graduate was aided by a fellow Army National Guardsman after he was severely wounded in a car-bomb explosion in Bayji, Iraq.

"Now, I'm getting the chance to be the guy on the bottom, giving somebody else a hand," Boots said Thursday.

Boots is one of 16 wounded veterans serving as summer interns for the Jacksonville-based nonprofit organization. They are traveling the country to answer Iraq and Afghanistan veterans' questions about possible health and educational benefits and disability claims.

Yankee Intern, Injured in Iraq, to Throw Out First Pitch Friday

2008-07-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

Yankee Intern, Injured in Iraq, to Throw Out First Pitch Friday
Barton Silverman/The New York Times

Tony Odierno, an Army officer who lost an arm to a grenade, has helped in planning for the All-Star Game and the new stadium.

Barton Silverman/The New York Times

Tony Odierno, left, and his father, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, threw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium on July 4, 2005.

Odierno lost his left arm when a rocket-propelled grenade smashed through his Humvee in Iraq almost four years ago. As an Army lieutenant, he was leading three vehicles through southwest Baghdad when his life changed. The grenade cost Odierno an arm and his driver his life.

Odierno calmly but vividly described what happened that night. As he spoke Wednesday, he sometimes clutched the prosthesis under the sleeve of his gray shirt. His story validates why the Yankees consider him an overqualified intern in their stadium operations department.

Wounded vet chooses to laugh

2008-07-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

Wounded vet chooses to laugh
By Travis Hill | More by this reporter | Record Sports Columnist | Posted: Friday, July 4, 2008 ; Updated: 12:50 AM on Friday, July 4, 2008
STORY PHOTOS

Dan Nevins elected to have his own right leg amputated in January. And that's not the most amazing thing about him.

Nevins is a golf addict, shooting in the mid-80s. That's not it, either.

Nevins is an Iraq war veteran. He lost his left leg when an improvised explosive device (IED) blew up his Humvee on Nov. 10, 2004. Nope.

What makes Dan Nevins so incredible is his laugh. It's pretty plain, as laughs go. A little goofy, but nothing out of the ordinary. Except that they happen a lot. And they are genuine.

Walter Reed says patient data may be compromised

2008-06-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

Walter Reed says patient data may be compromised
By JENNIFER C. KERR, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 55 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Sensitive information on about 1,000 patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military hospitals was exposed in a security breach, sparking identity theft concerns and an investigation by the Army.

Names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and other information was released, hospital officials said Monday. The computer file that was breached did not include information such as medical records, or the diagnosis or prognosis for patients, they said.

Minn. veterans tell House Speaker Pelosi that too many vets fall through cracks in the system

2008-05-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

Minn. veterans tell House Speaker Pelosi that too many vets fall through cracks in the system

By STEVE KARNOWSKI, Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS - Too many Iraq War veterans are slipping through the cracks and aren't getting the benefits they've earned, veterans told U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday.

At a panel discussion hosted by U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., Pelosi was told that the Minnesota National Guard has done an excellent job of making sure its troops coming home from Iraq get all the health and education benefits they're entitled to.

900 Amputees

2008-05-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

Soldiers in Iraq have suffered a historic number of injuries that, in previous times, would have caused death. According to the Department of Defense, nearly 32,000 have been wounded in action in Afghanistan and Iraq, and 900 have required at least one amputation.

"Eighty-two percent of all our wounded have extremity injuries, 30 percent have wounds to the head and the face, and 6 percent have severe burns," Schoomaker explained. "The new institute will work to develop techniques that will help make our soldiers whole again."

Source: Breakthroughs In Tissue Regrowth Give Hope to War Wounded

Number of Amputees

2008-05-27T18:51:00.001-07:00

The Amputee Coalition of America, based in Knoxville, Tenn., estimates that as of Feb. 1, 748 servicemen and women had lost limbs to amputations since the two wars began. The artist knows that grim number has probably grown since that date.

Charlotte soldier welcomed home by family

2008-05-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

Charlotte soldier welcomed home by family

07:11 AM EDT on Friday, May 23, 2008

By FRANCES KUO / WCNC
E-mail Frances: FKuo@WCNC.com

Solider deployed in 2006 CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- An explosion on the front lines gave a Charlotte soldier a devastating injury.

On Thursday morning, Army Cpl. John Hyland got a welcome back that's long overdue.

Hyland left for Iraq in 2006 but didn't return home with his unit.

Instead, he flew to the Brooke Army Hospital Center in Texas where he's spent eight months recovering from an amputated leg.

War disabled the most marginalised in Iraq

2008-05-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

IRAQ
War disabled the most marginalised in Iraq
According to a recent study, more than a million people have been disabled on account of the war. The government and civil society are not taking care of them, with serious psychological consequences and tensions within families.

Baghdad (AsiaNews) - More than a million civilians have been disabled by the war in Iraq, and represent the most marginalised sector of society. The psychological traumas they bear create serious imbalances inside their families, and the central government is not paying enough attention to the problem. The denunciation comes from Faris al-Ubeidi, an Iraqi researcher, interviewed by the news agency "Voice of Iraq". Al-Ubeidi explains that the state has the duty of guaranteeing that those who have been disabled by the war, but have professional skills, can still participate productively in the labour force. The problem is that fathers who have been handicapped and are unable to work feel that they are a burden on their families, and this generates psychological problems and tensions.

According to a study conducted by the International Disabled Persons' Organization - in collaboration with the Iraqi ministries of labor, health, and social affairs - out of a population of 26 million inhabitants, after five years of war, over 1 million have been handicapped. Of these, 5,600 are completely disabled, 100,000 have had limbs amputated, another 100,000 have been blinded, and another 250,000 are in danger of losing their vision.

Duckworth: I probably have PTSD

2008-05-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

Duckworth: I probably have PTSD

The scenes haunt Tammy Duckworth, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs. She’s in Iraq, flying helicopter missions, looking down on the desert below. She jumps out of the helicopter on the dusty ground, both legs intact. She’s doing the work she loves, and it’s exciting.

