Bone Regrowth In Military Amputees

Sounds more like science fiction, doesn't it? However, soldiers who have had arms or legs amputated after suffering injuries in the Middle East are suffering the unusual problem of new bone growth.

The condition is called Heterotopic Ossification and it was almost unknown in the medical literature, according to a report in USA Today. It is associated with injuries from explosions and has become more common largely because soldiers with those injuries are now more likely to survive.

A surgery resident at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, told the newspaper that approximately 60 percent of the amputees there have experienced new bone appearing in the wrong places. These high-intensity explosions that damage bone, muscle and tissue, apparently stimulate adult stem cells to begin repairs. Doctors have few ways to prevent or treat the condition. Radiation given shortly after the injury, appears to reduce the risk but can also delay the healing of fractures, while Ibuprofen has some effect and potentially dangerous side effects.