Torso damage control for ongoing hemorrhage: Tips and tricks

Thoracic injuries are common and occur in combination with other injuries in various compartments representing a significant pattern of injury in any trauma center. Injured patients presenting with exsanguinating hemorrhage from the thoracic cavity are an acute subset of patients that can be extremely challenging to any trauma surgeon as the immediate need to diagnose and intervene is critical. Diagnosis is based on traumatic history pattern and hemodynamics, assisted with plain films, ultra-sound and properly placed chest tubes. The chest should always be considered as a source of unexplained hemodynamic instability with hemorrhage identification by tube thoracostomy, pericardial window or surgical thoracotomy if the patient is already in the OR or if imaging is not available. Various surgical incisions are possible for thoracic traumatic bleeding with various exposure advantages and disadvantages with care and thought prior to incision. Regardless, delay to intervention or trepidation is lethal particularly in these challenging trauma patients.