May 1997 AAOS Report
Dr. Ehrlich, patient testify to increase funds for research
Michael G. Ehrlich, MD, chairman of the Academy's
Committee on Research, urged the House Labor, Health and Human
Services and Education subcommittee on appropriations to provide
$280 million in fiscal year for the National Institute of Arthritis
and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. He told the subcommittee
on April 15 that the Academy also supported a 9 percent increase
in funding for the National Institutes of Health, as a whole.
Appearing with Dr. Ehrlich was his patient, 11-year-old Taylor
Breedlove, who was born with spina bifida, hydrocephalus, sacral
agenesis, scoliosis, kyphosis and paralysis of her lower extremities.
Dr. Ehrlich performed surgery to locate the girl's hips
in the sockets. "Ten years ago, we would not have operated
on any of these patients because there would have been too much
pressure on the hip if we placed it back into the socket,"
he said. "In those cases, the hip bone would die. Modern
research taught us about the circulation to the hip and how the
hip could be preserved." Today, Taylor is walking with
forearm crutches.