The EWI symposium will serve to define current knowledge of the management of extremity war injuries. Sessions will include presentations on current techniques, practices, and/or limitations of wound management, antibiotics and infection, stabilization of long bones, segmental bony defects, and amputee care. Each session will be co-moderated by a civilian and military orthopaedic surgeon with expertise in their topical area. The EWI symposium will be held Tuesday-Friday, January 24-27, 2006, in Washington, D.C. ? ? This location was chosen to allow for congressional/government involvement and due to the proximity to Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC). The EWI symposium, modeled after the annual AAOS/NIH symposia, will benefit a wide audience of both military and civilian orthopaedic patients. There is a timely need for more research to be conducted to assist with the management of wartime extremity injuries. For the first time, a symposium is being assembled pairing together both military and civilian orthopaedic surgeons, jointly examining research gaps and establishing priorities. The symposium is self-serving for both parties, as techniques and treatments used for wartime injuries can be mirrored in managing civilian trauma and medical complications. The AAOS and the organizing committee are hopeful that the symposium will lead to increased government funding for research, increased research collaboration between civilian and military orthopaedic surgeons, and an overall increased awareness of extremity war injuries. A shared goal of military and civilian physicians is to quickly and safely mend and heal patients so they can return to their jobs and lives as soon as possible. Advances in the management of extremity injuries will lead to quicker recovery times from blast injuries, better response rates to infection, and new advances in amputee care, benefiting both military and civilian patients. ? ? Recently, the House of Representatives recommended the inclusion of $15 million to fund research on military trauma in its fiscal year 2006 Department of Defense Appropriations bill. The AAOS requested the $15 million to establish the Orthopaedic Trauma Research Program within the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (ISR) at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. ? ? ? ?
