Centralization of Pediatric Surgery: European Perspective

Pediatric Surgery has emerged from General Surgery to take care of surgically ill children. Starting as a subspecialty of General Surgery, Pediatric Surgery is now an independent specialty all over Europe. Nevertheless, marked regional and organizational differences exist between the European countries and the National Associations of Pediatric Surgery. These differences could be attributed to historical developments, different rules and regulations, and political decisions in the European countries. There is evidence that a volume–outcome relation exists at least for rare and complex diseases. Most of the congenital anomalies to be treated by the pediatric surgeons are rare diseases. Therefore, the centralization of specialized pediatric surgical care is a widely discussed topic. The process of centralization of pediatric surgical care also reveals regional differences in Europe. This review block has been designed to provide information on the development and current state of centralization of Pediatric Surgery in different countries and regions of Europe, further including an update on recent activities on the European Union level.