Zweitmeinung bei viszeralchirurgischen problemfallen

The need for a 'second opinion' in difficult therapeutic decision making is increasing rapidly. This applies in the first place to questions concerning the planning of multimodal therapeutic concepts in oncological diseases, followed by the considerations on the actual surgical strategies. 'Second opinion' in its original meaning, i.e. enquieries about verification of the indication, do not play an essential role at present, despite legal regulations. In spite of the fact that the time factor of a 'second opinion' is far less critical than, for example, in traumatology, modern forms of telecommunication will become of central importance in visceral surgery.