Right colonic diverticulitis: an uncommon disease in western countries

Right colonic diverticulitis is not a frequent disease and its management is still controversial. In this study we describe our experience. We retrospectively reviewed all patients operated on because of a right colonic diverticulitis in our surgical unit. All patients were treated laparoscopically....

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inActa chirurgica belgica Vol. 110; no. 1; p. 57
Main Authors Carloni, A, Sage, E, Roudié, J, Balzarotti, R, Maitre, S, Sbai-Idrissi, M, Smadja, C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 2010
Subjects
Adult
Aged
Colectomy - methods
Colonoscopy
Diverticulitis, Colonic - diagnosis
Diverticulitis, Colonic - epidemiology
Diverticulitis, Colonic - surgery
Female
Follow-Up Studies
France - epidemiology
Humans
Laparotomy
Male
Middle Aged
Morbidity - trends
Retrospective Studies
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Treatment Outcome
France
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:Right colonic diverticulitis is not a frequent disease and its management is still controversial. In this study we describe our experience. We retrospectively reviewed all patients operated on because of a right colonic diverticulitis in our surgical unit. All patients were treated laparoscopically. Demographics, diagnostic and surgical results were recorded. Between January 1994 and January 2007, 11 patients (7 males and 4 females) mean age 53 +/- 9 years (range 39-68), ASA 1: 6 patients, ASA 2: 4 patients, ASA 3: one patient, and BMI 27.8 (range 25-31), had right colonic diverticulitis. Four patients underwent emergency operations: one for peritonitis and three with an erroneous diagnosis of acute appendicitis; seven were operated on electively. There were no deaths or complications. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 5.6 days (range, 3-9). After a mean follow-up of 6.3 years (range 1-13) all patients of this series are symptom-free. Right colon diverticulitis diagnosis remains difficult. A pre-operative imaging screening is necessary to successfully face this challenging disease. Laparoscopy is a safe and effective method to treat these patients. Colectomy should be considered a good therapeutic option for right colonic diverticulitis, although a conservative approach could be proposed in selected cases.
ISSN:0001-5458
DOI:10.1080/00015458.2010.11680566