[Importance of regional surgery networks]

The rapid advantages in medicine require large-scale implementation where justified, and concentration where complexity of the care makes this necessary. Cautious initiatives to establish regional surgical networks were taken in many places in the Netherlands. These networks might play an important part in the spreading and concentration of care. New surgical techniques, such as the sentinal node procedure, can be implemented professionally using these networks. Also, within these networks, guest surgeons may in various locations perform relatively rare operations or assist with them, especially if the ultimate result of the treatment is primarily determined peroperatively by specific surgical technical experience. In cases in which the results of the treatment depend not so much on the surgeon himself but rather on the experience of various disciplines with a range of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, referral to a centre is in general to be preferred.