Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2006 Dec;192(6):732-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2006.08.035.

Has the trauma surgeon become house staff for the surgical subspecialist?

David J Ciesla  1 , Ernest E Moore, C Clay Cothren, Jeffery L Johnson, Jon M Burch
Affiliations

Has the trauma surgeon become house staff for the surgical subspecialist?

David J Ciesla et al. Am J Surg. 2006 Dec.

Abstract

Background: The role of the trauma surgeon is perceived to be mostly supportive of other procedure-oriented specialties. We designed this study to characterize the surgical and nonsurgical responsibilities of the contemporary trauma surgeon.

Methods: Trauma patients admitted to an urban academic level I trauma center were studied using trauma registry data for 2004.

Results: The large majority of patients admitted to trauma service has mild single-system injuries to 1 or 2 anatomic regions. Most (57%) did not have injuries to the neck, chest, or abdomen. Head and extremity injuries were present in 45% and 46% of patients, respectively. Surgeries were performed by orthopedists in 28%, trauma surgeons in 11%, and neurosurgeons in 6% of patients.

Conclusions: The contemporary trauma surgeon has little surgical opportunity and provides a disproportionate amount of nonsurgical care in support of consultant specialists. This is a major deterrent to general surgeon interest in trauma care and must be addressed as the acute-care surgeon evolves.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure I
Figure I
ISS distribution of trauma patients admitted to the Acute Care Surgery service.
Figure II
Figure II
Number of injured AIS regions in trauma patients admitted to the Acute Care Surgery service.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Acute care surgery: trauma, critical care, and emergency surgery. J Trauma. 2005 Mar;58:614–616. - PubMed
    1. Ciesla DJ, Moore EE, Moore JB, Johnson JL, Cothren CC, Burch JM. The academic trauma center is a model for the future trauma and acute care surgeon. J Trauma. 2005 Apr;58:657–661. discussion 661-652. - PubMed
    1. Esposito TJ, Maier RV, Rivara FP, Carrico CJ. Why surgeons prefer not to care for trauma patients. Arch Surg. 1991;126:292–297. - PubMed
    1. Richardson JD, Miller FB. Will future surgeons be interested in trauma care? Results of a resident survey. J Trauma. 1992;32:229–233. discussion 233–225. - PubMed
    1. Moore EE. Trauma systems, trauma centers, and trauma surgeons: opportunity in managed competition. J Trauma. 1995;39:1–11. - PubMed

Publication types