Outcomes of emergency thoracotomy for trauma in a general hospital in Singapore.

Background An emergency thoracotomy can be performed either immediately at the site of trauma or in the emergency department or operating room for resuscitation of patients in extremis or life-saving treatment for patients with thoracic injury. It remains a procedure associated with high mortality rates, and there is a paucity of data from Asia. This study analyzed our six-year experience of emergency trauma thoracotomy in an acute general hospital in Singapore.