The Challenge of Polytrauma

Experts gather at Dartmouth conference

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) cause severe multiple injuries to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. On Dec. 3 through 5, Dartmouth is hosting a conference to discuss improved treatments for those with these multiple wounds, a condition referred to as polytrauma.

"Right now, there is no treatment process or approach to rehabilitation that adequately addresses polytrauma," says Joseph Rosen, a plastic surgeon at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and an adjunct associate professor at Thayer School of Engineering. "Although there are exceptions, current treatments generally focus on a single problem, such as limb loss or hearing loss. This approach is quickly overwhelmed by the polytrauma patient."

Rosen explains that new body armor combined with improved combat casualty care and rapid evacuation procedures increase the survival rate of wounded servicemen and women. But there has also been a shift in the severity of the injuries. Polytrauma often includes injuries to the hands, feet, arms, legs, face, and brain, as well as impairment of vision and hearing.

The conference, which is invitation only and is sponsored by Dartmouth, Stryker, Raytheon, and iRobot, brings together leaders in industry, medicine, government, and academia to discuss both the short-term clinical efforts to rehabilitate current polytrauma patients and outline a long-term research effort to develop more effective treatments. Rosen says that new polytrauma treatments will also have substantial benefits for other populations. In particular, it might lead to significant benefits for the elderly and for patients of diseases such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and spinal cord injuries that lead to multiple failures in normal functioning.

By SUSAN KNAPP

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