Giant colonic diverticulum: atypical manifestation of diverticular disease

Abstract

Giant Colonic Diverticulum (GCD) is a rare complication of a common disease, in which the symptomatology is nonspecific and whose diagnosis is essentially made by CT scan. A surgical ressection is the recommended treatment in order to avoid perforation or other complications. We present a case of a 74-year-old woman who went to the emergency department with complaints of intestinal obstruction and acute abdomen. An abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed a mesenteric collection with 60 mm and air-fluid level compatible with an abscess, adjacent to a small bowel loop. An emergency laparotomy was performed, which revealed a cystic formation of 6 cm in the antimesentery border, dependant of the sigmoid colon, which was resected en bloc with the adjacent colon. The specimen classified it as type 2 diverticulum. The patient was discharged after a normal postoperative period.