Orthopedics Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Orthopedics, including details on chronic injuries, muscoskeletal disorders, surgery, reconstruction.

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

Ciesla DJ, Moore EE, Cothren CC, Johnson JL, Burch JM

Department of Surgery, Washington Hospital Center, 110 Irving St. NW, Suite 4B-39, Washington, DC 20005, USA. David.J.Ciesla@Medstar.net <David.J.Ciesla@Medstar.net>

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.

Published 12 December 2006 in Am J Surg, 192(6): 732-7.
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