Diverticular/Colon & Rectal Disease
What is diverticular disease?
In the colon, some people have small pouches that bulge outward through weak spots where the blood vessels enter the colon.
A single pouch is called a diverticulum.
Two or more pouches are called diverticula.
Having diverticula is a condition called diverticulosis.
Having a perforation of the diverticula that causes infection and inflammation is a condition called diverticulitis.
The conditions of diverticulosis or diverticulitis are referred to as diverticular disease.
Diverticulitis occurs in 10 to 25 percent of people with diverticulosis. Approximately half of Americans ages 60 to 80, and almost everyone over age 80, have diverticulosis at some time.
Colon/Rectal Surgery
Traditionally, operations on the colon and rectum required a large abdominal and/or pelvic incision, which often required a lengthy recovery. New instrumentation and techniques allow the surgeon to perform the procedure through several small incisions, what we now refer to as “minimally invasive”, “laparoscopic”, or “laparoscopic-assisted” colorectal surgery.
Colorectal conditions that can be treated laparoscopically include:
- Diverticular disease, specifically diverticulitis
- Appendicitis
- Benign and malignant colon and rectal polyps, tumors and malignancies (cancer)
- Severe constipation which does not respond to medicine
- Rectal prolapse (when rectal tissue relaxes or is no longer supported by the surrounded muscle)
- Colon volvulus (any twisting or displacement of the intestines causing obstruction)
- Inflammatory bowel disease (Chrohn’s or ulcerative colitis)
Diverticular Disease
Laparoscopic Small Bowel Surgery
Laparoscopic Colectomy
Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery
Minimally Invasive Hemorrhoid Surgery
Diverticular Disease