Only, it’s a dream, not reality. When Duckworth wakes up in Illinois, struggling through a few moments of confusion, she remembers that she’s a double amputee and she'll never fly missions in Iraq again.

It's like having a form of double vision, she says. Close your eyes, and you're there in Iraq, adrenaline rushing, ready for action. Open your eyes and you're here in the States, with a completely different routine. This multi-layered sense of reality is probably a kind of post-traumatic stress response, she admits.

River search scaled back

2008-05-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

Sunday News
Published: May 25, 2008
00:20 EST

By PAUL FRANZ and JON RUTTER, StaffThe search for Chris Johnson, a former Marine Corps lance corporal and Iraq war veteran, continued Saturday along the banks of the Susquehanna River.
Rescue workers search the Susquehanna River for Chris Johnson, missing since Wednesday.

Searchers found no trace of the West Hempfield Township fisherman by the time the operation wrapped up at dusk, said Brian Morrin, the public information officer for the York County Office of Emergency Management.

Morrin said searchers are now scaling back efforts to find Johnson, who has been missing five days.

"Unfortunately, we've come to a point where we've run out of leads," Morrin said. "We couldn't bring this situation to a close.

"It's been a long four days," Morrin said

Docs at city hospital using new technique to save veteran's foot

2008-05-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

Docs at city hospital using new technique to save veteran's foot
BY PATRICE O'SHAUGHNESSY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, May 25th 2008, 4:00 AM

Jeff Guerin and fiancee Jennifer Toteda at Hospital for Special Surgery where Afghan veteran had treatment.
It's been five years since major combat operations were declared over in Iraq, but the fighting continues. Troops went to war in Afghanistan weeks after 9/11. Thousands of wounded veterans battle long-term to recover from instantaneous carnage. Here is one soldier's story of pain - and the hope he found here in the city:

The toll of the war wounded exceeds 31,000, and the trademark of the battles in Iraq and Afghanistan is the vet who lost a limb. There are some 750 amputees, and many of these young men and women wear their prosthetic arms and legs proudly uncovered.

But onetime Army medic Jeff Guerin, wounded in Afghanistan 3-1/2 years ago, is fighting to keep his leg in a painstaking process developed by surgeons at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

Bike ride raises awareness, offers therapy for injured vets

2008-05-23T18:25:00.000-07:00

Bike ride raises awareness, offers therapy for injured vets
By Tim Haddock, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 05/23/2008 11:07:39 PM PDT

The first day actor Mike Vogel was on the set filming "Cloverfield," he received word that his cousin, a sergeant in the Army, was killed in Iraq.

Sgt. Allen James Dunckley was "meant to be a soldier," Vogel said, noting that he started his military career as a Marine but was training to become an Army Ranger.

But he was killed in Salman Pak while trying to rescue three kidnapped soldiers last May.

"It set me on a mission, at that point, to be as involved and get as active as I possibly could in bringing awareness and any kind of help that I could to these guys coming home," Vogel said.

Iraq war veteran from Michigan describes blast that cost her a leg

2008-05-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

Iraq war veteran from Michigan describes blast that cost her a leg
BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF • FREE PRESS LANSING BUREAU CHIEF • May 23, 2008

With that, tearful Michigan National Guard veteran Sgt. Michelle Rudzitis ended an emotional address to the state Senate, in which she recounted losing her right leg to a roadside bomb in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 22, 2007.

Rudzitis, who turns 33 on Monday, which is also Memorial Day, was the keynote speaker for the Senate's annual Memorial Day service. She told of coming back to her Army base after a day off and a shopping spree. Her Humvee was the only vehicle in a convoy struck by a bomb that hurls a piece of molten copper through steel.

Is Sex Over? Badly Hurt Vets and Sexual Intimacy

2008-05-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

Is Sex Over? Badly Hurt Vets and Sexual Intimacy
Conference Focuses on Wounded Troops and Intimacy With Their Partners
By KIMBERLY HEFLING Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON May 21, 2008 (AP) The Associated Press

When B.J. Jackson lost both his legs to an Iraq war injury, his doctors talked about a lot of things, but they didn't mention how it might affect his sex life.

BJ Jackson, a double amputee from the Iraq War, right, and his wife, Abby, right, both of Des Moines, Iowa, talk about about the issue of Iraq vets and sexual intimacy, Wednesday, May 21, 2008, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
(AP)Jackson's less-bashful wife brought it up. But even then the couple didn't get the answers they sought.

Battlefield scars often carry over to bedroom, troops find

2008-05-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

Battlefield scars often carry over to bedroom, troops find
Veterans Affairs looking into issues affecting intimacy for returning vets

By FEDERICA NARANCIO
Mcclatchy-tribune

WASHINGTON — Wounds and mental disabilities of troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq can mess up their sex lives too, health experts said Wednesday. But those wounds often go untreated because the topic is taboo and has gone unstudied.

Whatever the reason, failed sexual intimacy can contribute to higher suicide and divorce rates among returning troops, specialists told a seminar sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on health issues.

They said the latest U.S. wars have brought more attention to psychological wounds such as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and depression, and should now include sexual problems.

THE DAY I CHEATED DEATH

2008-05-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

THE DAY I CHEATED DEATH
1 reader has commented on this story. Click here to read their views.
BY ALAN THOMPSON

10:30 - 19 May 2008

A wounded airman who cheated death in Iraq when he was caught in rocket fire has told of the terrifying moment shells rained down all around him.

Senior Aircraftman Jon Butterworth was blasted into the air by the force of the explosions at Basra airfield.

The 22-year-old, who is based at RAF Cottesmore, in Rutland, was left lying in a pool of his own blood after the attack.

Military surgeons battled in vain all day to save his injured arm, which had to be amputated at the elbow.

The father-of-one had been driving his Land Rover to work with a colleague when the siren sounded at the base last August.

Depicting a tragedy of war

2008-05-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

Depicting a tragedy of war
The sculpture 'A Field of Limbs' is a stark reminder of the human toll of military conflict
BY CHUCK MARTIN / CMARTIN@ENQUIRER.COM

Sculptor Gershon Gurin-Podlish spent nearly five months creating the unusual exhibit honoring those who have lost limbs in the Iraq and Afghan wars. The 748 casts he carefully crafted represent each American serviceman and woman who had suffered an amputation (as of Feb. 1) since the conflicts began. These are courageous veterans, he says, who deserve more recognition.

