Limb and Digit Salvage

Blast injuries often result in the loss of large regions of tissue in the middle portion of the limbs, disrupting healing and preventing use of the hand or foot. Despite many advances in reconstructive surgery, current methods to reconstruct these tissues are often inadequate. When these “bridging tissues” cannot be repaired, the best and only option is often to amputate the leg or arm below the injured area.

The AFIRM Limb Salvage Program focuses on using regenerative medicine technologies to provide surgeons with advanced tools and new options for repair and regeneration. The goal is to help victims of severe military or civilian trauma recover more rapidly and retain their limbs so they may return to functional, independent lives.

Because digits and limbs are multi-functional complex tissues, multidisciplinary approaches are needed to restore anatomical and functional components. The Limb and Digit Salvage Program at the Wake Forest-Pittsburgh Consortium consists of seven independent but conceptually related projects involving an interdisciplinary, multi-pronged approach. Preliminary goals are to engineer components such as ligaments, tendons, blood vessels,

Program Leader:
Stephen Badylak, M.d., Ph.D., D.V.M., University of Pittsburgh