Sigmoid diverticular abscesses: percutaneous drainage as an adjunct to surgical resection in 24 cases.

Twenty-four patients with acute sigmoid diverticulitis and associated pelvic fluid collections seen on computed tomographic scans underwent percutaneous catheter drainage as an adjunct to surgical therapy. Fourteen of the 24 underwent a single-stage surgical procedure within 10 days of drainage. Five patients required two-stage surgical procedures because localized inflammatory changes precluded a primary resection despite the absence of a residual abscess at surgery. Two of the three remaining patients initially had no surgery, but they had recrudescences of their symptoms that required surgical drainage within 8 months. One patient in whom surgical resection was deferred remained asymptomatic 10 months after percutaneous drainage. A retrospective review of 87 patients undergoing surgery for diverticulitis suggested that the percentage of two-stage surgical procedures has decreased in the last 5-10 years, but there remains a substantial number of patients who might benefit from percutaneous catheter drainage of diverticular abscess of the sigmoid colon.