Definitive Surgical Trauma Care

The Definitive Surgical Trauma Care (DSTC) course was developed by the International Association for Trauma and Surgical Intensive Care (IATSIC) of the International Surgical Society. The Definitive Surgical Trauma Skills Course (DSTS) was developed independently by the Royal College of Surgeons of England with the Royal Defence Medical College and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in the United States. There is a great deal of cooperation and overlap between the two courses and organisations.

"The DSTC is a course for surgeons, designed for the demanding and specific aspects of definitive surgical management of torso and head trauma. Life threatening surgical conditions are discussed in a decision making matrix and hands-on surgical expertise is obtained both in cadaver and live anaesthetised animal skill stations. The University of Witwatersrand Trauma Unit has a more detailed course breakdown and synopsis on their web site.

The parent organisation of DSTC, and the world's biggest trauma organisation outside of the United States is the International Association for the Surgery of Trauma and Surgical Intensive Care (IATSIC). This is part of the International Society of Surgery, based in Basel in Switzerland. It was founded in 1988 and serves as a forum for Trauma Surgeons world-wide. It is developing a leading role in education, and besides being the owner of the DSTC course, has also instituted the National Trauma Management Course which is a course designed for developing (resource challenged countries) who cannot afford either the equipment required, nor the instructor student ratio, of more advanced courses. It was originally developed for Africa, but has now taken place several times on the Indian subcontinent as well. "

Prof. Ken Boffard
Johannesburg, South Africa

Further information can be obtained from the International IATSIC Administrator, Miss Cara Macnab.

t: +44 (0) 20 7679 4517
e: IATSIC@aol.com

To add your course details to this web page please email dstc@trauma.org. We do not run or administer these courses! Contact the course centres directly for more information and application forms.

DSTC Course Centres:

Australia
Liverpool Hospital, Sydney Director: Michael Sugrue Dates:	Charmaine Miranda Department of Trauma Liverpool Hospital Locked Bag 7103 Liverpool BC NSW 1871 e: charmaine.miranda@swsahs.nsw.gov.au t: 02 9828 3928 f: 02 9828 3926 w: Liverpool Hospital Trauma Unit
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons at the University of Melbourne Director: Peter Danne MD, BS, FRACS, FACS Dates:	Lyn Journeaux Spring Street Melbourne Vic 3000 e: lyn.journeaux@surgeons.org t: 03 9276 7448 f: 03 9249 1298 w: www.surgeons.org
Canada
Vancouver, Canada Directors: Richard Simons   Dates:	Dr. Richard Simons (DSTC) Vancouver General Hospital 855 West 12th Avenue Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9 e: dstccourse@vch.ca t: (604) 875-4559 f: (604) 875-5348 Registration: www.cpdkt.ubc.ca t: (604) 822-7301 f: (604) 822-1727
Netherlands
Nijmegen, Netherlands Prof. A. van Vught M w.drs. M. Vaal Dates: 13-15 December, 2006	M. Vaal PAOG-Heyendael University Medical Center Nijmegen, The Netherlands e: M.Vaal@paog.umcn.nl t: +31 (0) 24 361 7050
New Zealand
Auckland Director: Ian Civil Dates:	Lynn Tucker Administrative Assistant Trauma Services Auckland Hospital PO Box 92-024 Auckland New Zealand e: LynnT@adhb.govt.nz t: +61 (0) 3 9342 7232 f: +61 (0) 3 9342 8247 w: Auckland Trauma Services
Singapore
Tan Tock Seng Hospital Director: Dr Chiu Ming Terk Dates: 19-20 April 2007	Karen Go Tsung Shyen Trauma Co-ordinator TTSH-NNI Trauma Centre, c/o Department of General Surgery Tan Tock Seng Hospital, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore 308433 e: trauma@ttsh.com.sg t: +65-6357 7589 f: +65-6357 7809 w : www.ttsh.com.sg
South Africa
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Director: Ken Boffard Dates:	e: trauma@mweb.co.za     reddys@medicine.wits.ac.zar     vanvuurens@medicine.wits.ac.za t: +27 11 488 3373 f: +27 11 488 4322 w : Johannesburg Trauma Unit - DSTC
Cape Town Director: Tim Hardcastle Dates: 2-4 August 2006	e: Mariana Moss
United Kingdom
Definitive Surgical Trauma Skills (DSTS) course Royal College of Surgeons of England Director: Professor Jim Ryan Dates: 28-30th March 2007	Ruth Warne e: rwarne@rcseng.ac.uk t: 020 7869 6336 w: Royal College of Surgeons - DSTC