Giant colonic diverticulum: case report of a rare surgical condition.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Diverticular disease is a common disorder of the colon with an extremely rare presentation giant colonic diverticulum (GCD). GCD is defined as a diverticulum measuring 4 cm or larger and affects the sigmoid colon in 90% of the cases. PATIENTS We report on a case of a 74-year-old woman with a GCD. METHODS: We present a case report of a 74-year-old woman with a GCD. A brief review of the literature concerning clinical presentation, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, pathogenesis, histological classification and treatment of GCD will be discussed. RESULTS: Our patient was treated according to the available information in the literature. The outcome was uneventful. CONCLUSIONS: GCD is a rare presentation of diverticular disease. Because of the risk of serious complications, a correct diagnosis and treatment is essential. The investigations of choice include a plain abdominal X-ray and an abdominal CT scan. Surgical treatment is the treatment of choice with preferably a colectomy with en-bloc resection of the diverticulum.