"You never see these soldiers who are dealing with this loss," says Gurin-Podlish, 64, who lives in Florence, Mass., but has been working on the sculpture in Cincinnati since February. "They become invisible."

Kodiak readies to take Wounded Warriors out fishing

2008-05-18T18:55:00.000-07:00

Kodiak readies to take Wounded Warriors out fishing

Analysis by Linda Shogren
Alaska Journal of Commerce

Peter Malley, a former Marine now living in Kodiak, remembers well how poorly fellow American citizens treated him and other veterans returning from Vietnam.
Today, with another unpopular war being waged in Iraq, he hoped there was something he could do for returning soldiers who had risked their lives fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Every day, they faced car bombs and ambushes. Some lost limbs or received other permanent injuries. They are heroes who should be appreciated for all they have sacrificed, not forgotten or ridiculed for a job they were sent to do, Malley said.

Angleton soldier wounded in Iraq

2008-05-15T19:20:00.000-07:00

Angleton soldier wounded in Iraq

By John Lowman
The Facts

Published May 15, 2008

Leadership skills learned at West Point, and in part as a linebacker with the Angleton High School Wildcats football team, might have helped save the lives of Clayton Henchman’s troops.

And his own.

U.S. Army First Lt. Henchman, 25, was leading a platoon of soldiers near Tikrit, Iraq, when he and eight others were wounded by an improvised explosive device Saturday, said his brother, Scott Cooper.

Giving Back, Getting Around

2008-05-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

Giving Back, Getting Around
Segways Presented to Veterans Injured in Iraq, Afghanistan

Jeffrey Adams, a first lieutenant with the Louisiana National Guard, was on patrol in Baghdad on Nov. 7, 2004, when a makeshift bomb detonated 10 feet away.

"I looked down, and my leg was gone," said Adams, 28. His left leg was later amputated above the knee, replaced with a prosthetic that now bears an Army sticker.

After spending 6 1/2 months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Adams returned home on crutches to finish a degree in chemical engineering.

Amputee Marine has long recovery at Walter Reed

2008-05-13T18:57:00.000-07:00

Amputee Marine has long recovery at Walter Reed
The Evening Sun (Hanover)
Article Last Updated: 05/13/2008 07:52:09 AM EDT

The pain reads like a book on the face of U.S Marine 1st Lt. David Borden.

Between winces and saying words he later apologizes for using, Borden struggles to move leg muscles that have not supported his weight in months during a recent physical therapy session at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Sometimes the pain is so bad his attention focuses entirely on fighting through it.

Borden said the area where his right leg was amputated from the knee down felt like it was on fire as he worked through the different stretches and exercises.

It has been nearly four months since a suicide bomber detonated an explosive near the 27-year-old Delone Catholic High School graduate in Ramadi, Iraq - a blast that took the life of another Marine and injured three others.

Before and after Iraq

2008-05-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

Before and after Iraq
The war there is not an intellectual exercise. It has real, personal consequences.
By Michael Hastings
May 12, 2008
In July 2006, four young American Army officers sat at an Italian restaurant in Sackets Harbor, N.Y., about 20 miles from Ft. Drum. Three lieutenants and a captain, they were all friends, all platoon leaders in the 10th Mountain Division; one of them was my younger brother, Jeff, then 23 years old. It was their last meal together before deploying to Iraq.

Two years later, none of the infantrymen remembers what he ordered that night; they all remember what was said: "Statistically, one in four of us is going to get injured or killed over there."

A month later, they arrived in Baghdad, right before the "surge."

Wounded veterans use Segways to increase mobility, quality of life

2008-05-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

Wounded veterans use Segways to increase mobility, quality of life
By Patrick Thornton, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, May 10, 2008

WASHINGTON — Dozens of veterans injured in Iraq and Afghanistan came to Arlington, Va., on Tuesday to learn a rather unconventional way to win back some of the mobility they lost — a Segway.

Segs4Vets, a project of Disability Rights Advocates for Technology (DRAFT) has awarded 150 Segways since 2006 to disabled veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan to help improve their lives. Thirty veterans were able to attend a ceremony at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington on Wednesday to receive their Segways. Dozens more who couldn’t make the ceremony will also receive Segways.

Township rallies around injured soldier

2008-05-04T19:51:00.000-07:00

Township rallies around injured soldier

By CHRIS WILLIAMS
Source Staff Writer

Army Pfc. Alex Knapp was injured when an improvised explosive device detonated under his vehicle in Iraq on March 14.

A Shelby Township native is recovering from serious injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated under his convoy’s vehicle in Iraq last month.
Army Pfc. Alex Knapp was on a mission in a suburb outside of Baghdad on March 14, just two days after his 22nd birthday, when the IED detonated, severely injuring Knapp and two other soldiers.

Life shattered in Iraq pieced back together

2008-05-03T18:40:00.000-07:00

Life shattered in Iraq pieced back together

Military veteran amputee, Derek McGinnis, runs at East La Loma Park in Modesto, Saturday morning, May 3, 2008. (Bart Ah You/The Modesto Bee)
Modesto Bee
By ROGER W. HOSKINS
rhoskins@modbee.com

A newborn cried in the night. Before mom could stir, Derek McGinnis swung out of bed. When his only leg touched the floor, he let it bend until he lowered himself to the floor in a sitting position.

Using his arms and rear end, he scooted to his son Sean's crib, pulled himself up and balanced on his leg. He gently picked up his child and then carefully bent his leg until he sat again. Dad cradled and comforted his son while mom rested.

Injured Army specialist makes decision to amputate after '04 incident

2008-05-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

Injured Army specialist makes decision to amputate after '04 incident
By LEEANN MOORE • Staff Writer • May 2, 2008

ZANESVILLE -It was retired Army Specialist Justin Johnson's choice to have his leg amputated.

