Diverticulitis of the colon

Abstract

Mainly a disease of Westernized nations, colonic diverticulitis essentially refers to a wide spectrum of diseases ranging from being asymptomatic in the vast majority of patients to about 1% requiring surgical intervention, sometimes acutely in the setting of perforation and subsequent generalized peritonitis. In this chapter, diverticular perforation with peritonitis or abscess formation, fistulization to the bladder or vagina and colonic structuring that define complicated diverticular disease are all discussed along with the diagnosis and management.