Operative Gastroenterologie, interventionelle Radiologie und perkutane Therapieverfahren: Was bleibt in Zukunft für die Viszeralchirurgie?

Further trauma reduction is the predominant motive to develop now therapeutic strategies in medicine. Traditional surgical procedures in visceral medicine are replaced by less aggressive procedures of interventional gastroenterology and radiology and, most recently, percutaneous treatment. Midterm, visceral surgery will thus be subdued to significant changes. The nature of this change, however, cannot yet be predicted reliably. This is why four different scenarios were defined in an interdisciplinary group, ranging from a complete loss of importance of visceral surgery to a comprehensive renaissance - albeit on a lower level than today. It has to be assumed that the real development will take place between both extreme poles. Since there is, today, still a chance to influence the further development actively, a forward looking discussion seems to be reasonable and necessary.