Definitive Surgical Trauma Skills (DSTS)

This course is suitable for: ST5-8, consultants and SAS grades.

Participants should have a good understanding of ATLS and critical care principles and experience of managing trauma both frequently and infrequently.

Following the course, you will be able to:

• organise and plan life-saving decision making for the polytrauma patient;
• describe the philosophy of damage control surgery and resuscitation and the principles underlying its application in a variety of scenarios;
• discuss the science of ballistics, the effects on human tissue and how to manage penetrating ballistic injury;
• recognise and respond to the exsanguinating patient, in particular recognising and / or searching for the most compelling source of bleeding;
• recognise the patient in need of immediate life-saving surgery for haemorrhage control.

• thoracic trauma and thoracic damage control;
• left lateral thoracotomy and clamshell thoracotomy;
• vascular trauma and vascular damage control;
• how to approach and manage penetrating neck injuries;
• managing injuries at the thoracic outlet and upper limb;
• lower limb trauma;
• abdominal trauma;
• pelvic trauma and pelvic damage control;
• management of solid organ injury;
• management of hollow organ injury .

DSTS is a highly practical course that teaches procedures and surgical techniques required to manage exsanguinating polytrauma. The majority of the course is spent in the skills lab, working in small groups on unembalmed (fresh frozen) cadavers. Alongside this, there are lectures, case studies and on-going opportunities to discuss trauma management with expert faculty. You will also be given access to videos and accompanying procedural steps on our virtual learning environment that demonstrate many of the procedures taught on the course.