ACS 2026 Conference Preview for Trauma Surgery Sessions

The annual meeting of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) is quickly approaching. From September 26 through September 29, in Washington, D.C., the 2026 Clinical Congress of the ACS is set to be four days filled with engaging educational opportunities, networking events, and research presentations. 

Today, we’re showcasing a portion of the panel sessions currently scheduled, specifically those focusing on trauma surgery. All times and dates are accurate as of August 21, 2026. Consult the full program on the ACS Clinical Congress 2026 official site for the most up-to-date information regarding session scheduling.

Trauma Surgery Sessions at ACS Clinical Congress 2026

Sunday, September 27

• Excelsior Symposium: Bridging the Readiness Gap: Integrating Trauma, EGS, and Critical Care for Every Military Surgeon
  • 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
  • Description: The Excelsior Surgical Society was established to improve military medicine for future generations through education, research, and fellowship. Our goal is to ensure each generation is prepared to care for combat casualties. In this regard, we have made great strides supporting educational and skill sustainment opportunities. However, most of our attention has been on trauma/critical care fellowship-trained surgeons, despite the majority of deployed surgeons being non–trauma fellowship-trained. To improve our readiness, we must refocus on the majority of our membership, including surgical residents.

• Enterocutaneous and Enteroatmospheric Fistulae: Contemporary Management of a Complex Surgical Challenge
  • 4:15 PM – 5:45 PM
  • Description: Enterocutaneous fistulae (ECF) represent one of the most complex and resource-intensive surgical challenges, often arising after major abdominal operations, trauma, or inflammatory diseases. Successful management requires a multidisciplinary approach focused on sepsis control, fluid and nutrition optimization, skin protection, and careful timing of definitive surgical repair.

• The Management of Traumatic Great Vessel Injuries
  • 4:15 PM – 5:45 PM
  • Description: Significant advances have occurred in the management of vascular trauma with the advent of minimally invasive endovascular strategies. Despite this, open control and reconstruction is still necessary. The use and applications of these techniques may vary between centers, surgeons and teams. In addition, differing specialties have different training pathways for competency.

• Navigating High-Stakes Decisions in the Unstable Rural Trauma Patient
  • 4:15 PM – 5:45 PM
  • Description: This panel will examine considerations on what to do when outcomes are uncertain and time is limited. The discussion will explore clinical decision-making, resource assessment, risk tolerance, and shared responsibility across systems of care. Attendees will gain insight into decision-making under pressure and strategies to support surgeons facing these critical choices.

Monday, September 28

• Modern Dilemmas in Pediatric Injury Care: Trauma Truths and Tough Calls
  • 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM
  • Description: Pediatric trauma care continues to evolve as clinicians face increasingly complex challenges in diagnosis, management, and systems-level preparedness. This session highlights pressing issues that shape current practice—including the rise in adolescent opioid overdoses, the debate over whole-body imaging, variability in hospital pediatric readiness, and evolving antibiotic use.

• Airway Trauma: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Acute and Long-Term Management
  • 9:45 AM – 11:15 AM
  • Description: Airway trauma is a time-critical challenge requiring rapid recognition, decisive action, and multidisciplinary care. This session offers an evidence-informed overview of evaluation and management from the prehospital setting through reconstruction.

• Burn Care Readiness in Preparation for Major Disasters
  • 9:45 AM – 11:15 AM
  • Description: In the United States, the majority of patients who sustain burn injuries are brought to community hospital emergency departments; the number of American burn centers remains limited. Burn co-injury is an important part of trauma care in mass casualties worldwide. With the current concern for large-scale combat operations (LSCO) and the need for civilian readiness, it is critical that trauma surgeons, general surgeons, and surgical subspecialists have the knowledge and resources necessary for mass casualty triage, resuscitation, stabilization, and care (including operative and nonoperative management, critical care, and ward care).

• From Tarmac to Trauma Bay: Coordinating Civilian Response to Mass Combat Casualties
  • 9:45 AM – 11:15 AM
  • Description: This session will be a demonstration of a tabletop exercise for large scale combat casualty distribution at the military-civilian hub in DC. Panelists/stakeholders will include representatives from DC trauma centers, RMOCC, FCC, EMS, and airport.

• Eye Trauma and Emergencies
  • 12:45 PM – 2:15 PM
  • Description: [The session will] discuss diagnosis and management of vision threatening eye injuries.

• Challenging Emergency and Humanitarian Cases in a Combat Zone: Case Records of the Joint Trauma System Expert Panel
  • 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM
  • Description: The Case Records of the Joint Trauma System (CROTJTS) is an educational initiative born out of the need to remember valuable lessons learned from the complex injuries that have occurred on the battlefield. While previous sessions of this program have focused on combat trauma cases, this session will focus on the less discussed but commonly seen emergency surgery and humanitarian surgical cases seen in a combat zone.

• From Blast to Recovery: Multidisciplinary Surgical Strategies for Complex Combat Injuries
  • 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM
  • Description: This 90-minute panel will explore the multidisciplinary surgical management of complex combat-related injuries, emphasizing coordinated care across trauma, orthopedic, and plastic and reconstructive surgery. Using case-based discussions, expert panelists will highlight key principles of damage control, staged reconstruction, and complex wound management, with each specialty providing unique perspectives on decision-making and prioritization of care.

Tuesday, September 29

• Robotic Applications in Trauma and Emergency General Surgery: The Future is Now
  • 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM
  • Description: This panel session will be an interactive and informative event conducted by experienced trauma and acute care surgeons in the field of robotic surgery implementation into a trauma/ACS practice.

• Recent Landmark Articles in Acute Care Surgery: Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, and Emergency General Surgery
  • 12:45 PM – 2:15 PM
  • Description: The field of acute care surgery is constantly changing, making it hard to keep up with the recent literature that impacts care. This session will present recently published articles in trauma, critical care, and emergency general surgery that have had an impact on the way we practice acute care surgery.

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