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The recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in severe foot and ankle wounds to many United States service members. Amputation of the severely damaged extremity often is the only option, while amputation of the potentially salvageable extremity may be chosen by the patient and the surgeon as the preferred reconstructive treatment.1 When salvage is pursued, enormous challenges are encountered in managing the complex wounds of war. The cumulative experiences of military surgeons have been invaluable in advancing reconstructive surgery of the war-wounded foot and ankle.2,3 This work details the experiences of United States military reconstructive surgeons in the soft tissue management of the war wounds of the foot and ankle resulting from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Coxa saltans, or snapping hip, can be attributable to a number of causes. Coxa saltans externa typically occurs when the thickened portion of the iliotibial band snaps over the greater trochanter as the hip is flexed. This condition generally resolves with a course of nonoperative treatment. We have treated three patients with Z-plasty of the iliotibial band, which has the highest published success rate in the English language literature. Only one of three patients was able to return to full activities postoperatively. In our small series, this method of surgical treatment in an active duty military population yielded less than optimal results.

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