It was a decision that wasn't taken lightly and was made nearly four years after the incident that led to this decision.

He had the surgery to remove the lower half of his left leg April 14, at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. and is now recovering.

Breakthroughs In Tissue Regrowth Give Hope to War Wounded

2008-05-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

Breakthroughs In Tissue Regrowth Give Hope to War Wounded
Thursday, May 01, 2008

By Jana Winter

A Marine's replacement ear grows on the back of a mouse.
It's science fiction turning into fact.

A new Defense Department program to make U.S. soldiers whole again is developing cutting-edge medical technology that's regrowing human tissue, in some cases, on the backs of mice.

The Pentagon recently launched the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine or AFIRM, a five-year $250 million initiative in cooperation with researchers at Wake Forest and Rutgers that uses soldiers' own stem cells to grow skin, muscles, tendons and even bone.

TaylorMade Golf provides clubs and instruction to benefit wounded veterans program

2008-04-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

TaylorMade Golf provides clubs and instruction to benefit wounded veterans program
By Tod Leonard
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

April 29, 2008

CRISSY PASCUAL / Union-Tribune
Jake Williams eyes the flight of his ball on the TaylorMade driving range.
CARLSBAD – A bright smile on his youthful, clean-cut face, Jake Williams looked down at the beautiful golf clubs arranged in a new black bag just for him, and he didn't quite know what to say or do. He could almost see his reflection in the shine, the irons' soles not yet stained by a single blade of grass.
“I'm afraid to touch 'em,” Williams said with a giggle, handling the irons as if they were made of crystal.

Marine from Oklahoma becomes first above-the-knee amputee fighting in Iraq

2008-04-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

Marine from Oklahoma becomes first above-the-knee amputee fighting in Iraq

Posted: April 28, 2008 01:02 PM EDT

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY - A Marine from Oklahoma has become the first person with an above-the-knee amputation to return to combat in Iraq.

Master Sergeant William Gibson needed his left leg amputated above the knee after he was shot by a sniper while pulling an Iraqi soldier out of harm's way in Ramadi, Iraq, in May 2006.

VA hasn't met veterans' mental health needs

2008-04-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

Critics: VA hasn't met veterans' mental health needs
BY MIKE FITZGERALD
News-Democrat

Veterans groups and members of Congress both have criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs for failing to keep up with war veterans' demands for mental health services.

Dr. Ira Katz, the VA's mental health chief, responds that "The expansion of mental health programs has been, frankly, phenomenal."

But Paul Sullivan, a former VA analyst, predicts a looming mental health crisis for at least 700,000 current and future veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

From the start, the VA -- like the Department of Defense -- vastly underestimated the number of troops that would return home from Iraq and Afghanistan with mental health problems, said Sullivan, executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, of Washington, D.C.
...

"I had to go back in and prove that I was still an amputee," she said. "If two federal agencies won't accept information from each other, you can imagine the challenges as a state trying to come into a federal partnership."

...

The need for such services among National Guard members nationwide remains huge, with 49 percent of Guard members who served in Iraq reporting psychological problems -- a rate 29 percent higher than for regular soldiers.

Iraq War veteran urges students to speak out

2008-04-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

Iraq War veteran urges students to speak out
Josh Anusewicz

Staff Sgt. Eric Alva served in Iraq before coming out as openly gay and taking on an advocacy role against the Armed Forces' "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Staff Sgt. Eric Alva, a former U.S. Marine, used the inspiring words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when talking to Quinnipiac students about how their voices can change history, by standing up for what is right.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter," said Alva, who visited Quinnipiac on April 15 in conjunction with the National Day of Silence, held on Friday, April 25, which brings attention to anti-Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transsexual (GLBT) actions from throughout the country.

New Prosthetic Hand So Nimble an Amputee Can Type

2008-04-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

New Prosthetic Hand So Nimble an Amputee Can Type

posted: 22 April 2008 ET

The i-LIMB has flexible hydraulic drives are located directly in the movable finger joints. Credit: Touch Bionics, Orthopedic University Hospital
Full Size 1 of 4

The i-LIMB has flexible hydraulic drives are located directly in the movable finger joints. Credit: Touch Bionics, Orthopedic University Hospital

The i-LIMB is nimble enough to create several common hand positions needed for gripping objects in different ways. Credit: Touch Bionics

The i-LIMB can type using the index finger, its creators say. Credit: Touch Bionics

U.S. Army Sgt. Juan Arredondo, outfitted with an i-LIMB after losing his hand in Iraq, says ht does things naturally. Credit: Touch Bionics A new prosthetic hand uses individually movable fingers to hold a credit card, use a keyboard and lift a heavy bag.

Iraq Amputee Becomes Paralympics Athlete

2008-04-18T12:07:00.000-07:00

Iraq Amputee Becomes Paralympics Athlete
Melissa Stockwell Is the First Iraq Veteran to Qualify for the Paralympics in Beijing
April 18, 2008

When Melissa Stockwell heard she had broken an American record a few weeks ago in the 400-meter freestyle event, it didn't seem real.
Army Lt. Melissa Stockwell will represent the U.S. at the Olympics.

More Photos

"I looked up at the clock, and I couldn't believe it was my time," she told ABC's Bob Woodruff. "To hear my name and the American record in the same sentence was really cool."

Stockwell's achievement qualified her to compete on the U.S. team at the Paralympics in Beijing this summer and represents a personal milestone -- not only did she shave 17 seconds off her time to qualify, her feat signifies just how far she's come in the last four years.

Profile: Marine "Spanky" Gibson an inspiration to others

2008-04-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

Profile: Marine "Spanky" Gibson an inspiration to others
581 words
13 April 2008
NBC News: Nightly News
English
(c) Copyright 2008, NBC Universal Inc. All Rights Reserved.

LESTER HOLT, anchor:

This has been the deadliest week of the year for US forces in Iraq. The Marine you're about to meet knows all too well what can happen in the war zone. But as NBC's Ned Colt reports, Gunnery Sergeant William Gibson, known to his fellow Marines as Spanky, has become an inspiration to others as he returns for another tour of duty.

