Dr Paula Ferrada: Meet The Trauma Surgeon Who Revolutionized Trauma Care Protocols

Trauma medicine is a field where tradition often dictates practice. Yet, Dr Paula Ferrada shattered decades of medical dogma by asking one radical question: What if we resuscitate patients differently?

Her answer—delaying intubation to prioritize hemorrhage control—has rewritten trauma protocols worldwide, saving thousands of lives and upturning the world of trauma and emergency medicine.

The CAB breakthrough: Rewriting the rules of trauma resuscitation

For over 50 years, trauma teams adhered to the ABC sequence—airway first, breathing second, and circulation last. But Ferrada noticed a fatal flaw—patients dying of exsanguination and by the secondary effects of premature intubation. In a landmark 2023 study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, she revealed that flipping the order to circulation-airway-breathing (CAB) slashed 24-hour mortality by 91 percent and 30-day mortality by 89 percent for hemorrhaging patients.

“Time isn’t just blood—it is brain cells, organ function, survival,” she stated. “We stopped letting protocol outlive its purpose.”

Skeptics initially dismissed her findings, citing the ABC method’s entrenched use since the 1960s. But Ferrada’s multicenter trial—spanning 278 patients across international trauma centers—proved that delaying intubation allowed faster blood resuscitation, preventing lethal drops in blood pressure.

Rural clinics and urban ERs soon adopted her methods, with one Level I trauma center reporting a major drop in hemorrhage deaths post-implementation. Today, 55 percent of US trauma centers use CAB, a figure Ferrada aims to push much higher by 2026.

From Cali to global standard-bearer

Ferrada’s defiance of convention traces back to her roots in Cali, Colombia, where her father, a trauma surgeon, often operated on victims of gang violence with scarce resources.

“He taught me to see solutions where others saw limits,” she recalled. After becoming the first Colombian woman to complete a Harvard surgical residency, she faced systemic sexism. “They said women couldn’t lead trauma teams. I built my own.” She has devoted a substantial part of her career to supporting women surgeons and challenging stereotypes.

Today, she serves as the Chair for the Department of Surgery at Inova Fairfax Hospital and as the System Chief of Trauma at Inova Healthcare, the leading nonprofit healthcare system in Northern Virginia.

Ferrada’s leadership extends beyond the United States borders, during her years of service for the Panamerican Trauma Society, Ferrada has trained medics in 10+ Latin American countries to use handheld ultrasound to guide the resuscitation of polytraumatized patients —a technique she pioneered during her fellowship at Maryland’s Shock Trauma Center.

“A $20 tourniquet saves more lives than a $2 million MRI if you act fast,” she argues. Her “STOP THE BLEED” adaptations have been credited with reducing preventable deaths in resource-poor regions by a significant margin.
“Surgery Thrives When Outsiders Break In”

But Ferrada’s work does not stop at the OR. As a vocal critic of medicine’s homogeneity, she has enhanced female leadership in global surgery through mentorship programs and social media campaigns.

“Trauma protocols were designed by people who’d never worked in a conflict zone or a favela,” she asserted in a 2024 interview. “Diversity is not charity—it is survival.”

Her relentless advocacy has challenged institutional policies. Ferrada co-authored a scathing review of 130+ studies, including protocols that challenged the status quo of trauma and emergency general surgery. Colleagues credit her hard work: “Paula does not lobby—she demonstrates,” says her collaborator on portable ultrasound research.

Yet Ferrada remains unimpressed by accolades. “Every adopted protocol is a patient who lived, and this is about service to our patients,” she says. With hemorrhage claiming 1.9 million lives annually, her work is just beginning—one stubborn question at a time.

(Disclaimer: The above article is created by our branded content team in partnership with Dr Paula Ferrada. The article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Health Shots does not endorse or assume responsibility for the product, service, or information presented. Readers are encouraged to consult their healthcare professional for medical advice.)