Isn't it time to start speaking about "european surgeons"?

Background. Emergency surgery has become a neglected specialization in Europe and in many other parts of the world. In certain medical fields, emergency surgery isn't even considered an autonomous specialization. However every emergency surgeon must have a good formation in General Surgery but exist huge disparities between different European surgical formative systems. Methods. An analysis of the main problems of the European surgical formative system was conducted. Results. This discrepancy between formative systems is absolutely unacceptable and presents a notable hazard for the European Union, considering that surgical certifications are reciprocally recognized between programs within all European Union states. Conclusion. Considering the increasing possibilities to move inside the European Union, is necessary to improve the European surgical formative system to warrant an uniform formation for all surgeons. © 2009 Coccolini and Lazzareschi; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.