Trauma and Surgical Critical Care Surgery

Martin A. Croce, M.D., Division Chief

A major addition to the system of care for the critically injured patient is the Presley Regional Trauma Center, which opened in 1983. This center has become one of the highest-volume centers in the United States. Over 4500 patients a year sustaining both blunt and penetrating injury are managed using the trauma team concept. Diagnostic, operative, and intensive care faculty supervision, together with a multispecialty team approach, ensures both optimal patient care and excellent resident education. The center receives patients not only from the Memphis metropolitan area but also by helicopter from North Mississippi, Eastern Arkansas, Southern Missouri and West Tennessee within a 150 mile radius.

An elaborate communication system allows the senior surgeon to assist the paramedic in the prehospital phase of resuscitation anywhere in the Memphis area. The center operates independently of the adjacent emergency room and is staffed with surgeons, nurses and technicians solely dedicated to trauma. The Trauma Unit contains its own resuscitation area, four operating rooms for care of emergent patients only, a 23-bed Trauma Intensive Care Unit, and a four-bed Neurosurgery Intensive Care Unit. A newly constructed endovascular suit is available for innovative surgical management of vascular injuries. The unit also boasts arteriographic and CT/MRI scanning capabilities and a stat lab. All facilities are located on the same floor and within close proximity to insure rapid diagnostic and therapeutic intervention with the least movement of the injured patient. The helipad elevator opens into the resuscitation area.

A broad-based clinical research program conducts clinical and laboratory investigations into the cardiopulmonary, metabolic, and septic consequences of trauma and shock. Several scientific publications are generated annually from the projects.

The Residency Program in Trauma/Critical Care is a one-year program and is fully accredited. Two residents are selected from candidates who must be eligible for certification by the American Board of Surgery.

Surgery Critical Care Residency Goals and Objectives:

• Develop proficiency in the diagnosis and management of critically ill patients, to include appropropriate interventions and procedures.
• Create, design, implement, and analyze research projects.
• Expand and develop the ability to teach associates, residents in training, and other critical care personnel.
• Learn to administer and manage a critical care unit with particular emphasis on allocation and utilization of resources and on ethical principles in the delivery of healthcare.