Taurine surgery in the 21^st century from glory to contempt

Bullfighting surgery has gone from being something that the surgeon could be proud of in any setting to being an activity frowned upon from a social point of view, and even in our surgical guild. However, popular bullfighting festivities are still very frequent, with thousands of injured each year, some of them serious. Currently, health care in bullfighting festivals is immersed in a complex problem mainly due to four factors: 1) social and professional discredit; 2) poorly paid professional activity; 3) neglect by professional and academic institutions; and 4) lack of a specific body of doctrine. All this has led to the health care teams in bullfighting surgery being less and less professionalized and more inexperienced, to problems of professional intrusion. Consequently, there is a direct impact on the quality of care provided and on the morbidity and mortality rates of injured participants, with the legal implications that this entails. A restructuring of this situation and the support of professional institutions, especially Medical Associations, and academic institutions, is necessary.