Surgical treatment of diverticulitis of the colon.

The management of complicated diverticular disease of the colon is still not well clear. During the last decade were observed 422 patients with various degree of diverticular disease of the colon, all of whom were symptomatic. 51 patients underwent surgery : 29 for stenosis or oclusion (24 e 5), 4 for fistulas, 18 for perforation. The operations, 26 of which were emergencies while 25 were elective, included: 21 cases of one-stage resection and anastomosisi without protective colostomy, 16 with colostomy, 8 Hartmann’s procedures, 7 Mikulicz’s operations, 1 suturing of the diverticulum with colostomy. The incidence of complications was 17,6% 9 cases, 7 following emergency surgery and 2 after elective procedures). The intraoperative mortality was zero, while postoperatively it was 5,8% (3 cases, 2 after emergency procedures and 1 following elective surgery). The best results (lowest morbility and mortality rates) occurred with the radical procedures, especially the resection-anastomosis with or without colostomy, which allowed the removal of the septic focus from the peritoneal cavity and thus a rapid recovery in a high number of cases.