RT Journal
A1 Garland, Douglas E.
A1 McAuliffe, John A.
A1 Wolfson, Aaron H.
T1 Correspondence
JF The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery
JO The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery
YR 1998
FD March 1
VO 80
IS 3
SP 453
OP a
DO 
UL http://dx.doi.org/
AB 
    In this small study (of eight patients), the authors compared three populations that had distinct responses to the excision of heterotopic ossification. In a patient who has a spinal cord injury or a traumatic brain injury, the recurrence of heterotopic ossification and the functional outcome may be best predicted by the level of neurological involvement and the level of motor recovery1-5. The motor response, the amount of heterotopic ossification, and the outcome of operative intervention are different in a patient who has paraplegia caudad to the level of the fourth cervical nerve root than in a patient who is in a persistent vegetative state or in one who recovers neurological function after a traumatic brain injury. The most important predictor of recurrent heterotopic ossification, and of a good outcome after resection, in a patient who has neurological damage is the motor examination, which unfortunately was not presented in this paper.