To describe pediatric ophthalmology surgery activity in private or public practice in metropolitan France in 2016 and to anticipate training needs in surgical pediatric ophthalmology.

We used the French National Health Care System database to identify all pediatric ophthalmology surgical procedures performed in 2016. The study included all children aged ≤14 years who had undergone ophthalmologic surgery. We calculated the incidence of surgeries per 100,000 inhabitants aged ≤14 years, the number of surgeons, the mean age of the practitioners, and the number of surgeons aged >55 years.

In 2016, the overall incidence of pediatric ophthalmic surgery activity was 150.42/100,000 children aged ≤14 years. Out of 17,657 pediatric surgeries, 31.3 % were done by private surgeons performing at least 20 surgeries per year, 45.9 % in public centers with ≥20 surgeries per year, and 22.8 % by surgeons (public or private centers) doing <20 surgeries per year. This analysis included 204 surgeons, with a mean age of 41.7 ± 11.2 years (60.8 % female) in the public sector and 51.0 ± 9.5 years (37.3 % female) in private practice. More than a third of the surgeries (37.7 %) were performed in children aged 6–11 years, and the most frequent procedure was strabismus surgery (42.1 %). University regions with the fewest surgeons and regions with surgeons aged >55 years were identified. Within 5 years, to maintain pediatric ophthalmic surgical activity, it will be necessary to train 46 surgeons.

This study demonstrated disparities in the geographic distribution of pediatric ophthalmic surgeries in France and identified regions that need increased training capacities and/or incorporate new surgeons to ensure a sufficient activity.