http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/IraqCoverage/story?id=2678859&page=1Sgt. Brent Bretz has had 57 operations since he lost both legs in Iraq.
Bretz, 24, is getting care at Brook Army Medical in San Antonio, and expects to be discharged soon on 100 percent disability. But he will need still more surgery and is counting on the Veterans Administration (LINK) to pay for it.
Advances in body armor and battlefield medicine mean soldiers are surviving injuries that would have killed them in past wars. Some will need lifetime care — which means the government is facing a massive bill.
According to recent research by Columbia University economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard economist Linda Bilmes, caring for Iraq's wounded will cost the government $127 billion.
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More than a quarter of returning Iraq veterans are filing claims for permanent service-related disabilities. And the researchers say Veterans Administration hospitals are already overwhelmed.