NED COLT reporting:

Two months shy of his 37th birthday and Marine Gunnery Sergeant "Spanky" Gibson still has a spring in his step.

So what's it like to be back?

Gunnery Sergeant WILLIAM "SPANKY" GIBSON: It's outstanding. It's awesome to be back here amongst my Marines, combat zone. It's a circle of recovery.

COLT: Two years ago no one, including Spanky, ever dreamed he'd be back. Then he was on the front line near Ramadi leading a squad, calling in air support to root out insurgents.

Vietnam Vet Helps Other Soldiers With Prosthetics

2008-04-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

Vietnam Vet Helps Other Soldiers With Prosthetics
Reporting
Tom Mustin DENVER (CBS4) ― A 75-year-old Vietnam War veteran who lost his leg during heavy fighting in 1968 isn't letting his wounds slow him down. The amputee now works at the Denver VA Medical Center, helping design custom artificial limbs for fellow service members.

Sgt. Stanley Agena was in the Army during Vietnam. Now he serves in the VA Hospital's prosthetics wing.

"When I got hit, my leg was blown off, but it was barely hanging there," Agena said. "So I just ... crawling around helping the others."

Unemployment Figures for Disabled Vets

2008-04-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

"To help these returning men and women, the government has created specific career counseling services and initiatives, but the nonprofit sector has also stepped up and introduced programs designed to help these former members of the military discover new careers in the civilian workforce.

A 2007 report by the Veterans Affairs Department found that 18% of veterans--not just those with disabilities--who had looked for jobs within one to three years of discharge were unemployed; 25% of veterans who did find jobs earned less than $21,840 a year." -from this article

Amputations in US military personnel in the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq

2008-04-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

Amputations in US military personnel in the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq

Author(s): Stansbury LG (Stansbury, Lynn G.), Lalliss SJ (Lalliss, Steven J.), Branstetter JG (Branstetter, Joanna G.), Bagg MR (Bagg, Mark R.), Holcomb JB (Holcomb, John B.)
Source: JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC TRAUMA Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Pages: 43-46 Published: JAN 2008
Times Cited: 0 References: 15
Abstract: Objectives: To determine rates of major limb amputation in U.S. military casualties in the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, to correlate these with mechanism of injury, and compare the rate with that seen in U.S. casualties from the Vietnam War.
Design: Retrospective study of all US. casualties recorded for the current conflicts from the start in October 1, 2001 to June 1, 2006.

Setting: Records from U.S. military forward surgical teams (Level IIb) and combat support hospitals (Level III) in theater, evacuation (Level IV, Germany), and major military medical centers (Level V, United States).

Patients/Participants: All recorded U.S. military casualties from the Afghanistan and Iraq theaters with injuries requiring evacuation out of theater or prohibiting the individual from returning to duty for more than 72 hours.

Intervention: None.

Main Outcome Measurements: Major limb injury, level of amputation, principal mechanism of injury.

Results: Over the past 56 months, of the 8058 military casualties meeting the listed criteria, 5684 (70.5%) were recorded as having major limb injuries. Of these, 423 (5.2% of all serious injuries; 7.4% of major limb injuries) under-went major limb amputation or amputation at or proximal to the wrist or ankle joint. The mechanism of injury for 87.9% was some form of explosive device. The major amputation rate during Vietnam was 8.3% of major limb injuries.

Conclusions: overall, major limb amputation rates for the current U.S. engagement in Afghanistan and Iraq are similar to those of previous conflicts.

Document Type: Article
Language: English
Author Keywords: trauma epidemiology; amputation rate
KeyWords Plus: CASUALTIES; INJURIES; CARE
Addresses: Branstetter, JG (reprint author), Brooke Army Med Ctr, Dept Orthopaed, 3851 Roger Brooke Dr, Ft Sam Houston, TX 78234 USA
Brooke Army Med Ctr, Dept Orthopaed, Ft Sam Houston, TX 78234 USA
USA, Inst Surg Res, Extrem Trauma Softtissue Branch, Ft Sam Houston, TX 78234 USA
E-mail Addresses: Joanna.Branstetter@amedd.army.mil
Publisher: LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS, 530 WALNUT ST, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106-3621 USA
Subject Category: Orthopedics; Sport Sciences
IDS Number: 250HY
ISSN: 0890-5339

Amputee soldier takes on the slopes

2008-04-14T13:51:00.000-07:00

Amputee soldier takes on the slopes
PIONEERING: Sergeant Mick Brennan is taking part in a ski-ing course.

A SOLDIER who lost both legs in an explosion in Iraq has taken part in a pioneering course to learn to ski.
Sergeant Mick Brennan, 28, a former pupil of North Border Comprehensive School in Harworth, lost both of his legs when a car bomb exploded when he was working as part of a bomb disposal squad in Baghdad in 2004

Iraq's monumental cost

2008-04-14T13:46:00.000-07:00

Iraq's monumental cost
By Bill SteigerwaldTRIBUNE-REVIEWSaturday, April 12, 2008

What's the true cost of the war in Iraq? The total, long-term cost of everything from tanks and jet fuel and the interest on the money Washington is borrowing to the cost of caring for a double amputee for 40 years? It's probably a lot higher than you think, but try about $3 trillion. That's the round, stunning figure economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard public finance professor Linda Bilmes came up with after several years of digging up and crunching the official government numbers, which were buried or scattered in the Pentagon's impossibly sloppy accounting books. The gruesome details can be found in their new book, "The Three Trillion Dollar War." I talked to Professor Bilmes on Wednesday, April 9, by phone from Boston:
Q: What is your 60-second synopsis of your book and why did you write it?
A: We basically wrote the book for two reasons. First was to explain the full costs of the war, including the costs that are yet to come. Secondly, we wrote the book to show how the veterans have been shortchanged and to offer recommendations that would fix that. We really go through in the book the major cost categories and show how the war is affecting the economy. This is a book about the budgetary and economic costs of the war. But we also have three chapters about veterans' issues, which I have been deeply involved in. We are donating 10 percent of the proceeds to veterans' organizations. One of the purposes of the book was to really call attention to the veterans' issues. The veterans' issues in particular are fixable. When you think about the problems of Iraq, and some of them seem somewhat intractable and out of our control, that is a source of frustration for many Americans. But when you look at some of the situations of the returning veterans, that is something that is entirely within our ability to fix. So we were trying to call attention to those issues and how we could fix them.

