Surgical Management of Diverticular Disease in the Elective Setting

Diverticulosis is a common condition that has increased in prevalence in industrialized countries over the past century. Estimates of developing diverticular disease in the United states range from 5% by 40 years of age up, to over 80% by age 80. It is estimated that approximately 20% of patients with diverticulosis develop diverticulitis over the course of their lifetime. Diverticular disease can be divided into simple and chronic diverticulitis with various sub categories. There are various instances and circumstances where elective resection is indicated for both complex and simple forms of this disease process. When planning surgery there are general preoperative considerations that are important to be reviewed prior to surgery. There are also more specific considerations depending on secondary problem attributed to diverticulitis, that is, fistula vs stricture. Today, treatment for elective resection includes open, laparoscopic and robotic surgery. Over the last several years we have moved away from open surgery to laparoscopic surgery for elective resection. With the advent of robotic surgery and introduction of 3D laparoscopic surgery the discussion of superiority, equivalence between these modalities, is and should remain an important discussion topic.