As trauma systems have developed and board-certified in-house surgeons are now immediately available, enthusiasm has returned for thoracotomy as part of initial resuscitation. This study evaluated the impact of thoracotomy by board-certified surgeons during the resuscitative phase of treatment. Resuscitative thoracotomy, performed on patients in cardiac arrest within 20 minutes of arrival in the hospital, was undertaken in 113 of 4,752 patients over a 4 1/2-year period. Resuscitative thoracotomy added nothing to beneficial survival in patients with a blunt mechanism despite the addition of a board-certified surgeon. Survivors of penetrating injury had a probability of survival (P.) of 0.48. Most patients suffering penetrating deaths had severe and advanced physiologic derangements at the time of admission despite similar anatomic injuries to survivors.