In this episode, Thoracic Surgeon Dr. Simon Turner discusses Thoracic Trauma. Thoracic trauma is one of the most intimidating situations in all of surgery. The chest contains the heart, lungs and the great vessels, and injury to any of these can quickly result in death if not rapidly corrected. Add to this the fact that the rib cage prevents direct examination of the structures most at risk and also hampers attempts at control of injuries. Thankfully, most immediately life threatening thoracic injuries can be reliably identified using little more than your eyes, ears and hands, if you know how to do it.
The objectives for Thoracic Trauma include the:
Assessment Identification of life-threatening injuries Intervention Diagnosis and treatment