Plastic Surgery Challenges in War Wounded II: Regenerative Medicine

Area of Science:

• Regenerative medicine
• Tissue engineering
• Combat casualty care

Background:

• Complex combat injuries from Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF) present challenges including contamination, infection, and extensive tissue damage.
• Traditional wound care and reconstruction methods may be insufficient for massive, multisystem combat wounds.
• Regenerative medicine therapies are increasingly used as adjuncts to traditional treatments for these complex injuries.

Approach:

• Utilizing autologous adipose tissue grafting, stem cell therapies, nerve allografts, and dermal regenerative templates/extracellular matrix scaffolds.
• Evaluating the efficacy of regenerative medicine techniques through in vitro and in vivo studies.
• Implementing these advanced therapies in the treatment of combat casualty injuries.

Key Points:

• Beneficial applications of regenerative medicine therapies are supported by in vitro and in vivo studies.
• Military medicine has observed positive outcomes using regenerative medicine for complex war wounds.
• Multi-institution clinical trials are ongoing to further validate these reconstructive measures.

Conclusions:

• Optimal combat casualty care integrates traditional reconstructive techniques with regenerative medicine therapies.
• Regenerative medicine has benefited numerous combat casualties, with long-term follow-up substantiating its efficacy.
• Findings in regenerative medicine for combat wounds are applicable to nonmilitary patient populations.