Introduction

The majority of multiply injured patients have abdominal and musculoskeletal injuries and they are the major site for posttraumatic bleeding. Patients involved in major trauma should be considered to have an abdominal injury until proved otherwise. Large quantities of blood may be present in the abdomen with minimal signs. Extremity injuries can be life-threatening because of associated vascular injuries and secondary infectious complications. Explorative laparatomy is done for diagnosis and definitive treatment to locate and control hemorrhage, locate bowel injuries and control fecal contamination and identify injuries to other abdominal organs and structures. Different orthopedic procedures including debridement, amputation and fixation are done for extremity trauma. Both procedures require anesthesia for which anesthetists have a key role in providing anesthetic health care during the operation as well as in the initial assessment and resuscitation phase to optimize the status of patients. In this session you will learn to adopt knowledge, skill and the right attitude in the general management and anesthetic management for a patient with abdominal and extremity trauma.