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A History of Acute Care Surgery (Emergency Surgery)

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Acute Care Surgery Handbook

Abstract

The broader field of surgery has made significant strides over the past two decades in both the understanding of surgical disease as well as in the technical conduct of operations. However, a significant portion of surgical patients present with “time-sensitive surgical disease” requiring immediate evaluation and management, often at times of the day or in clinical settings in which a specialist is not immediately available [1]. As the number of surgeons trained and willing to provide comprehensive care for this population has declined while the clinical need continues to increase, the specialty of Acute Care Surgery (ACS; referred to as Emergency Surgery in Europe) was proposed by the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST). At its inception, ACS was initially comprised of trauma, emergency general surgery, and critical care. As the specialty has begun to mature, it has expanded its focus to include elective general surgery and surgical rescue (Fig. 2.1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pittsburgh, F-1281, UPMC-Presbyterian, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Matthew E. Kutcher MD & Andrew B. Peitzman MD

Authors
  1. Matthew E. Kutcher MD
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  2. Andrew B. Peitzman MD
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Correspondence to Andrew B. Peitzman MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Emergency and Trauma Surgery Service, C.A. Pizzardi Maggiore Hospital AUSL Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Salomone Di Saverio

  2. Emergency and Trauma Surgery, Maggiore Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy

    Fausto Catena

  3. General, Emergency and Trauma Surgery Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital, Bergamo, Italy

    Luca Ansaloni

  4. General, Emergency and Trauma Surgery Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital, Bergamo, Italy

    Federico Coccolini

  5. Trauma, Emergency Medicine Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    George Velmahos

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Kutcher, M.E., Peitzman, A.B. (2017). A History of Acute Care Surgery (Emergency Surgery). In: Di Saverio, S., Catena, F., Ansaloni, L., Coccolini, F., Velmahos, G. (eds) Acute Care Surgery Handbook. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15341-4_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15341-4_2

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