[Needs and specialization for pediatric surgeons in Brazil].

OBJECTIVE To define the distribution of Pediatric Surgeons in Brazil and the distribution of job offered for specialists in the country. To compare the professional profile of Brazilian Pediatric Surgeons with other countries. METHODS Statistical data derived from Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), Brazilian Medical Council (CFM) and Brazilian Society of Pediatric Surgery (CIPE) were used to define the professional profile of pediatric surgeons in Brazil. RESULTS Eight-hundred-and-five pediatric surgeons are needed in Brazil only to treat neonates and toddlers. Professionals are excessively concentrated in South and Southeast and insufficient numbers are found in North and Northeast. Data about the number of pediatric surgeons working in Brazil are conflicting: data obtained from FIOCRUZ differ from those from CFM and CIPE. The working routine of Brazilian pediatric surgeons is different from that of North-American and European specialists, from where the major part of our references is extracted. CONCLUSION Brazil needs a minimum of 805 pediatric surgeons working full time only to treat nenonates and toddlers. Specialists are not well distributed throughout the country. The southeast is a training center and exports specialists to the rest of the country. Epidemiological data concerning the distribution of professionals in Brazil are conflicting.