Book excerpt: This book provides a concise summation of current operative decision making and techniques for situations faced by the on-call general surgeon. This manual covers pertinent topics such as minimally invasive surgery in the trauma setting, surgical emergencies in the bariatric patient, and treatment of emergencies in pregnancy, cirrhotics, and anti-coagulated patients. The experts at SAGES pooled their knowledge and created this manual to describe the most up-to-date treatment options for the emergent surgical patient. The SAGES Manual of Acute Care Surgery aligns with the new SAGES UNIVERSITY MASTERS Program and supplements the Master’s Program Acute Care Pathway. Its goal is to help educate surgeons to bring the optimum care to the patients that they are called to see in their emergency rooms, and to help surgeons progress from the competent to the proficient and finally to the mastery level.