Return to War

2008-04-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

MSNBC Video Amputee Returns to War

Trail Ride Will Raise Money For Veterans

2008-04-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

Trail Ride Will Raise Money For Veterans

BULLARD - "Ride for Heroes," a trail ride and campout to raise money for recent veterans with disabilities, is set for Friday through April 20 at Tarrant Ranch in Bullard, said Steve Herber, one of the organizers.
Activities will include a cowboy supper with poetry and music, trail rides and chuck wagon meals, he said.
The effort will help support Frank Fields of New Chapel Hill whose legs were amputated after being wounded in Iraq, he said.

For information, see the Web site rideforheroes.com

BEYOND THE IRAQ WAR HEARINGS

2008-04-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

BEYOND THE IRAQ WAR HEARINGS
Sunday, April 13, 2008
David Reinhard
I 've never been a big basher of members of Congress as a class. Capitol Hill lawmakers do important work in a democratic republic, and many of them put in long days of high purpose. Also, as tempting as it is to roast Congress, it's always helpful to recall that Congress in our Great Republic represents . . . us.
Last week, however, I may have finally reached a break point. I say finally because my anger, disgust, frustration -- call it what you will -- has been building for some time now -- perhaps since late 2007.

Determination to Serve

2008-04-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

Determination to Serve

By Candice NelsonWSLS10 ReporterPublished: April 13, 2008

The runners at the Angels Race in Lynchburg were cheered on as they reached the finish line. Many of these participants were running to honor their lost loved ones. But one man seemed to stand out from all the rest. Major David Rozelle got even louder cheers as he made his way to the end of the race, running with a prosthetic right leg. But running this triathlon isn’t his biggest accomplishment. In fact, it was his determination to serve our country that helped him make American history.

“As the first amputee to return to active command in Iraq since the Civil War, so a great honor, to the same battlefield, you know. A great honor and went back last month on another mission,” said Major Rozelle.

Iraq Verteren's Blog

2008-04-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

This blog is about my return to Walter Reed to get a new leg. I am an above-the-knee amputee. I lost my leg in April 2007 in Iraq while riding in a Humvee that was struck by an "explosively formed projectile" -- a molten metal jet stream released from a homemade roadside bomb. My left knee was shattered and later amputated at Walter Reed. I rushed through rehab to get back to Alaska quickly. But my leg continued to change, and now my prosthetic doesn't fit, and I need to begin again. I'll keep you posted on my progress and experience. This time, it will work.

Fund set up to assist double-amputee soldier

2008-04-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

Fund set up to assist double-amputee soldier
Updated: 03/22/08 6:40 AM
A fund has been established to assist Army Sgt. James T. Hackemer, a Town of Collins resident who lost both his legs in a roadside bomb explosion last week in Iraq.

Vets hit the slopes as Wounded Warriors

2008-04-08T18:46:00.000-07:00

Vets hit the slopes as Wounded Warriors

NECN: Lincoln, NH) – The servicemen and women injured in Iraq and Afghanistan often come home to long recoveries and uncertain futures. But there is a program that strives to get injured vets active again – more than a dozen are on the slopes of New Hampshire this week

Stats

2008-04-08T18:35:00.000-07:00

"Jones will be one of just a dozen or so U.S. troops who have returned to the battlefield after becoming amputees during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Roughly 31,400 service members have been wounded in action, including at least 750 who lost one or more limbs, according to the Pentagon. " -from this article

Stats

2008-04-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

"With the number of servicemen wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq reaching more than 31,000..." -from this article

Triple Amputee Iraq Vet Stars On CSI: New York

2008-04-08T18:10:00.000-07:00

Triple Amputee Iraq Vet Stars On CSI: New York

Regine Schlesinger Reporting
CHICAGO (WBBM) - A wounded war veteran from Rolling Meadows says he\'s finding a career in Hollywood. You can see him on tonight\'s broadcast of CSI: New York on CBS.
WBBM\'s Regine Schlesinger reports Bryan Anderson lost both legs and an arm in Iraq, but not his spirit or dreams.
Bryan Anderson says the star of CSI: New York, Chicago native Gary Sinise who won an Oscar as a wheelchair-bound Vietnam vet in the movie Forrest Gump, has told him, "You\'re the real Lt. Dan," referring to Sinise\'s Forrest Gump character.

First Year for Iraq or Afghanistan Vets in Olympics

2008-04-08T17:55:00.001-07:00

No Iraq or Afghanistan veterans were among U.S. disabled athletes in Athens in 2004 or Turin in 2006.

Amputee says leg loss a small sacrifice

2008-04-08T17:48:00.000-07:00

Amputee says leg loss a small sacrifice

By Mike CroninTRIBUNE-REVIEWTuesday, April 8, 2008
pittsburgh_tribu:http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_561184.html

Long before he arrived in Iraq, Luke Cassidy gave his heart and soul to his country as a Marine and police officer.
Surrendering part of his left leg later didn't seem like much of a sacrifice, the Plum man said.
Nine days after arriving in Al Ramadi in 2004, an improvised explosive device detonated beneath the vehicle Cassidy was driving. The explosion broke his legs, shattered his heels and tore off the big toe of his right foot. An insurgent also shot him in the right calf, he said.

Amputee dives in the sea

2008-04-08T14:14:00.000-07:00

Amputee dives in the sea

In this photo released by the Florida Keys News Bureau, Jeremy Stengel, a 22-year-old Marine who lost his left leg as a result of a combat injury in Iraq 14 months ago, goes scuba diving for the first time Monday, April 7, 2008, in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary off Key Largo, Fla. Stengel used a special prosthesis that features an artificial foot that can be extended so a dive fin can be used as normal.

