Level 1 Trauma Surgery

Level 1 Trauma Surgery is one of the most intense surgical specialties - it is a race against time where surgical intervention is not limited to the Operating Room. It could be done in the Trauma Resuscitation Bay or even the ICU. Surgeons require dependable first assists who can navigate life threatening injuries during active resuscitation efforts.

Our Providers are seasoned in:

  • Damage Control Surgery (DCS): DCS Operative intervention is focused on full exposure and rapid hemorrhage control. For major hepatic injury, packing is optimal, though multiple other more time- consuming methods may be necessary. Major vascular injury that cannot be safely treated by ligation can be considered for vascular shunting. Intestinal contamination should be controlled by whipstitch, intestinal ligation, or stapling. No attempts at formal resection are undertaken, and the intestine is left discontinuous. Details of management of specific organs are found in further chapters. The abdomen is closed by one of many quick temporary methods. The entire operative intervention should take about 1 h and certainly no longer than 90 min.

  • Acute cardiac resuscitation including ED Thoracotomies (EDTs)

  • Exploratory laparotomies with severe contamination

  • Reoperative surgery after DCS

  • Acute resuscitation in the ICU

  • Bedside surgery including decompressive laparotomies and thoracotomies in the ICU

  • Acute orthopedic injuries in the pelvic region

  • Perimortem c-sections

  • Polytrauma surgeries with multiple surgical teams operating simultaneously

CVSA - Trauma Bay Sim Center Design