Surgical Decision-Making in Postinjury Multiple Organ Failure

Postinjury multiple organ failure (MOF) is a high-acuity, highly lethal rare syndrome that disproportionately affects the most severely injured trauma patients. The clinical decision-making process in the sickest trauma patients is complex. Therefore, this chapter aims to provide an insight into how traumatologists formulate their management of the syndrome, which starts early from identification of the at-risk patient population and progresses through management in the endovascular suite, operating room, and in the intensive care unit. Advances in medicine have meant that the contemporary management of MOF patients has continued to evolve and, in particular, decision-making around the timing of surgery and whether to perform abbreviated or definitive surgery. Therefore, we aim to address these questions in the context of the latest data.