In the past decade, acute care surgery has undergone significant evolution, embracing advanced technologies and innovative methodologies that significantly enhance patient outcomes. The discipline integrates the principles of trauma surgery, emergency general surgery, and surgical critical care. Recently, the adoption of cutting-edge approaches like damage control surgery, management of the open abdomen, and advancements such as negative pressure wound therapy and point-of-care ultrasound have greatly enriched the specialty's efficacy. Additionally, the pioneering inclusion of artificial intelligence is revolutionizing how urgent surgical decisions are made, optimizing resources and enabling early complication detection through predictive analytics. Despite these advancements, the specialty continues to face challenges that necessitate continuous evolution and practical innovation from its practitioners.

This Research Topic aims to provide a comprehensive update on the application of innovative approaches and current practices within acute care surgery, while exploring future trajectories in the field. It seeks to encapsulate the rich experience and inventive solutions developed by surgeons actively engaged in this demanding area, focusing on the practical lessons, pioneering techniques, and forward-thinking perspectives that propel this specialty forward.

Acute care surgery encompasses a wide array of emergency procedures and demands skills that include rapid decision-making and adaptability under pressure. Contributions from a broad spectrum of surgical practices are vital to this field. To assemble deeper insights we welcome articles that explore not just innovations and traditional practices, but also complex decision-making processes involving ethical considerations and resource management.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Practical innovations in surgery: Personal accounts of using new technologies, minimally invasive techniques, or creative adaptations in resource-limited settings.
• Damage Control Surgery (DCS): Experiences with DCS across different anatomic regions, timing of definitive repair, and managing complications.
• Resuscitation strategies: Insights on fluid management, blood product utilization, and addressing coagulopathy and metabolic derangements in critically ill patients.
• Surgical decision-making: Real-world scenarios highlighting difficult choices, ethical dilemmas, or unexpected outcomes.
• Team dynamics and interdisciplinary collaboration: Reflections on working with anesthesiologists, critical care teams, and nurses in high-pressure settings.
• Global perspectives: Experiences of acute care surgeons in diverse healthcare systems, including high-resource centers and low-resource institutions.
• Educational and Training Challenges: Surgeon-led insights into improving training models, simulation, and mentorship for the next generation.

This Research Topic encourages submissions of original research, review articles, meta-analyses, systematic reviews and narrative perspectives that reflect the lived experiences of surgeons in acute care.

This collection aspires to be a resource not just for researchers but also for practicing surgeons, showcasing how the shared experiences of colleagues worldwide can inspire innovation and elevate patient care in acute care surgery.

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Frontiers in Surgery

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