First Iraq Amputee Vet Included In Beijing Paralympics

2008-04-07T17:45:00.000-07:00

First Iraq Amputee Vet Included In Beijing Paralympics
April 7, 2008 10:47 p.m. EST

Isabelle Duerme - AHN News Writer
San Diego, Calif. (AHN) - A female war veteran finds herself in the record book as the first war veteran to qualify for the upcoming Beijing Paralymics

Mary Stockwell, an amputee who lost her left leg from a roadside bomb in Baghdad, is part of a team of 18 women forming the U.S. Swim Team which will compete in Beijing.

Also in USA Today

For veteran, a new home, life, and wife

2008-04-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

For veteran, a new home, life, and wife

Even when Brian Fountaine was lying face down in the Iraqi dirt, his lower legs mangled and bleeding from a roadside bomb explosion two years ago, he knew he was going to survive. The young tank commander also knew he was about to become a double amputee.
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Wounded Iraq veteran from Menifee says his sacrifice was worth it

2008-04-04T18:04:00.000-07:00

Wounded Iraq veteran from Menifee says his sacrifice was worth it

09:25 PM PDT on Friday, April 4, 2008
By JOE VARGOThe Press-Enterprise
Video: Jesus De La Cruz talks about rehabilitation following injuries sustained in Iraq
SAN DIEGO - His left leg is shattered, amputated below the knee from a rocket-propelled grenade that slammed into him while on patrol in Iraq three weeks ago.
Tiny pieces of shrapnel, the size of a match-head, work their way through his skin to the surface, where he pulls them out and collects them for keepsakes.

Body of War: New Doc Tells the Story of a Paralyzed Iraq War Veteran Coming to Terms with Disability and Speaking Out Against War

2008-04-01T14:36:00.000-07:00

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Lab readies corpsmen for combat

2008-03-31T18:28:00.000-07:00

Lab readies corpsmen for combat

By Trista Talton - Staff writerPosted : Monday Mar 31, 2008 20:17:29 EDT

CAMP JOHNSON, N.C. — The reality for Navy corpsmen in the field is often treating unimaginable combat injuries.
“When I saw my first double amputee I was like ‘wow,’ ” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Shannon Book. “The shock never goes away.”

Troops pick up the pieces after injuries

2008-03-31T18:14:00.000-07:00

Troops pick up the pieces after injuries

By: Meghan Cooke, Staff Writer
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: State & National

Media Credit: Meghan Cooke
Cpt. Ray Baronie, a marine, lost a leg after a rocket struck his vehicle in Iraq in 2005. He now helps wounded soldiers as they recover.

CAMP LEJEUNE - While helping to move an Iraqi battalion across Ramadi in 2005, Marine Ray Baronie's vehicle suffered a rocket attack.Both his legs were crushed, and when he woke up in the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., he discovered he was facing amputation.Nearly three years and 46 operations later, Capt. Baronie serves as the executive officer of Wounded Warrior Battalion East at Camp Lejeune, where wounded Marines can share their experiences, build camaraderie and heal.

War's Wounded Find Guidance in Aftermath

2008-03-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

War's Wounded Find Guidance in Aftermath
Walter Reed Chaplains Help Amputees, Other Soldiers Confront Unpleasant Realities
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Who's Blogging

By Greg TrotterReligion News Service Saturday, March 29, 2008; Page B10
Capt. Darrick Gutting is the friendliest guy in Ward 57.
The bald-headed, 40-year-old Pennsylvanian roams the halls, engaging passersby -- soldiers and medical staff -- in conversations that are equal parts jive and heartfelt concern.
"Sorry, man, but this is part of being a chaplain, too," Gutting said after talking with a male nurse for 10 minutes about a favorite hunting store in West Virginia. "You gotta let the people know that you care."

Soldier who lost leg to suicide bomber plans for life after Army as he learns to walk again w/VIDEO

2008-03-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

Soldier who lost leg to suicide bomber plans for life after Army as he learns to walk again w/VIDEO

By: JEMIMAH NOONOO, The Enterprise
03/30/2008
Updated 03/29/2008 11:57:54 PM CDT
SAN ANTONIO - Sgt. Daniel Cowart teeters on a spongy balance beam, his arms riding an unsteady wave. His face is strained. His lips are pursed. His glasses slide as the sweat streams.
His gait is deliberate; some steps prove harder than others. He walks backward on the beam. He falls.

He gets up, now walking sideways. He collapses, his 5-foot-8, 185-pound frame hits the blue mat with a noticeable thud.

MULTIMEDIA Sgt. Cowart undergoes physical rehab for injuries suffered in Iraq Photo Gallery

Iraq War Marine With Amputated Leg Back on Active Duty

2008-03-29T14:47:00.000-07:00

Iraq War Marine With Amputated Leg Back on Active Duty
Friday, February 29, 2008

By Jennifer Griffin and Catherine Donaldson-Evans

But Gunnery Sgt. William Gibson, a decorated Marine, didn't stop serving his country, even after his leg was amputated above the knee. He didn't settle for a desk job stateside, either. He's back in Iraq — his second tour — on active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps.

SoCal Marine Volunteers For Another Tour After Leg Amputation

2008-03-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

SoCal Marine Volunteers For Another Tour After Leg Amputation

POSTED: 7:16 am PDT March 28, 2008
UPDATED: 3:31 pm PDT March 28, 2008

SAN DIEGO --

A Marine who lost his leg in the Iraq war is heading back to the Middle East. Video Images
Cpl. Garrett Jones told NBC affiliate KNSD-TV he doesn't have to return to the frontlines -- he volunteered to go back. Jones, 22, said he wants to go, even though he still feels pain in what remains of the leg blown off by an improvised explosive device during his first tour of duty last summer.

President praises amputee back in combat

2008-03-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

President praises amputee back in combat

By Sommer Woodward
PRYOR DAILY TIMES (PRYOR, Okla.)
PRYOR, Okla. — A wounded Marine’s determination to get back to the front lines caught the attention of the president.In a March 19 speech to the Pentagon, President George Bush praised Marine Gunnery Sergeant William “Spanky” Gibson, a 1989 Pryor High School graduate.Gibson’s leg was amputated after he was shot while pulling an Iraqi soldier out of harm’s way in Ramadi, Iraq, in 2006.

