1997 Canadian Medical Association In Canada, trauma remains a leading cause of death, particularly among young adults. In addition, traumatic injuries have a profound impact on society, owing to resultant temporary and permanent disabilities. Thus, trauma in general and that due to violence in particular are an important issue for Canadians and Canadian surgeons.
Surgeons have the primary responsibility for the care of injury victims.
However, many injuries and injury patterns are infrequent, and the experience of an individual surgeon may be limited. Fortunately, most Canadian surgeons who provide care to trauma victims have an advantage in the breadth, depth and maintenance of their overall surgical experience, so that a relatively limited trauma experience may be offset by overall surgical expertise. The management of neck injuries represents one of many areas where nonoperative treatment is safe and potentially more efficient than surgical intervention, under specific circumstances. Other examples are injuries to the spleen and liver. They attempt to address the potential role of selective, nonoperative management of visceral neck injuries.