Laparoscopic colorrhaphy, irrigation and drainage in the treatment of complicated acute diverticulitis: initial experience.

The natural history of diverticulosis is worthy of note for its acute, sometimes recurrent, attacks of diverticulitis and the significant risk of serious complications, such as abscess, fistula and peritonitis. Most mild attacks of diverticulitis respond well to medical therapy while surgical treatment is indicated in the complicated forms of the disease. We evaluate the results of treatment of complicated acute diverticulitis by laparoscopic colorrhaphy, irrigation and drainage as a minimal surgical approach in 7 selected patients. We retrospectively analyzed all patients admitted to our institute for acute diverticulitis from 1996 to 2001. One hundred and thirty-five patients were admitted for acute sigmoid diverticulitis. Ninety-eight patients (72%) had their diverticular disease completely resolved after medical therapy, while 37 (28%) required a surgical approach. Seven patients underwent a laparoscopic colorrhaphy with irrigation and drainage. Laparoscopic procedures were completed in 6 patients. No perioperative morbidity or mortality was observed. All patients were discharged with no further re-operation. The technique could be considered a valid alternative for the management of complicated and perforated diverticulitis in selected patients.