Preface

This book is a collection of review papers on trauma and emergency surgery. In addition to sharing their knowledge, the authors provide their personal clinical experience, making this book a useful resource for scientists and physicians practicing in the field of trauma and emergency surgery. The book is divided into six sections with chapters showing the application of different surgical specialties.

In Section 1, Chapter 1, "Blunt Abdominal Injury", Dr. B. Mehanathan Pabithandevi et al. discusses blunt abdominal injuries. In Chapter 2, "Rectus Sheath Hematoma", Dr. Selim Sözen et al. discuss the types and treatment of rectus sheath hematoma, an uncommon and often clinically misdiagnosed cause of abdominal pain. In the second section, Chapter 3, "Blunt Traumatic Aortic Injury" Domenico Calcaterra examines thoracic endovascular aortic replacement (TEVAR) as the new standard for treating TAIs. TEVAR is associated with a lower risk of operative mortality; however, the optimal timing for delivering this therapy remains unclear with respect to identifying patients who require immediate intervention versus those for whom postponing treatment of the aortic injury would be preferable.

In Section 3, Chapter 4, "The Role of Minimally Invasive Surgery in Management of Chest Trauma," Dr. Apaydın Tuba focuses on chest trauma and the use of video thoracoscopy as a safe and beneficial diagnostic and therapeutic device in select patients with chest trauma with no indication for emergent thoracotomy or sternotomy. Video thoracoscopy is also beneficial in the acute or retarded approach for patients with blunt chest trauma for treatment of clotted hemothorax, persistent pneumothorax, thoracic empyema, and chylothorax, as well as for diagnosis of diaphragmatic injuries. Chapter 5, "Surgical Approach to Rib Fractures" by Dr. Dubus Turkan, examines rib fractures and their surgical stabilization, which reduces possible pulmonary complications in patients. Surgery shortens the duration of hospital stay and the time to return to work as well as improves patient quality of life by physiologically improving breathing.

In Section 4, Chapter 6, "Management of Traumatic Brain Injury," Soe Wunna Htay provides information about the approach to traumatic brain injuries. Section 5, includes Chapter 7, "Acute Compartment Syndrome of the Extremities and Paraspinal Muscles" by Dr. Zacharia Balaji and Raj Vignesh Selvaraj which discusses the etiologies, clinical features, investigations, and management of acute compartment syndrome of the extremities and the paraspinal region.

In Section 6, Chapter 8, "Management and Clinical Aspects of Burned Patients Affected by SARS-COV2," Dr. Alex Pontini et al., discusses COVID-19 infection in burn patients.

I thank the authors for their professional dedication and outstanding work in summarizing their clinical and research practices.

> **Selim Sözen** Associate Professor of General Surgery, Sözen Surgery Clinic, İstanbul, Turkey

> > **Burhan Hakan Kanat** Malatya Turgut Özal University,

Turkey

Section 1
