Ex vivo limb perfusion for traumatic amputation in military medicine

AbstractBackgroundLimb loss has a drastic impact on a patient ’s life. Severe trauma to the extremities is common in current military conflicts. Among other aspects, “life before limb” damage control surgery hinders immediate replantation within the short post-traumatic timeframe, which is limited in part by the ischemic time for successful replantation. Ex vivo limb perfusion is currently being researched in animal models and shows promising results for its application in human limb replantation and allotransplantation.Presentation of the hypothesisThe current lack of replantation possibilities in military operations with high rates of amputation can be addressed with the development of a portable ex vivo limb perfusion device, as there are several opportunities present with the introduction of this technique on the horizon. We hypothesize that ex vivo limb perfusion will enable overcoming the critical ischemic time, provide surgical opportunities such as preparation of the stump and limb, allow for spare-part surgery, enable rigorous antibiotic treatment of the limb, reduce ischemia-reperfusion injuries, enable a tissue function assessment before replantation, and enable the development of large limb transplant programs.Testing the hypothesisData from in vivo studies in porcine models are limited by the relatively short perfusion time of 24  h. In the military setting, notably longer perfusion times need to be realized. Therefore, future animal studies must focus es...
Source: Military Medical Research - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research