AAOS Supports the Armed Forces Institute for Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM)

For more information, contact:

For Immediate Release
04/17/2008

AAOS Supports the Armed Forces Institute for Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM)
Encourages additional funding for Peer Reviewed Orthopaedic Extremity Trauma Research Program

Washington, DC

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) today voiced its support for the Department of Defense’s (DoD) decision to create an Armed Forces Institute for Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM), a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary research network to work on fundamental, basic science questions in an effort to develop advanced treatment options for our severely wounded servicemen and women. Additionally, the AAOS continues to encourage Congress to provide $50 million to support the DoD’s Peer Reviewed Orthopaedic Extremity Trauma Research Program (OETRP), in both the supplemental appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY)2008 and the fiscal year (FY)2009 Defense appropriations bill. Military studies show that eighty-two percent of injuries from the Global War on Terror involve the extremities – often severe and multiple injuries to the arms and legs. Many of these injuries are made more challenging by the effects of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs), which cause injury patterns that are distinct from civilian trauma. The AAOS and OTA have advocated for increased resources to the Department of Defense for medical research on extremity war injuries. The two groups actively support OETRP, a competitively-awarded, peer reviewed research program operated by the U.S. Army’s Medical Research and Materiel Command, also the parent organization directing the new AFIRM program. OETRP is designed to address urgent medical challenges by involving military and civilian orthopaedic surgeons and researchers in its research efforts. “The creation of AFIRM should prove to be an important component in the overall effort to better care for our wounded warriors. The research questions that AFIRM will address should provide the basis for discovering new knowledge that can be further tested and refined by OETRP, a more translational and clinically focused research effort. There is a profound need for focused medical research to help military surgeons find new limb-sparing techniques to save injured extremities, avoid amputations and preserve and restore the function of injured extremities. One program cannot go at this alone. We must increase funding for OETRP so these vital programs can work together to treat our war-wounded soldiers,” said Tony Rankin, MD, President of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. “The OETRP is a vital tool in our efforts to improve treatment and outcomes of battlefield extremity injuries in the near term,” said Andrew N. Pollak, MD, chief of orthopaedic trauma at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland and also chair of the Academy’s task force on extremity war injuries. “The creation of AFIRM is a testament to the importance of this country making significant investments in the full spectrum of research to help our military orthopaedic surgeons discover new and innovative ways to best treat these complex injuries. Together, I am confident OETRP and AFIRM will greatly advance treatments for our critically wounded soldiers.”

For more information visit www.aaos.org.

With more than 30,000 members, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (www.aaos.org) is the premier not-for-profit organization that provides education programs for orthopaedic surgeons and allied health professionals, champions the interests of patients and advances the highest quality musculoskeletal health. Orthopaedic surgeons and the Academy are the authoritative sources of information for patients and the general public on musculoskeletal conditions, treatments and related issues. An advocate for improved patient care, the Academy is participating in the Bone and Joint Decade (www.usbjd.org) – the global initiative in the years 2002-2011 – to raise awareness of musculoskeletal health, stimulate research and improve people’s quality of life.

The Orthopaedic Trauma Association (www.ota.org) is a not-for-profit organization that promotes excellence in orthopaedic trauma patient care at hospitals and trauma centers throughout North America. Its members provide worldwide leadership through education, research and patient advocacy.