Bella Italia: Specialized Pediatric Surgical Care in Italy Giovanna Riccipetitoni 1 Piergiorgio Gamba 2 Mario Lima 3 Alessandro Inserra 4 Ascanio Martino 5 Girolamo Mattioli 6 Gloria Pelizzo 7 Carmelo Romeo 8 1 Department of Paediatric Surgery, V. Buzzi Children’s Hospital, Milan, Italy 2 Department of Paediatric Surgery, University of Padua, Padua, Italy 3 Department of Paediatric Surgery, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy 4 Department of Surgery, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy 5 Department of Paediatric Surgery, Ospedali Riuniti, Ancona, Italy 6 Department of Paediatric Surgery, G. Gaslini Children’s Hospital, University of Genoa, Genova, Italy 7 Department of Paediatric Surgery, Paediatric Hospital of Palermo, Palermo, Italy 8 Department of Paediatric Surgery, University of Messina, Messina, Italy Eur J Pediatr Surg 2017;27:422–428. Address for correspondence Giovanna Riccipetitoni, MD, Via Castelvetro 32, 20154 Milano, Italy (e-mail: giovanna.riccipetitoni@asst-fbf-sacco.it). Keywords ► pediatric surgery ► pediatric care ► networks Abstract Italian pediatric surgery has a long history, rich in events, places, and personalities that make it unique. Our first pediatric surgical unit dates back to the first half of the 19th century and its number has grown exponentially during the following decades, with a maximum flowering in the years after the second world war. The rich history of pediatric surgery has not prevented it from facing important problems, such as the demographic crisis, underemployment of surgeons, and care of pediatric patients by adult specialists. The attempt to find solutions to these problems has led to a great deal of efforts not only by pediatric surgeons, but also by the Italian government and institutions, with the implementation of ministerial plans that favor the specificity and growth of our discipline through thematic and territorial networks, through more effective training and specialization plans, the cooperation between the Directors of Pediatric Surgical Units for a better coordination of care, the participation in European networks, such as the recently created ERNs (European Reference Networks). Many Italian pediatric surgeons are active in International Societies, as members or coordinators, in the design and management of multicenter studies and surveys and even in the creation of new international networks. The Italian response to the demand for specialization and centralization involves knowledge sharing, large-scale cooperation, transversal between specialists and vertical with governmental authorities for a better and more effective care of pediatric patients. received August 28, 2017 accepted August 30, 2017 published online September 25, 2017 © 2017 Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York DOI https://doi.org/ 10.1055/s-0037-1607027. ISSN 0939-7248. Review Article 422 Downloaded by: OSP. PEDIATRICO BAMBINO GESU. Copyrighted material.