Stats--862

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

Amputee study could benefit Iraq veterans

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.

Traumatic Brain Injuries and PTSD

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)

900 Amputees

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

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.

Unemployment Figures for Disabled Vets

"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

Stats

"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

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

719 Amputations

"In fact, the number is 719, according to Chuck Scoville, a program manager for the military's joint amputation-care system. Add limb amputations due to accidents, training mistakes, tumors or other noncombat causes and the total is 795 as of Oct. 20, Scoville said. That comprises all uniformed personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq since December 2001. "

Recruiters struggle to find an ArmyBy Frank GreveMcClatchy Newspapers

Wounded to Killed Ratio

Better medical technology, improved treatment techniques and beefed-up armament means soldiers survive wounds that would have killed them in past wars. Using a narrow definition, the Defense Department reports that more than 28,000 troops have been wounded in Iraq, while just over 3,100 died from combat wounds.

Those numbers mean the wounded-to-killed ratio is around 9 to 1. As a point of comparison, 3.2 service members were wounded for every fatality in Vietnam; 2.3 were wounded for every one killed in World War II, according to VA figures.

From this article

Army with a future for amputees

Army with a future for amputees
Thursday, 08 November 2007

RETURNING SERVICEMEN: A growing number of US army amputees are seeking to rejoin their units.

For some amputees in a rehabilitation exercise room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, recovery means choosing to return to active duty in the US Army.
Outfitted with computer-powered artificial limbs, one in five of about 350 soldiers whose cases have been considered by a medical review board after their treatment for injuries in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars aims to rejoin their unit.
More than 700 US troops have lost limbs in those wars and have been treated either at Walter Reed, the premier military hospital in Washington, or other military facilities around the country.

Bryan Florence
Saul Bosquez
Gregory Gadson

Imagining a bionic future

Imagining a bionic future

Prosthetics advanceResearch has yielded innovations such as thought-controlled arms and

Tues., Nov. 27, 2007

When Paul Selmer lost his right leg below the knee in a hunting accident, a doctor fitted him with a standard prosthesis that required a waist belt to swing the wooden foot with each step. Selmer remembers it feeling like a “sandbag.” ...

In February 2006 the Defense Research Advancement Projects Agency, or DARPA, committed close to $50 million to the improvement of prosthetic limbs. At the time, 387 soldiers had returned from Iraq and Afghanistan as amputees. As of October 2007, that number reached 751.

Iraq veteran healthcare could top $650b

Iraq veteran healthcare could top $650b
Doctors group warns possible crisis looming
By Bryan Bender
Globe Staff / November 9, 2007

WASHINGTON - A group of noted physicians predicted yesterday that healthcare for Iraq veterans could top $650 billion, another warning of a looming social crisis as thousands of veterans struggle with mental and physical disabilities and other disruptions to family life.
more stories like this
The study by Physicians for Social Responsibility, titled "Shock and Awe Hits Home," marked the first attempt to isolate the financial costs of "the wide-ranging traumatic mental and social effects of the Iraq war."...

Since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, at least 60,000 US service members have been wounded or become mentally ill from their battlefield experiences.
Due to advances in body armor and battlefield medicine, the ratio of wounded to killed is 8 to 1, compared with 3 to 1 during the Vietnam War and 2 to 1 for World War II. The percentage of amputees is the highest since the Civil War.

Wounded Soldiers

"When she began photographing, there were 1,000 wounded, she says. The number has risen to 27,000 to 28,000 wounded in action. Those numbers swell to 60,000 to 70,000 if those not wounded in action -- described in Berman's book as having incurred "combat support or non-hostile injuries," and therefore not eligible to receive a Purple Heart -- are included."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07250/815292-42.stm#

TIME: Another Grim Milestone: 500 Amputees

Another Grim Milestone: 500 Amputees
The giant transport planes unload their sad cargo at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, the first stop home for the most seriously injured Americans of the Iraq war. Arriving virtually every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday nights for the past four years, the parade of wounded warriors may be one of the most predictable events in an otherwise unruly conflict.

Disability Claims and High number of amputees

"Dr. Imbascini just returned from a four-month deployment to Germany, where he treated the worst of the U.S. war wounded. He said that an extremely high number of wounded soldiers are coming home with their arms or legs amputated. "

"One is a Jul. 20, 2006, document titled "Compensation and Pension Benefit Activity Among Veterans of the Global War on Terrorism," which shows that 152,669 veterans filed disability claims after fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. "

from this article:
Iraq Vets Left in Physical and Mental Agony
Inter Press News Service
900 words
3 January 2007

Statistics

"The number of wounded has reached more than 23,000 in Iraq and Afghanistan. This includes 759 amputees: 497 who lost a leg, arm, hand or foot; and 262 who lost a finger, toe, or part of a hand or foot, the Pentagon says."

from this article:
Medical teams saving more troops ; KIA rate half of World War II
Rowan Scarborough, THE WASHINGTON TIMES
730 words
5 January 2007

Statistics: Roughly 500

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060924/NEWS/609240326/1001
Bacik is one of roughly 500 service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who are missing limbs, according to the Pentagon.

Amputee Statistics from Army Medicine website

Numbers of amputees

These numbers represent persons treated in Army hospitals. They represent numbers of persons sustaining the loss of hands, feet, arms and/or legs; they do not include the loss of fingers and/or toes.

179 Army soldiers, 27 of whom are multiple amputees
55 Marines, 10 of whom are multiple amputees
4 Navy sailors, no multiple amputees
2 Air Force amputees, 1 of whom is a multiple amputee
Total of 240 service member amputees treated in Army hospitals

77 of these individuals have had upper extremity involvement (29%)

WRAMC has treated a total of 211 service members from OIF:

163 Army Soldiers, 22 of whom are multiple amputees
42 Marines, 7 of whom are multiple amputees
4 Navy sailors, no multiple amputees
2 Air Force airmen, 1 of whom is a multiple amputee
BAMC has treated a total of 38 service members from OIF:

28 Army Soldiers, 5 of whom are multiple amputees
9 Marines, 1 of whom is a multiple amputee
No Navy sailor amputees
1 Air Force airman, single-limb amputee
(Note: Some service members may have received treatment at both WRAMC and BAMC, so numbers from each individual facility may add up to more than the total number of amputees treated at all Army facilities.)

Statistics Update

"The Army has cared for 253 "major limb" amputees, those who will require the use of a prosthetic limb or have lost a thumb or two or more fingers, through March 31."

[source]