Giant Colonic Diverticulum: A Rare Type of Diverticular Disease

Jordan C Malone; Shiv R Patel; John P Walker; Marc Shabot

doi:10.7759/cureus.56463

Giant Colonic Diverticulum: A Rare Type of Diverticular Disease

Cureus. 2024 Mar 19;16(3):e56463. doi: 10.7759/cureus.56463. eCollection 2024 Mar.

Authors

Jordan C Malone¹, Shiv R Patel², John P Walker³, Marc Shabot⁴

Affiliations

¹ Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, USA.
² John Sealy School of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, USA.
³ Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, USA.
⁴ Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, USA.

Abstract

Giant colonic diverticulum (GCD) is a well-recognized but infrequently encountered disease in clinical practice. GCD is its own unique entity and differs from commonly seen diverticular disease in both size and management. Initial clinical presentation is typically associated with diverticulitis and symptoms such as abdominal pain, fever, nausea, vomiting, rectal bleeding, or even a palpable abdominal mass. Surgery is the recommended treatment option largely due to the risk of associated complications including colonic perforation. We describe the case of a 56-year-old female diagnosed with a sigmoid GCD that was successfully stabilized medically and definitively treated surgically.

Keywords: giant colonic diverticulum; sigmoid colectomy; sigmoid colon; sigmoid diverticulitis; sigmoid diverticulosis.

Publication types

Case Reports