Orthopaedic Associates of Michigan to partake in new Extremity Trauma Clinical Research Consortium

Sep 22 2009

Orthopaedic Associates of Michigan is one of 12 clinical centers selected to participate in a newly established Extremity Trauma Clinical Research Consortium, funded by the Department of Defense and coordinated by the Research Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Consortium was founded to improve treatment and outcomes for military personnel who have sustained severe orthopaedic trauma on the battlefield.

As a member of the Consortium, Orthopaedic Associates of Michigan will work alongside major military treatment and research centers in conducting clinical research that will help establish treatment guidelines, improve functional and quality of life outcomes, and usher in the use of new and emerging technologies for treating severe lower limb trauma.

According to Dr. Debra Sietsema, clinical research coordinator, Orthopaedic Associates of Michigan was specifically chosen for its unique experience in treating trauma involving lower extremities. "We treat hundreds of injuries to lower extremities a year, most due to automobile accidents, and we look forward to putting that experience to use to benefit injured people across the nation."

This consortium brings a national team of orthopedic trauma surgery specialists together in a single purpose: to provide the scientific evidence needed to improve the clinical outcomes and quality of life for service members and civilians who sustain major limb trauma. "Without a large, multi-center effort such as this, many of these issues would never be resolved," says Dr. Clifford Jones, director of orthopaedic research who is among five specialty trained trauma surgeons at Orthopaedic Associates of Michigan participating in the program. Jones also provided surgical care for US soldiers wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan as a volunteer surgeon at the Army's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, part of The Distinguished Visiting Professor Program through the Orthopaedic Trauma Association.

"The work is important and timely. Until now, we have not had sufficient funding or coordination of multiple specialists to appropriately assess and study these complex traumatic injuries," said Jones. "The results and findings of the Orthopaedic Consortium will be ground breaking and will improve treatment for all those who are faced with these common, but potentially devastating injuries—both military and civilian."

"The need for such a consortium is evident," says Ellen MacKenzie, PhD, Director of the Coordinating Center of the consortium. "Eighty-two percent of all service members injured in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom sustain significant lower limb trauma. Many sustain injuries to multiple limbs. The consortium's research will help us better understand what works and what doesn't in treating these injuries and will ensure that our service members are provided with the best care possible." The Consortium is funded by the Orthopaedic Extremity Trauma Research Program (OETRP) of the Department of Defense for $18.4 million over five years.