Reconstructive Transplant Research Program, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs

Vision – Reconstructive Transplant: an accessible and realistic choice

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The Reconstructive Transplant Research (RTR) Program was initiated in 2012 to advance the science and execution of complex hand, face and other vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) procedures.

Many factors related to weaponry, personal protection, and trauma care during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom resulted in greater survival of those sustaining increasingly severe combat injuries, particularly injuries to the face and the extremities. The intent of the RTR program is to advance the field of VCA to make the procedure possible for a broader population of patients, and to restore our wounded warriors to duty or to meaningful lives. The RTR program was initiated in 2012 to fund innovative projects in an array of topic areas within the field of VCA. Beneficiaries of the techniques and technologies developed with this funding include injured Service Members, Veterans, their caregivers, and family members, as well as civilians who have suffered catastrophic tissue loss.

Congressional Appropriations