[Surgery at a regional hospital: conditions, scope and results (author's transl)]

A ten-year survey is presented of the operative procedures carried out in the Department of Surgery at a regional hospital in a rural area. The requirements to be met in this type of hospital necessitate the inclusion of bordering disciplines; obstetrics and gynaecology, for examples, belonged to our domain until 1970. Teamwork by a well-trained staff and small technical modifications of surgical procedures can combine with the favourable psychological background in such a hospital and its more personal atmosphere on account of its relatively small size to enable optimum treatment. Endoscopy is frequently employed and assumes a very important role as diagnostic tool in the absence of more sophisticated appliances. Certain findings of apparent interest, as well as noteworthy complications and the causative factors involved are discussed and compared with the literature.