FORGE Medical · Advanced Trauma Procedures
Seven procedures you may one day have to do alone
BLADE is a one-day course for senior emergency medical officers and emergency medicine registrars. You practise each procedure on fresh cadaveric tissue, in a group of four, with faculty at your side.
When and how long
28 April 2027 07:30–17:00
Format
Fresh cadaver lab
Group size
8–12 delegates
Ratio
4 delegates per cadaver
Location
TBA
What you will do
Four stations, one cadaver per group
Each group of four stays with its own cadaver and works through four regional stations. Where there are two sides, two delegates operate at once. On the neck and chest, delegates swap between operator and assistant so everyone performs each procedure.
A
Station A · Head and neck
- Lateral canthotomy and cantholysis
- Surgical cricothyroidotomy
B
Station B · Chest
- Chest wall escharotomy
- Resuscitative thoracotomy
C
Station C · Upper limb
- Upper limb amputation
D
Station D · Lower limb
- Limb escharotomy
- Lower limb amputation
Indicative programme
The day
A short briefing opens each block, then you are at the table. Distal procedures come before proximal ones on each limb.
*Provisional programme subject to change
| Time | Session |
|---|---|
| 07:30–08:00 | Registration and coffee |
| 08:00–08:15 | Welcome, objectives and laboratory safety briefing |
| 08:15–08:35 | Briefing: orbital compartment syndrome and surgical airway landmarks |
| 08:35–09:45 | Station A: lateral canthotomy, surgical cricothyroidotomy |
| 09:45–10:00 | Break |
| 10:00–10:20 | Briefing: chest escharotomy and the resuscitative thoracotomy sequence |
| 10:20–11:50 | Station B: chest wall escharotomy, resuscitative thoracotomy |
| 11:50–12:35 | Lunch |
| 12:35–12:55 | Briefing: emergency amputation, indications, technique and haemorrhage control |
| 12:55–14:25 | Station C: upper limb amputation |
| 14:25–14:40 | Break |
| 14:40–16:10 | Station D: limb escharotomy, lower limb amputation |
| 16:10–16:40 | Integrated scenario and individual competency sign-off |
| 16:40–17:00 | Debrief, feedback and certificates |
Times are indicative and may shift on the day. Hands-on blocks are in bold.
Who BLADE is for
- Senior emergency medical officers with at least two years in emergency medicine
- Emergency medicine registrars in any year of training
- Clinicians who may need to perform these procedures without a surgeon in the room
Before you come
- Current ATLS, EMATT or equivalent certification recommended
- Work through the anatomy and procedure pack we send two weeks before the course
- Be comfortable with resuscitation fundamentals. BLADE builds on them rather than teaching them.
Why fresh tissue
Unembalmed tissue keeps realistic planes, resistance and feel. That matters most where the procedure is a cut: the orbit, the chest wall and the limb. Synthetic trainers and embalmed specimens cannot reproduce it.
The course fee and CPD accreditation are confirmed with each course date.
Register interest
Join the first BLADE cohort
Course dates, fees and CPD details go to the interest list first. Leave your details and we will be in touch.
Prefer email? Write to info@forgemed.co.za. FORGE Medical, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.