Preface

This Ninth Edition of Trauma is another milestone in the now 35-year journey of the textbook. Originally conceived at a time (1984) when prospective randomized and multicenter studies were rare in the field, the management of injured patients was based on the following: history/physical examination/routine laboratory tests/routine x-rays; decreasing role for diagnostic peritoneal lavage; increasing usage of computed tomography (CT); and clinical guidelines passed on from teachers and mentors.

The evolution in the field of trauma since that time has been extraordinary. The following advances have truly changed the evaluation and management of injured patients during the history of the textbook: goal-directed resuscitation; surgeon-performed ultrasound; multidetector CT and CT angiography; magnetic resonance imaging; nonoperative management of injured viscera and vessels; damage control surgery; endostents and stent grafts; advances in surgical critical care and increased numbers of surgeon-intensivists; and the development of a formal training pathway in acute care surgery.

The major issue for the Founding Co-Editors (D.V.F., K.L.M., E.E.M.) when organizing and editing a "new" text-book every 4 years or so has been updating the contents enough to justify another edition. Changes in the Ninth Edition have been substantial, and many have been based on the comments from readers of previous editions. Most important has been the addition of six Associate Editors—Hasan Alam, Chad Ball, Kenji Inaba, Rosemary Kozar, David Livingston, and Marty Schreiber. All of these individuals have made substantial contributions to the knowledge behind evaluation and management of injured patients, all have been in leadership positions in trauma professional societies, and all were well known to us. We thank the Associate Editors for their efforts in making Trauma, Ninth Edition, an improved reference book in the field.

Other changes in the Ninth Edition include two new chapters, Chapter 28: Chest Wall and Lung, and Chapter 64: Trauma and Global Health; a reorganization of the chapters in the book; added content including a special section on injuries to the larynx in Chapter 25, now entitled Neck and Larynx; and revisions in the Atlas. In addition, there is now a section entitled Endovascular Commentary after Chapter 25: Neck and Larynx, Chapter 38: Abdominal Vessels, and Chapter 45: Peripheral Vessels. The Trauma Video section organized by Demetrios Demetriades and Kenji Inaba has been retained as well. Finally, over 45% of the chapters in the Ninth Edition have new senior authors.

We thank all of our chapter authors for updating the content and Mike de la Flor, PhD, for his excellent art work in the Atlas. Also, we thank our colleagues in the Medical Publishing Division of McGraw Hill, our longtime publisher, especially Andrew Moyer, Senior Editor, and Christie Naglieri, Senior Project Development Editor. And, of course, we offer special thanks to our administrative assistants for their endless work and tolerance: Josanne Walker (D.V.F.) and Mary Allen (K.L.M.).