Iraq War Creating Advances in Prosthetics

2008-03-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

Iraq War Creating Advances in Prosthetics
March 24, 2008 10:10 PM EDT
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Iraq War Creating Advances in Prosthetics
The U.S. Army has helped expedite progress in getting the C-Leg to market.

Wounded soldiers returning from Iraq are getting bionic replacement parts, and the new hi-tech artificial legs are available in Las Vegas.
Dan Ramsey can relate to soldiers who have lost a limb. His own leg was blown off by a land mine in Vietnam -- an explosion that killed two other soldiers.
He's now an expert on replacements as a designer with Prosthetic Center of Excellence in Las Vegas. He says military demands speed up research and development.

Family of injured soldier gets relief

2008-03-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

Family of injured soldier gets relief
By Nita Birmingham (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Sunday, March 23, 2008

Grace BeahmThe Post and Courier
A photograph of Shaun Robey as he receives his Purple Heart at Walter Reed Hospital sits on his mother Becky Robeys table at her home in Summerville. Becky Robey spent months at Walter Reed in Washington DC helping her son after he lost his leg from an IED blast.
How to help
Anyone interested in joining a local chapter of A Hero's Welcome may call Tim Taylor at 843-276-2840.
More information on the organization is available at www.aheros-welcome.org.

SUMMERVILLE — Ahttp://www.charleston.net/news/2008/mar/23/family_injured_soldier_gets_relief/ businessman inspired by a television interview and the plight of a local wounded soldier's family wants to start a chapter of a nonprofit organization that supports troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Tim Taylor first heard about the group A Hero's Welcome while watching footage of a soldier's homecoming on CNN's 'The Glenn Beck Program' in November.
It inspired the former Army

Wounded Vet Again Tackles Basic Training

2008-03-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

Wounded Vet Again Tackles Basic Training

By Amy ShipleyWashington Post Staff Writer Friday, March 21, 2008; Page A01
COLORADO SPRINGS -- Melissa Stockwell bobbed in the water at one end of the pool at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, peering through swimming goggles at her coach, Jimmy Flowers, on the pool deck. The day's first training session was under way, and Flowers called for a kicking drill.

'Virtual massage' could help phantom limb pain

2008-03-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

'Virtual massage' could help phantom limb pain

By Nic Fleming, Science Correspondent
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 20/03/2008
Amputees who experience strange phantom limb pains could gain relief through "virtual massage", scientists say.
Amputees get virtual treatment for 'phantom limbs'
More than half of people who have had limbs amputated report sensations that feel as if their missing limbs are still attached, and most say these are painful.
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Researchers found combat veteran amputees who watched other people rubbing their limbs gained relief from such pain.

Wounded Soldier Remarks on Fifth Anniversary of War

2008-03-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

Wounded Soldier Remarks on Fifth Anniversary of War
March 20, 2008 06:34 PM EDT

By Elizabeth Ries
Five years ago Wednesday, U.S. bombs began to fall on the capital of Iraq, marking the start of the Iraq War. Since then, 3,988 U.S. service members have died in the conflict to date -- 86 of them from Wisconsin.

Where are they now? New legs will help vet regain old life

2008-03-18T19:37:00.000-07:00

Where are they now? New legs will help vet regain old life
By Kate WiltroutThe Virginian-Pilot© March 18, 2008
NORFOLK
Jon Bartlett is finally learning how to run again.
Bartlett was a 19-year-old private first class when his Humvee hit a roadside bomb in September 2004 in Iraq. The blast tossed the vehicle hundreds of feet, turning it into a mess of shredded steel.

Surgeon learns medical advances can be products of war

2008-03-18T19:34:00.000-07:00

Surgeon learns medical advances can be products of war

Posted by Chronicle News Service March 18, 2008 09:23AM
Categories: Grand Rapids
Chronicle News Service/Lori Niedenfuer Cool

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Clifford Jones takes a break between surgeries at Grand Valley Surgical Center on Leonard Street NE. Jones went to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany earlier this year to operate on U.S. soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
GRAND RAPIDS — On a normal day in the operating room, West Michigan surgeon Clifford Jones sees his share of broken bones and crushed limbs.
But wounded soldiers from Iraq or Afghanistan with blast injuries, embedded shrapnel or the grisly aftermath of suicide bombs are something else.

Wounds of war bring home new ways of healing

2008-03-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

Wounds of war bring home new ways of healing

Iraq War’s medical challenges spawn solutions for civilians

Eric Gay / AP file
Sgt. Tawan Williamson undewent rehabilitation therapy at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio last year. Williamson's left leg was shredded in Iraq when a bomb blew up under his Humvee in June 2006. A high-tech prosthetic leg allows him to run again.
View related photos

Day by day, images of a 4-week invasionFrom the first blasts that rocked Baghdad to the U.S. military's declaration that major combat was over, see images from every day of the conflict.

Commentary
By Dr. Edward V. Craig
Special to msnbc.com
updated 8:28 a.m. ET, Tues., March. 18, 2008

Dr. Edward V. Craig
Throughout history, the experiences of doctors in wartime have led to dramatic advances in civilian medical care.
Hippocrates, best known for the oath every graduating medical student takes, recognized this in 400 B.C. when he wrote that war was a surgeon’s best training ground. Each war has exposed physicians to injuries not seen previously, and the Iraq War — with its signature roadside bombs (in this war’s lingo “improvised explosive devices”) — is no exception.

Wounded Soldiers

2008-03-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

Wounded Soldiers

By YOCHI J. DREAZENMarch 13, 2008; Page A1
WASHINGTON -- Cpl. Kenny Lyon's mother pushed his wheelchair down a narrow Pentagon hallway, crying as she listened to the applause.
Hundreds of Defense Department employees lined the corridor, cheering for Cpl. Lyon and the other wounded military personnel who walked or rolled past. Some of them patted Cpl. Lyon on the shoulder, while others shook his hand or leaned in to hug his mother, Gigi Windsor.