[Surgical morbidity of segmental colectomy ideally performed via laparotomy for complicated colonic diverticulosis]

The appraisal of morbidity and mortality for one stage elective colectomy for complicated diverticulosis is difficult and often overestimated, due to the rarity of reports addressing this question. Our results for 100 patients on a recent 30 month period were studied retrospectively.

One hundred patients were electively operated in a one-stage procedure for complicated diverticulosis in a single institution from January 1993 to June 1995. There were 66 females and 34 males (range: 31-81 years) with a mean age of 61 years. Main indications for surgery were repeated attacks (34 patients), chronic inflammatory mass (26 patients) and stenosis (22 patients). Seventy-eight patients had already been admitted for diverticulitis prior to surgery. There were 13 surgeons including 6 seniors and 7 fellows.

There was no mortality. Morbidity was 14% surgical and medical complications accounting for 8% and 6% respectively. One patient had an anastomotic fistula treated conservatively and another patient was reoperated on for early postoperative occlusion There was no perioperative bleeding requiring transfusion. There were no surgical trauma of spleen or uretera. Mean hospital stay was 10 days.

This study of a collective surgical experience demonstrates that elective one stage left colectomy for benign disease is safe, without mortality and with low morbidity.