[Problems of sigmoid diverticulitis in the female and its differential diagnostic delineation from the left-sided...

In the last three years 42 patients with complicated diverticulitis were treated surgically. There were 18 women in all. Nine of these women were believed to have gynecologic disease because of the palbable pelvic tumor and were hospitalized at the Gynecologic Department. 2 patients underwent an exploratory operation by gynecologic surgeons based upon preoperative diagnosis of ovarian mass. The diagnosis at operation in all two cases was perforated sigmoid diverticulitis. Another three of the nine patients had initally emergency exploratory operations by gynecologic surgeons based upon diagnosis of pelvic mass. Also here the diagnosis at operations were perforated sigmoid diverticulitis and they underwent emergency primary resection of the perforated sigmoid by surgeons. In all the cases of complicated diverticulitis the surgical proceature was the primary resection; the anterior resection was combined with a temporare transverse colostomy.--Diverticulitis is an important differential diagnosis of a left pelvic tumor in women with or without clinical and laboratory indications of infections and history of diverticulitis.