Trauma Injuries

Definitive Surgical Trauma Care

The International Association for Trauma and Surgical Intensive Care (IATSIC) of the International Surgical Society created the Definitive Surgical Trauma Care (DSTC) course to help surgeons meet the demands associated with the surgical management of torso and head trauma. Meanwhile, the Definitive Surgical Trauma Skills Course (DSTS) was a collaborative effort between the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Royal Defense Medical College, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in the US. Due to the similarity of the two courses, there is considerable overlap and dialog that exists amongst the organizations involved with both.

In the DSTC course, physicians address life-threatening surgical conditions as a team, and they expand on their operational knowledge through first-person training at cadaver and live sedated animal skill workshops.

The IATSIC, which oversees the DSTC, is the largest trauma organization outside the US. Founded in 1988, the institution is affiliated with the International Society of Surgery located in Basel, Switzerland and acts as knowledge base for trauma surgeons around the globe. Besides being a frontrunner in trauma surgery education and owning the DSTC course, the IATSIC is heading up the National Trauma Management course. This class is intended for third-world countries which do not have the resources to purchase equipment or pay enough instructors that the advanced courses have to offer. The NTM was first tested in Africa, and it has proven successful in India as well.