Patient Stories
Our mission in Military Medicine
Modern warfare and extended conflicts present new challenges for today’s troops. Over the past two decades, our military members have faced added risks from unconventional weaponry, including improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
Fortunately, medical advancements within the federal Military Health System, and its collaboration with civilian health centers, have led to unprecedented survival rates and allowed many more injured service members to return home to their families. However, many of these veterans have gone on to live in debilitating pain and with other medical issues.
At The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, we believe there is more to living than just survival. Our Military Medicine Program is a collaborative group of expert surgeons, military specialists and rehabilitation experts – many with combat experience themselves – who want to offer a better quality of life to our country’s wounded warriors.
Advancing military and veteran care across the spectrum
Too often, service members with injuries have felt they’ve exhausted all options and have resigned themselves to living in pain or dysfunction. Our team understands that complex problems require team-based solutions.
We not only have the infrastructure to meet all your needs in one place but also the ability to ensure clear communication and efficient care coordination. Whether you require limb restoration to improve function, intensive therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, better pain management or state-of-the-art orthopedic surgery, the Military Medicine Program can help find solutions to your medical issues.
Besides world-class surgeons (peripheral nerve surgeons, microsurgeons, neuroplastic surgeons, orthopedic surgeons), our team includes experts in prosthetics, rehabilitation medicine and mental healthcare to help you in your journey to a better quality of life.
Common conditions we treat for veterans
We have the expertise to treat a wide array of conditions, which ensures that service members have every opportunity to live the lives they have earned. Common combat injuries and conditions include:
- Debilitating nerve pain
- Fractures and non-healing fractures
- Poor function or pain due to joint damage
- Chronic wounds or scar issues
- Skin and soft tissue breakdown
- Excess skin and tissue
- Problems with prosthetic fitting
- Bone or hardware infections
- Paralysis
- Chronic pain from joint injuries or post-amputation
Even if your medical issue isn’t listed here, you’ve still come to the right place. The medical problems we treat are vast, and we know these types of battle injuries don’t always fit neatly into specific treatment categories. We specialize in problem-solving, and we’ll design an individualized treatment plan that suits your needs.
About our program
The Military Medicine program at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center provides new options for military service members and veterans to recover from combat injuries using advanced reconstructive surgical techniques combined with holistic services to address all aspects of their care.
Meeting an unmet medical need for our military veterans
Since the turn of the century, wartime conflicts have produced more than 60,000 American wounded warriors. Many of them require a lifetime of care or still live in pain or with a poor quality of life. At the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, we have more than 500 service-connected staff, including some of our leaders and top surgeons. This gives many of our healthcare providers an understanding of veterans’ unique experiences and needs, which can foster a very healing environment.
Treatments and services available
We offer a single source for veterans to access all nonsurgical and surgical specialties. While we offer veterans with combat wounds a host of services, there are several areas on which we focus:
- Limb restoration – Orthopedic and plastic surgeons work side by side to treat challenging fractures, infections and limb deformities. Limb restoration uses advanced treatments and technologies to improve function and reduce pain.
- Advanced amputation – We have an Advanced Amputation Program at Ohio State that offers a range of amputation care. We offer state-of-the-art amputation techniques, such as osseointegration and targeted muscle reinnervation, and have close partnerships with local and national prosthetists.
- Nerve reconstruction and repair – We possess internationally renowned experts in peripheral nerve repair to help you ease pain, regain function and save limbs. Many people don’t realize that there are surgical options available to help their nerve pain and disability.
- Craniofacial reconstruction – For injuries to the skull, we have one of the premier head and neck reconstruction programs in the country. We’re also one of the only hospitals nationwide with a dedicated neuroplastic surgery program to help fix any injury in this part of the body.
- Pain management – Many veterans deal with debilitating pain daily. We believe effective pain management requires a collaborative effort from multiple specialists to address pain through the use of behavioral, medical, surgical and interventional strategies.
- Mental health and suicide prevention – We view mental health as one of the key components to recovering from a combat injury. At Ohio State, we’ve created the Suicide and Trauma Reduction Initiative for Veterans (STRIVE) to provide research-based strategies to improve the mental well-being of those who have served.
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation – Our physical therapy experts provide comprehensive services in various specialty areas, including amputee rehabilitation, neurological rehabilitation and specialty hand and upper extremity rehab. Our inpatient Dodd Rehabilitation Hospital ranks as one of the best in the nation.
Why should wounded warriors choose Ohio State for their care?
There are many reasons why veterans will find care to be different at Ohio State. Those highlights include:
- Our coordinated care approach – As part of an academic medical center, we’re your one stop for a treatment plan that’s delivered efficiently and effectively.
- Our experience treating service members from head to toe – We possess experience with the reconstruction and rehabilitation of combat-injured veterans, no matter how complex the injury, how long you’ve had the injury or what part of the body is impacted.
- Our understanding of veterans’ unique needs – Many of the staff members you will encounter in the Military Medicine Program also served in the armed forces.
- Our ability to train future military surgeons and physicians – We offer novel programs designed to help advanced surgical trainees, and those already in the field, to expand and maintain their skills.
- Our commitment to ensuring wounded warriors can get this help – We work with government insurances like Tricare and coverage through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and we have various partners in Columbus and nationwide that provide the financial help for travel and lodging during treatment.
Other patient resources for veterans
Several nonprofits across the country work with our Military Medicine Program to ensure that conflict-injured service members receive the care they need. Resources include:
- Semper Fi & America’s Fund, an organization that provides help with housing, transportation and caregiver support while medical issues are treated.
- U.S. Special Operations Command Care Coalition, whose mission it is to provide advocacy to service members after life-changing events to help them navigate through recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration.
- Veterans Airlift Command, a nonprofit that provides free air transportation to combat-wounded service members and their families for medical or other purposes.
If your organization would like to become a program partner, please contact Laura Robinson, executive director of Development, at 860-989-9652 or laura.robinson@osumc.edu.
Get an online second opinion: Move forward with confidence
Ohio State offers online second opinions for select specialties, providing valuable feedback so you can gain clarity and move forward with confidence.
Have questions? Visit our online second opinion FAQs for more information. Our online second opinion service costs $800.
Donating to Military Medicine
Private donations are critical to the Military Medicine Program’s mission of improving access to high-quality, life-changing care for our nation’s wounded warriors. Your donations support all aspects of military medicine, including education- and research-related initiatives, travel and salary expenses.