Abstract

Trauma consultations are frequent at the emergency doors of hospital centers. Emergency physicians and general or trauma surgeons are the first to provide assistance in the hospital setting. Making an accurate diagnosis and timely and appropriate treatment is the basis for saving patients’ lives and reducing the incidence of complications. This is why we think that the general surgeon must have in his diagnostic and therapeutic arsenal the expertise to perform Video Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS), which has its own indication that aims at safe and quality care. The objective is to establish the scope of VATS, review the indications for the procedure, and provide practical steps for the implementation of the technique by general surgeons.

Keywords

chest trauma, VATS, trauma surgeon