Heterotopic Ossification

Excerpt

Heterotopic ossification (HO) is a frequent complication in the rehabilitation setting which consists of the formation of mature, lamellar bone in the extraskeletal soft tissue where bone does not usually exist. Patient populations at risk of developing HO are those with burns, stroke, spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic amputation, joint replacement, and traumatic brain injury (TBI). There are other genetic causes of HO such as fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, Albright’s hereditary osteodystrophy and progressive osseous heteroplasia that are not related to rehabilitation complications and will not be discussed here.